What Went Wrong for Police to Start Shooting Factory Workers?

Mopheme/The Survivor (Maseru)
NEWS
November 12, 2003
Posted to the web November 12, 2003
Maseru
There has been a lot of speculation as to why police started shooting factory
workers protesters on Monday. The official side, as always, will be that the
workers provoked the police or put the security of others at risk. But is that
what might have prompted the police kill one woman and injured over 100 others?
A lot of times when factory workers go on protests, police term to adopt a
military style of dealing with them, and one can only wonder why such brutality
when dealing with the so-called factory women.
The Monday protest march which was cut short by police guns and teargas,
reveals quiet a lot in what the state of affairs in a democratic Lesotho seem
to be.
Firstly, the government goes on air some days before the march, instilling fear
amongst the citizens, and especially amongst the Asian business community. The
question is, why if some organisation has applied to stage a peaceful protest
march, government has to be so hypersensitive about it?
Well the trick might have worked, as most of the foreign owned business
remained closed for the larger part of Monday, especially around the Cathedral/
Bus Stop area.
One can notice a number of complex unreasonableness on the side of our
politicians in government, in that workers rights have become a thorny issue in
our politics and one that can erode some people's popularity.
Why on earth would police armed to the teeth be deployed to lead the protest,
unless this is some kind of provocation to the workers or at least some way of
trying to instil some fear in them not express themselves freely.
Another question is, which police officer ordered the shooting and killing of
the workers? Or, is the Police Commissioner Malewa going to take all the blame?
Probably with the backing of the Home Affairs and Safety minister he might take
the responsibility and come up to defend his officers in their distorted
actions.
What still remains, is the question: what went wrong for the police to start
the shooting?
The textile industry has brought a lot of pride in Lesotho's performance at
different markets worldwide. This is an industry that is contributing massively
to our economic development and also addressing in a big way unemployment in
the country. Is this the way we say our thank you to those poor factory women
who work day and night to make us proud?
Somebody needs to answer these and other questions. But the one that really
needs an urgent attention, is what went wrong?
All seemed well until at this particulat moment when the first gun-shot got
everybody onto their heels

   

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