Police said that the Chinese executives opened fire on workers protesting against poor pay and conditions at the Collum coal mine in the southern Sinazongwe province on Friday October 15,2010.<\/p>\n
Eleven people were admitted to hospital with wounds to the stomachs, hands and legs, and two are understood to remain in a critical condition.<\/p>\n
A Foreign Ministry official in Beijing said that the shooting was a “mistake” but the incident has fuelled demands to curb China’s overwheening position in mine investments.<\/p>\n
The Patriotic Front, a leading opposition party, is campaigning for elections next year on platform of restricting Chinese investment until conditions are improved.<\/p>\n
“We know we can’t be protected by this government because it has been heavily corrupted by the Chinese for the 2011 elections and the current by-elections,” said Michel Sata, the PF’s leader nicknamed King Cobra for his combatative stance.<\/p>\n
Madinda Siamubotu, a victim of the shooting said the miners had been told that they would not be paid for days when they had been ordered to stop mining because enough coal had been produced.<\/p>\n
He said that when workers gathered outside the gates of the mine to protest at the unexpected pay cut, the managers walked out of their offices with shotguns and opened fire.<\/p>\n
A witness to the incident said miners had thrown rocks before the shooting started…<\/p>\n