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people's warExplanation ‘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 ... 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 ... 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. Some people feel that Thandi is one of those who started all the trouble, but Thandi may have had a reason for behaving as she did. She was a fighter and she paid a price. Her son was killed by police in a shootout and she was not allowed to see his body. She lost her possessions and was harassed ... Sophie’s brother, Nelson Sinxoshe was sentenced to 35 years for Geelboy Tshemeshe’s death. // I just got out because we got indemnity. I would still be in prison now, all because of lies. These people, the perpetrators, they are alive. What are you doing about them? My life is ruined. What are ... Screams of horror of our very young in homes daily across the country, screams of pain caused by those who were meant to protect, the South African Police. At the height of political unrest many young people were the foot soldiers for a nation’s struggle for change in a country torn apart by ... We stay in the Eastern Cape. When the Ciskei Transport Corporation imposed a bus fare increase of 11% in July 1983 the community of Mdansane launched a boycott and started using trains only. The Ciskei government recruited a vigilante group, the ‘Green Berets’ to force commuters in Mdansane to ... Bram Fischer was born in 1908 on a farm near Bloemfontein. He came from a well known legal family. His father, Peter Ulrich Fischer was Judge President of the Free State and his grandfather Abram Fischer had been a Cabinet Minister in the Union of South Africa. Bram went to Grey College and then ... As we were busy loading the people into the ambulances they told me that the police were looking for me and they said I should get into the car because they were taking me with. I was very confused at that time. I got into the caspir, but as I was inside I was asking myself as to where they were ... We had no way of establishing the truth about this murder, apart from getting confirmation that Koekie Zwane’s dead body was found in 1989. One complicating factor we had to keep in mind was the widespread allegations that Richardson was working with the security police. There is a real ... During the eighties townships under siege hit back in more ways than one. Underground defence units were formed. The armed struggle was taking route inside the country. In 1990 State President FW de Klerk unbanned the liberation movements and released their leaders. But instead of peace and ... Before we go let’s look at a few other developments the last week. We have been confronted by a lot of evil deeds while reporting on the Truth Commission the last year. Sometimes one tries to understand the mindset of the perpetrators caught in the conflict between repression and liberation. But ... You mustn’t run and if the front people sit down we all sit down and we let them do the violence and expose the violence of the system and let it be a symbol of the nature of this regime. Well, I’d been a sport mad young South African, fanatically into sport: rugby, soccer, cricket, motor racing the lot. And I knew how vital sport was to the maintenance of the white South African psyche and mystique and morale. And so what I came up with as a young political activist getting ... what’s that in English? To bring peace and love amongst people. // You are a very forgiving man. After the attack, when did you become forgiving towards the people who have carried it out? Because immediately after it people were begging for blood, Archbishops were saying as soon as possible the ... Phila Ndwandwe was a University of Durban-Westville student in 1985 when she was recruited into ‘Operation Butterfly,’ a unit of the military wing of the African National Congress, by this man. Phila was a comrade with outstanding qualities, although she was young, she was exceptionally bright. ... Can I ask a quick question to Dr Fazel Randera. You’re working on the ground in Gauteng, so you should get the feeling from the people. There’s been a lot of criticism, especially from the National Party, that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is not contributing to reconciliation, it’s ... ... some of PW’s memorabilia, anything of PW in that Museum, it needs to be contextualized. For instance, if you walk into that Museum, he’s got awards from the president of Chili and Savimbi, an AK47. You know, it is totally ridiculous. What we need to say is who are these leaders that gave ... |