DISCUSSION 6B:  THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

INTRODUCTION

In 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections.  Nelson Mandela, the African National Congress leader recently-released after three decades of imprisonment on Robben Island, became President.  The citizens of a multiracial society then confronted the issue of how best to come to terms with a conflict-ridden, white supremacist past.

Rather than concentrate upon bringing perpetrators to account, the new government instead decided to focus on healing.  A commission was established that would investigate political crimes committed by the apartheid regime and its opponents between 1960 and 1994.  Chaired by Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to bear witness to "the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights" in the previous years.  Anyone who believed they had been a victim could offer testimony to the TRC.  Perpetrators also were encouraged to come forward with the possibility that they might be granted amnesty.  As the name of the investigative body suggested, the emphasis in the process was placed not on justice but on truth.  The revelation of truth, it was thought, would promote reconciliation and the consequent ability to move towards a better future.

By the time the commission released its main report in 1998, it had taken statements from more than 20,000 victims and received some 7,000 petitions for amnesty from perpetrators.  Ultimately, 849 of these latter appeals were approved.  Although the TRC members identified the government and its representatives, including former President P.W. Botha, as the most systematic violators of human rights in the apartheid era, they also described atrocities committed by other high-profile groups and individuals, such as the ANC, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (former wife of Nelson Mandela) and Inkatha Freedom Party head Mangosuthu Buthelezi.  Some criticized the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for its inability to impose consequences upon perpetrators.  Others welcomed its work as a bold experiment to remove the chains associated with official lies, hidden pains, silences and festering resentments.

READING ASSIGNMENT

1)  Start with the the following:

• Ginger Thompson, "South African Commission Ends Its Work," New York Times, March 22, 2003.

• Michael Ignatieff, "Something Happened," Guardian, October 13, 2001.

• Mark L. Wolf, "Quality Of Mercy," New York Times, May 27, 2001.

• "Truth Commission Report -- At A Glance," BBC News, February 16, 1999.

• South Africa's Truth And Reconciliation Commission, All Things Considered, October 19, 1998.  Correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault offers a five-part series on the TRC upon the wrapping up of its two-and-a-half years of work.

2)  Browse carefully in several of the following web-sites:

News Articles

• "Movie Revives Apartheid Hearings," BBC News, March 7, 2005.

• "Diverse Views Of Truth Model," BBC News, June 3, 2004.

• "Pay Apartheid Victims 'Now,'" BBC News, March 21, 2003.

• "South African 'Truth' Row Resolved," BBC News, January 29, 2003.

• "Revenge Of South Africa's 'Dr. Death,'" BBC News, April 12, 2002.

• "South Africa Concludes Healing Process," BBC News, May 31, 2001.

• "Amnesty For Apartheid Police Minister," BBC News, December 14, 1999.

• "Apartheid Death Boss Denied Amnesty," BBC News, December 14, 1999.

• "New Amnesties In South Africa," BBC News, December 14, 1999.

• "Truth Commission Admits Failures," BBC News, August 14, 1999.

• "PW Botha Implicated In Murders," BBC News, July 15, 1999.

• "Amnesty Rejected For Biko Police," BBC News, February 17, 1999.

• "Botha Wins Truth Commission Appeal," BBC News, June 1, 1999.

• "South Africa's Stinging Truths," New York Times, November 1, 1998.

• "Desmond Tutu's Long Crusade," BBC News, October 30, 1998.

• Suzanne Daley, "South Africa Braces Itself For Report By Truth Panel," New York Times, October 27, 1998.

• "A Healing Truth In South Africa," New York Times, August 24, 1996.

Web-Sites

• Facing The Past, Online Newshour, April 8, 1997:  Charlayne Hunter-Gault discusses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with South Africa's minister of justice Dullah Omar.

• Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Wikipedia:  A very concise introduction from the on-line encyclopedia.

• TRC WebResearch Site:  A collection of resources organized by the Department of African Languages and Cultures at Ghent University in Belgium.

• South Africa Under Apartheid -- Wikipedia:  A series of articles from the on-line encyclopedia.

Audio Sources

• South Africa -- Truth And Reconciliation, Talk Of The Nation, April 21, 2004:  Host Neal Conan discusses the importance of the TRC with commission member Pumla Goboda-Madikizela and University of Durban-Westville psychology professor Jude Clark.

• Truth And Reconciliation, Connection, April 9, 2001:  Host Michael Goldfarb discusses the truth commissions organized in such nations as South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Yugoslavia.

• Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Talk of the Nation, November 23, 1998:  Host Ray Suarez talks with Bishop Tutu about the commission and its possible legacies.

• South Africa's Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Talk of the Nation, September 5, 1996.  An analysis early in the process of South Africans attempting to heal the wounds from the apartheid era.

DISCUSSION FORUM

THE PRIMARY QUESTION:  Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission model to those focused upon bringing perpetrators to justice (eg. the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia).

ASSOCIATED QUESTIONS:  What is the tension, if any, between justice and reconciliation?  Will the truth "set us free?"  Does confronting the truth about the past promote healing or rather only open up old wounds?  Should those who commit crimes in the name of the state ever receive amnesty?

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