19. DISCOURSE (AS) OPPOSED TO THE FACTS: GERMANY’S LINKS TO THE MARIKANA MASSACRE HAVE LONG GONE UNNOTICED

Stefan Buchen
Translated by Simon Phillips

It is almost a truism to note that Africa does not make it into the German news very often. However, 16 August 2012 and the days that followed were quite different because 34 striking workers were shot dead by the police at a South African mine. Tagesschau viewed the events as newsworthy enough to justify a short film, and the following day the presenter on ARD’s late night news programme described the shootings as ‘reminiscent of the worst of the South African apartheid regime’.