Report legitimises ANC's quest for freedom
Truth and Reconciliation report published
By Mary Maguire
The 3500 pages might have seemed at first sight too detailed. But
the subject has been too long censored. The final report of the
South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) presented
by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to president Nelson Mandela last
Friday in Johannesburg is in many ways the collective album of
the oppressed and terror-bound nation during the apartheid
regime. More than the fruit of a process designed to encourage
reconciliation, the report acknowledges the legitimacy of the
freedom struggle. By recognising the aims and methods of
President PK Botha's terror reign, it gives full credit to the
ANC's freedom struggle.
But the media's first reflex was to point the finger at the ANC
for attempting to prevent the release of the report. On front
pages, this made headlines over the testimony of the 21,000
victims that have been testifying since the Commission started
its hearings in April 1996.
The international media managed to focus on just three lines of
the report where it was stated that ``the ANC and its organs..
committed gross violations of human rights in the course of their
political activities and armed struggle.'' Editorialists striving
to find an impossible equality for the crimes against humanity
commited by governmental death squads missed the point: except
for a chapter focusing on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the whole
report is a a stinging prosecution case against the state that
brutalised South Africa for more than 34 years.
Not only is the liberation movement led by Nelson Mandela
decriminalised, it is given full credit for the manner in which
it led its struggle. The report states that uMkhonto we Sizwe
(South Africa's liberation army) tried to conduct its armed
struggle by attempting to respect the Geneva convention (on human
rights) to which it had subscribed.
If the ANC was the media's focus, one detail seemed to have been
forgotten: one page was blanked out following former President FW
de Klerk's success in having findings implicating him in
``state-sponsored terrorism'' removed.
But in page after page, the report sheds light on the murderous
methods and objectives of former President PW Botha's apartheid
state: ``The South African state in the period from the late 1970s
to early 1990s became involved in activities of criminal nature
when, amongst other things, it knowingly planned, undertook,
condoned and covered up the commission of unlawful acts,
including extra-judicial killings of political opponents and
others, inside and outside South Africa.''
These include the widespread use of torture, abduction, arson and
sabotage. Using allies such as former minister of Law Adriaan
Vlok and former police Commissioner Johan van der Merwe, he
issued orders to the State Security Council (SSC), the armed wing
of apartheid. Bloody crackdowns on opposition activists and
increased military repression by the so-called security forces
became routine.
According to various human rights groups, up to 40,000 people
were held without trial during ``states of emergency'' imposed by
Botha at various times between 1986 and 1989: ``the state, in the
form of the South African governement, the civil service and its
security forces, in the period 1960-90 sought to protect the
power and privilege of a racial minority.''
``Racism therefore constituted the motivation core of the South
African political order, an attitude largely endorsed by the
investment and other policies of South Africa's major trading
partners in this period''.
It goes on to say: ``A consequence of this racism was that white
citizens in general adopted a dehumanising position towards black
citizens and largely labelled them as the enemy. This created a
climate in which gross atrocities committed against them were
seen as legitimate... As a military approach to policing gained
ascendancy inside South Africa from the mid-1980s, so did the
incidence of killing or ``eliminating'' activists opposed to the
government.
Among the propositions of the TRC is the idea of a series of
taxes on business corporations to offset apartheid's legacy of
poverty. It recommends a wealth tax and a one-off levy on
personal and corporate income.
Israel delaying agreement
Yasser Arafat may take the delay with good grace. But the fact is
that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is already asking
for time in implementing the Wye summit pact, sending negative
signals about his will to truly engage in the peace deal.
Netanyahu said he would ``try'' to stick to the accord's 12-week
timetable and carry out the first pull-out in the West Bank as
close as possible to its agreed date of 16 November.
The agreement was to take effect at midnight on Monday. But
Netanyahu suddenly said the deal needs to be ratified by his
cabinet and parliament. The cabinet was scheduled to start the
debate on Tuesday and the parliamentary session is set for 11-12
November.
Then another excuse. Netanyahu claimed that the cabinet could not
convene to approve the deal until the Palestinians had presented
a complete blueprint for fighting Islamic militant groups.
The argument seems hollow given the manner in which the
Palestinian authority has already cracked down on Hamas
activists, clearly signalling its will to implement its
commitments. Most importantly, it could delay the liberation of
political prisoners.
The delay wouldn't have been as serious if the Israel had not
stirred up controversy by claiming that the expansion of Jewish
settlements in the occupied territories would go ahead. The war
over the east Jerusalem district of Ras al-Amud has flared up
again. Palestinians have accused Netanyahu of violating the Wye
agreement by giving his green light for the construction of 132
housing units.
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