The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The DA has this morning written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, to request an urgent debate on the massacre of more than 30 mine workers at Lonmin Mine in Marikana, North West.

Parliament is duty-bound to debate this matter of national importance, which has shocked the nation to its core.

In particular, the use of live ammunition by the South African Police Service, the order to fire on the workers, and the violence which has beset the mine for weeks, needs to be fully interrogated by Parliamentarians.

The families of those who lost their lives deserve answers to these questions. By getting these answers, Parliament can ensure that this horrific incident never happens again.

Parliament must use its oversight role and its position as a forum for debate to get to the bottom of this incident and to show all South Africans, including those who have lost loved ones, that this is an institution which they can rely on to tackle pressing issues of national importance.