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people's warExplanation Taking on a coloured identity meant far more than just a change of name. To be a convincing coloured meant giving up all vestiges of a former black identity. // The only thing that you had in mind now in order to get away from these claws that are haunting you as an African people, you had to give ... Who did you receive that instruction from? // As I mentioned in my application at that stage it was the then head of the Defence Force General Geldenhuys, he asked me to draw up this plan. // And that would have been a plan as you indicate in your amnesty application to be of support to the SAP in ... A lot of these rituals were also I think based on quite a deep insight into human psychology so that you had rituals that were meant to empower the individual and give the individual boldness and courage to do extraordinary events. But you also had rituals that people realized were necessary in ... Why is it that the Truth Commission has had this myriad of cases where countless numbers of member of security forces have come before us admitting to tortures, murders and the Attorneys-General did not prosecute in any of those matters? // Well, I think the answer is quite obvious. If cases are ... Mr van Zyl, 63 stab wounds were inflicted on the four people you murdered on the night of the 27th 1985. Do you agree with the District Surgeon’s report with that? // I cannot disagree with that Mr Chairman. // Do you agree that the 63 stab wounds is evidence of barbaric conduct? // Mr ... Sophiatown was razed to the ground as if to erase the memory of what could have been and in its place came ‘Triomf’, ‘triumph,’ victory. The sterile suburban streets that emerged were indeed seen as a triumph for white rule. The spirit of Sophiatown was broken, its people dispersed. But in ... The news and these revelations are only coming to the fore now and I simply couldn”t believe my eyes and my ears as to what these people were saying. That people were saying that they had gained the impression that they were authorised to do certain things. And they are saying that they gained ... Enough for whom? And what is enough? Would enough be that if you murdered somebody I would be satisfied if you were executed? Is that enough? Would it be enough that you are incarcerated for 10, 15, 20, 30 years? Enough? What do you mean enough? An eye for an eye? Is that what would satisfy? I ... What happened, happened in my house. I was in my house with my granddaughter and her mother. When they came, they came by storm. They told us to leave and we went with them. We found a car full of people. And we wanted to hear why we were being called, because they didn’t tell us when they took ... My impression with great piety your honour, my impression was that he was extremely militant because of the conflict of the black ideology and the white really came to the fore. // He was a leader among the people involved in the schools unrest. He was also responsible for chasing pupils out of the ... While the politicians accuse and counter accuse, ordinary people are dying; nowhere do they die more frequently than in the beautiful Natal midlands. This is where Robert Zuma and Mduduzi Gumbi, supporters of the IFP, wasted the lives of fourteen people in 1991. They now want amnesty from the Truth ... ... that they realised that the net is closing on them. Now they’re going to go back on that. I can tell you those generals are not going to come forward. And all of them, the security police are going to move back and say that the courts are still on their side. ... May 1993, a year before the democratic elections in South Africa in Kimberley in the Northern Cape was the scene for an event that seems strangely out of step with the rest of the country. An ANC protest march, a hand grenade explosion, one dead, more than 40 people injured. The grenade was aimed ... But we start tonight’s programme with some of the most difficult images of the Truth Commission process. In most cultures the bodily remains of a person are seen as more than just a collection of bones. It is important to most people that the person you loved should have a decent funeral. More ... Comrade Mzwai Philiso, he was the head of the ANC Intelligence and Security he said I know the guy so he sent people from Zambia to debrief me. The brief last about a week in a motel outside Harare. I was asked questions, everything from sexual inclination, from my birth, my schooling, my ... It remains however a sad fact that we have to admit that the historic struggle of the Afrikaner for freedom and self realization did not bring about the sensitivity that was needed in order to understand the same motivations and concerns when they came from black people. We’re coming as an alternative force and then we have to prove to the people that we are indeed an alternative force, and then we had to do it by means of demanding and pressurizing the government. Our Truth Commission here is very different because we have television cameras recording every single moment and radio microphones, and it’s broadcast on a daily basis. Does that in your experience make a big difference? // It’s absolutely remarkable to me to watch the process here. I mean, ... ‘One of the growing number of countries plagued by terrorist atrocities is South Africa. There organisation principally responsible is the African National Congress. Its present leader is Oliver Tambo.’ // ‘ANC: VIP’s of Violence’ // ‘The answer is that the ANC is a terrorist ... Well it certainly seems as if the Truth Commission process is gaining momentum. A lot of people who felt that the Truth Commission concentrated too much on the sad stories of victims and was not getting to the real story of our sordid past must be changing their minds. The Inkatha Freedom Party was ... |