Special Report Transcript Episode 6, Section 5, Time 27:12

To my mind I’ve always been clear that the person I hold responsible ultimately for my bombing is F. W. de Klerk. I spoke to Van Zyl Slabbert, and he said, I Van Zyl Slabbert went to De Klerk and told him about the death squads. He cannot say he didn’t know. And so, I hold him politically and morally responsible. In a funny sort of way for me forgiveness is not yet on the agenda. And the reason I say that, I’ve said that I’m not filled with hatred or bitterness or self-pity, nor that I want revenge. I think what I believe in is not retribution, I believe in restorative justice, not retributive justice; restorative justice. And, for example, if FW was to come to me, or the person who made the bomb was to come to me and said, I’m sorry for what I did and I want your forgiveness and this is what I’m now doing in the way of reparation. Not to me personally but to our country and our people. These are the kinds of things I’m doing to heal our land. Then of course one would say, of course. There would be forgiveness; there would not be a problem about that. But I haven’t heard from De Klerk one word of remorse, I have not heard one acknowledgment of evil at all. And I’ve heard very few voices coming from that community of perpetrators, showing any sign of remorse or sorrow or willingness to make reparation. I realised equally, soon after I was bombed, that if I spend my life pursuing those who did it to me, that would eat me up. Again, that would consume me. And I don’t want to be consumed. One of the things I’ve been thinking, even this morning, do I want to meet the person who made the bomb? The answer is: it depends. I don’t know if I could cope with somebody who doesn’t care. I don’t know if I could cope with somebody for whom there is no issue. // I give thanks to God. I give thanks to God for you Michael. We thank you. I think we should stand.

Notes: TRC testimony: Father Lapsley; Archbishop Tutu

References: there are no references for this transcript