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people's warExplanation It was me who was there; I gave Major Mbina an order to make a single fire at the people who were coming towards you. They took me to Sotwai at number 9. That is a place in Khayalitsha. That was at night. And when we got there, still handcuffed as I was, there were some people that were dressed in big coats and they had sjamboks, they had some arms with them. And they stood in front of this house. There was also ... Right wing terror took many forms in the old Western Transvaal. Here, in the heartland of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging right-wingers behaved as if South Africa belonged to them only. Many people fell victim to their indiscriminate violence. William Nxanxa, a taxi driver was parked beside the ... People then came. The others were throwing stones. We tried to take everybody inside, because we realized we’re being attacked. Simon shot twice in the air. As we were trying to get into the house, Simon Tshemeshe was standing at the door. He took his gun and shot the late Sophie. // She had four ... De Kock’s sentence of 212 years plus two life sentences seemed to satisfy the people who thronged to the Pretoria Supreme Court for the case. The earliest he can start thinking of seeing the streets of Pretoria again is after 18 years when he could ask for special parole on account of his age of ... A lot of the evidence I have listened to at the Truth Commission hearings were really heartbreaking. But when the testimony is about the human rights violations of children, it is more than disturbing. The Truth Commission recently held special children’s hearings in East London and Bloemfontein. ... There were strong men but at night people cry. When you ask them why are you crying they said I was dreaming I’m on my way to the death row. Reference book, pass book, dompas, stinker, different names for the same thing. The hated document that determined the life of every black South African for decades, where they could sleep, live, work, visit and for how long. The main aim of the pass laws was to control the movement of black South ... One disappointing thing for many people in George is the fact that PW Botha, after the magistrate had made his ruling, went on record as saying that he doesn’t feel it necessary to apologise for anything outside the courtroom where people from Lawaaikamp, from Pacaltsdorp, from Thembulethu from ... Apartheid was an option or a choice for death, carried out in the name of the gospel of life and that is why it was an issue of faith, for people of faith, to say no to apartheid. It was a spiritual question in its most fundamental form. Col Van Rensburg words to me were that a drastic plan should be made very quickly with these particular people and that I accepted to mean that they should be eliminated. The shocking images of Sophiatown, people just being uprooted and carted away much against their will and quite hopelessly struggling against this thing, the machine of the National Party Government at the time was just simply too strong. One was of course aware of certain steps that were being taken, people who were being murdered. We did know about it, and we were very upset and worried about that, because we didn’t think that that was the way to go about. // Did you at any stage give this information directly to Mr. Botha? // ... Welcome to the Special Report on the Truth and Reconciliation process. It is Monday morning; this is Mayfair, in the heart of Johannesburg. This is where Winnie Madikizela-Mandela will face the Truth Commission this week. It is likely to be the most crucial week of her entire life. She’s the ... In October 1990 three men belonging to the right wing Orde Boerevolk attacked a bus of black commuters. Seven people were killed and 27 injured in this racially motivated attack. Piet Botha, Adriaan Smuts and Eugene Marais had executed the attack. They wanted to kill black people in revenge for an ... I didn’t see anything. I cannot explain what happened … during the shooting, but it lasted about 7 to 8 minutes, the shooting going on. When I stood up the only thing that I heard my sister saying ‘please come and phone most of the people are injured outside here.’ People who knew him ... And yet many of the files do remain. // It’s very difficult for any bureaucracy the size of the South African state to ensure that every copy of every document is destroyed. There is also evidence of certain people who just chose not to destroy documents, that’s all. They just didn’t do it. ... We have seen very few former politicians, generals and foot soldiers expressing genuine regret for the evils of the past. The apologies we have heard so far mostly went along the lines of, if we hurt people, we are sorry, but we didn’t mean it. Adriaan Vlok and Pik Botha also expressed regret. But there have also been many lows. // I remember at a hearing when somebody talked about just walking daily with her child down the street and so on and this most overwhelming sense of sadness… I just felt I wanted to weep no end. And often I think it’s when things resonate with one and often ... I think part of healing ourselves will be to admit what we did to each other. And that’s not only what we did to the ANC, it’s what the ANC did to other people. |
