PRESS RELEASE: 30 Days to Release the Farlam Commission Report

The Marikana Support Campaign (MSC), the Right2Know Campaign (R2K) and the South African History Archive (SAHA) have taken the next step in demanding the release of the Farlam Commission Report on the Marikana massacre.

SAHA, in consultation with MSC and R2K, submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the Presidency for the release of the report. In terms of PAIA, the Presidency must respond to the request within 30 days. The report was sent to the president on 31 March, but is yet to be made public. President Zuma has avoided all questions around when he will be releasing the report to the public. We demand full public access to the report and its findings!

Activists and civil society organisations have been calling on the president to release the report so that justice can be served for the victims and their families. On Friday, 15 May, four members of the Marikana Support Campaign, demanding for the release of the report were harassed and manhandled while addressing Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. We condemn this attack on critical voices in civil society and call on the presidency to stop the intimidation of activists.

It has been more than two and a half years since the Marikana massacre on 16 August 2012, and there have been no arrests made for the murder of the 34 miners who were killed while striking. The Commission of Inquiry, led by retired Judge Ian Farlam, heard evidence around the events of the day of the massacre, and leading up to the day.

The Commission Report and findings are crucial to determining the truth about what happened at Marikana, to hold those responsible for the massacre to account and to ensure that justice is served.

This PAIA request was administered by SAHA's Freedom of Information Programme.

For more information see: http://foip.saha.org.za/request_tracker/entry/sah-2015-pre-0002.