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people's warExplanation could have made a valuable contribution to the political life of this country or not. // Mister Chairman, no, how can I ever apologise for an act of war? War is war. I haven’t heard the ANC apologizing, the perpetrators of these deeds apologizing for killing people in pubs and blowing them up in ... Once I got admitted to the orthopaedic wards I started seeing the results of the war. I mean there were people lying around who had legs off, feet off, arms off, hands off, major shrapnel wounds, parts of their faces blown away and there were these constant flights coming in of ambulances flying ... ... In this week’s Special Report we also take you to the killing fields of the KwaZulu-Natal south coast where the ANC and the IFP are still waging war. And, we visit the Karoo, more specifically the sleepy town of Victoria West. But first we go the Amnesty Committee hearings in Durban. February ... ... proud of what we did. We have no regret, it is unfortunate that people had to die, but it is not something that we are ashamed of that we did go to war. War by its very nature is evil and if there was another method of avoiding it we would have avoided it. So, we are not going to have ... ... the talks were already taking place and the date for the election had already been set, so it was almost as if we were working together already towards peace. We’re just confused …. // As far as I know the situation in the country it was against anyone old and young, so I grew up seeing ... ... who believe in all these things become the victim of them. Without them they cannot do anything. With them can do anything. As you know there was war here in Richmond, there’s a lot that I experienced and I’ve written a book about the violence here in Richmond. There were times where the ... Once I got admitted to the orthopaedic wards I started seeing the results of the war. I mean there were people lying around who had legs off, feet off, arms off, hands off, major shrapnel wounds, parts of their faces blown away and there were these constant flights coming in of ambulances flying ... These are scenes of white South Africa at war in Angola. For more than 15 years the South African Defence Force and police fought wars in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. Namibia was a South African colony that had to be protected from its liberation movement, SWAPO. Angola was the first ... ... our country where the conflict has not ended. We report tonight on one of the towns in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands that have been terrorized by the war between the ANC and the IFP for more than a decade now. We also tell you about the mysterious death of a dedicated young community worker in the ... ... Commission hearings in Durban this week. The killing of seven people on the night of 9 October 1990 was a politically motivated act of war, they said. In June of that year Piet Rudolf, leader of the right wing organisation, the Order Boerevolk stole weapons from the South African Air ... only certain people who were victims of the violence. It was a terrible stage. I said to my wife yesterday, I said you know there’s no winner in a war, no matter what war there is. There’s only one who loses a bit less than the other, but there’s no winner. There was no winner in this ... ... APLA on white civilians. // A new pattern arose in the 1990s where civilians within the white community were attacked. In the nature of guerrilla warfare, which is unlike conventional warfare, detailed plans could not be made from Dar es Salaam. The actual targets were decided by local ... Let’s face facts, the ANC as far as [inaudible] was concerned, they were at war with the South African government or whatever you like to call it: conflict. The fact is the whole basis was a war like situation. And all of a sudden the police was faced with this situation and they had to ... ... silent and then all these children standing and bending out of the windows screaming ‘boo, boo!’ // It was an atmosphere of hostility and war. // That’s why my heel hurts because of people walking on the back of my heels, I carry scars on my legs from people kicking me; we all carry ... ... What is your personal feeling? // I am sorry for the victims and the family of the victims. Because at the end of the day they did not fight in the war. So in that regard I am sorry. I am sorry for them, for the people who had to suffer. And I apologise. // If you look back, was it worth it? // ... …because people wanted to make war, they’re fighting us. We were only SRC students, students speaking out, and now they were fighting us. So we had to retaliate. BMW was the Youth League of MK; we were the ones who did the fighting in Bonteheuwel. It was a brutal and chaotic war that lasted for nearly five years and many of its battles were fought in and around the hostel compounds of the South African townships. Many people have told the Truth Commission about the terror associated with these fortresses and their inhabitants. Some of the saddest stories in history are of those who died as the freedom they fought for became a reality, the casualties of the last day of war. Bisho, 1992 was such a story, actually 28 of those stories. Freedom and democracy were upon us when those people were gunned down by Ciskei’s ... The green valley of Willowfontein situated on the other side of Pietermaritzburg is also home to many internal refugees. // After the seven days war, after the death of my mother, my child and my fiancé in March 1990, when Ntombela attacked, burning houses in the Mnayandu, Shange and Ashdown areas ... ... was almost inevitable. The word ‘amnesty’ is derived from the Greek word ‘amnesia’ which means to forget. Well, we cannot forget. A just war is understandable, but granting amnesty to people who killed indiscriminately will be condoning the actions of every single individual worldwide ... |