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people's warExplanation Showing 381 to 400 of 1000 First Page•Previous Page 16 •17 •18 •19 •20 •21 •22 •23 •24 Next Page•Last PageThere are people that were tortured and tormented by the SB’s or by the security system and we are not of equal strength, we’ve got to recognize that, so they broke down and sold out and actually went ahead and gave evidence in court. Now, you look at their motives, did they join the liberation ... Bringing back the name Sophiatown might well restore some of the dignity that was stripped away in the past. But it was more than dignity that was lost; it was a way of life. // It was a fluent kind of living, vibrant community and I think longing for the kind of freedom that hopefully we’re ... When you carry out operations and you are congratulated, decorated, honoured and given all the accolades of a successful officer in the struggle against communism and insurgency and counter revolution, you believe that the people who are honouring you know what you did to be honoured for. I gave the instruction for them to flatten the huts with a casper and that we would open fire at the same time. It’s the overkill situation that was typically Koevoet. We would shoot as much as concentrated fire into a space as possible. We didn’t know how many people might be in there with ... Apart from the moral repugnance with which some of us recoiled at the activities of what people in the township tended to generally regard as ‘Winnie’s boys,’ one of our major concerns at a political level, was the extent to which the activities of these ‘boys’ were beginning to detract ... People who must have an opportunity to register their regret at not preventing human rights violations and also to give them an opportunity to register their commitment to reconciliation. Can a Truth Commission be an effective instrument to extract the truth about the past? // That depends on what powers the commission is given. In some cases there’s great frustration, you can have a commission that’s very effective but in the end it really only has the powers to speak to ... Look, I myself have been involved in different bombings. I myself was in command of a region and I gave many orders to sabotage. I established cells, I spoke from platforms … so I do feel responsible co-responsible for the people who are in the prisons. Because I was part of it I feel that I must ... ‘Maseru Lesotho December 1985’ // Nine people died in this attack. Among the dead was Jackie Quinn whose family testified at the TRC in 1996. // I feel that as long as the people up top who gave the order are exposed, that it’s going to help a lot. If we can find out, it must be somebody in ... ... him from near and he fell down. What precisely happened there I can’t remember. At that stage I thought my life was in danger. // It’s a bit awkward but just give us the details. When you shot this man, what did you see, where did you shoot him? // I shot him on the side of his head; that is ... ... explained to them what the problem was that we were faced with. I can just mention that Mr. Niewoudt and Mr. Van Zyl at that stage were completely aware of the activities of Pebco. // Is it your evidence that these three people, the so-called Pebco Three, that they were extremely dangerous? // ... Clive Derby-Lewis calls himself an English speaking Afrikaner. He says he bought the gun for the killing and gave the address. Today he is simply a murderer imprisoned for his crime, but once he moved in high political circles holding court in public and in the media. // Stop interrupting now Mr. ... Initially I felt a bit sorry for him, on the first day when I saw him because I thought that he had a lot on his shoulders. Ja, he went through a lot himself and he had a lot of things to speak about and he seemed such a lonely figure because there wasn’t anybody with him. He didn’t have any ... We were over 60 in number I don’t remember exactly however, we grouped into two. The others had to attack one of the homesteads nearby. // We started… we hit the door, there was a hew in the door and we used it to hack the door. The door opened and we shot at the people and we also stabbed them ... Du Plessis and Van Rensburg presented a plan to General Erasmus to have the two activists eliminated. // And what is the ultimate conclusion which the three of you reached? // Our final conclusion was that there was no other way, detention or any other thing than to eliminate this people. // And ... With the birth of the Truth Commission last year a voice was finally given to the thousands of South Africans who’d been brutalized during the conflict of the apartheid years. For months people from every part of the country poured their hearts out before the TRC’s Human Rights Violations ... But Donald Woods, talk to me what you feel so far, perception wise has it been one sided. What is your feeling about this? // I’ve had the impression of it being pretty fair, but you know they were in a no win situation in the sense that when you undertake something which is really a very ... When I came onto the Commission one of the things that shocked us was the fact that there is no requirement in the Act for the applicant to express remorse. It is not a requirement and we were bald over actually and some people had almost a traumatic experience. On our arrival there people were actually singing freedom songs. I was standing there looking at the people. As I was looking there up front, it was my first time to see such a big gun. // It was already late, then we found this place full with those who came in before. Then the police have already ... But maybe the most useful to the Truth Commission’s search for truth was the ANC’s list of more than a 1000 ANC members who died in exile. This included the names of 34 people executed by order of the ANC’s military tribunal. But questions around the mysterious death of MK commander Thami ... |
