Special Report Transcript Episode 40, Section 1, Time 00:21

The truth and reconciliation process was intended to open up South Africa’s dark and painful past so people could bury their pain and make peace with their fellow citizens. For the last 11 months we have seen that this is a traumatic experience for victims and a very uncomfortable one for those who were responsible for or associated with the human rights abuses. We saw that again the last two weeks. Last week we had the secret graves of security police victims uncovered and this week the killers of a young man called Stanza Bopape, at last came up with the gruesome truth. The families and communities of the victims reacted with anger and bitterness and harsh words were directed at the former government. Sadly, the accused politicians went into a mode we are all too familiar with. // We were not responsible. We did not know. Well that’s a whole bunch of allegations. // Bring your evidence. // The South African government through its forces is not involved in violence. // The so-called third force may be a dissident group within the ANC. // [We’re not ashamed about anything] // So move… // We never covered up. // We investigated thoroughly. // The police are adhering to the policy of the government. // Certain, I emphasise the word certain… // I give my word. // [We’re not ashamed about anything] // And we will spare no one. // So, my hands are clean. // We will deal with this problem on our programme tonight and tell the story of Stanza Bopape. But perpetrators of human rights were not always white and not always on the sides of the apartheid governments. We also visit the Amnesty hearings in East London where the ANC Youth League confessed to brutal murders. But we start with the cruel story that started with the arrest of Mamelodi activist, Stanza Bopape on the ninth of June 1988. His disappearance shortly afterwards became one of the big mysteries of the last decade, because few people believed the convoluted cover-up that reached right into the cabinet and parliament.

Notes: Max du Preez; FW de Klerk; A Vlok; FW de Klerk; A Vlok; Magnus Malan; De Klerk; Vlok; De Klerk; Pik Botha; Vlok; Malan; Vlok; De Klerk; Max du Preez

References: there are no references for this transcript