South Africa-- Truth and Reconciliation

7/30/2019 South Africa-- Truth and Reconciliation

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Post-Apartheid South Africa


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What happened to the white people

after apartheid ended in 1994?

A. They went back to their country.

B. The ones who helped the black peoplestayed, and the ones who were againstthem left.

C. They all stayed and continued to live inSouth Africa.

D. They were all imprisoned.


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The Truth and ReconciliationCommission was formed.

It was like a specialcourt.

It was set up by the new

government to promotenational unity andreconciliation betweengroups.

It was meant to identifyboth victims andperpetrators.


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Why?

Our nation needs healing.Victims and survivors whosuffered under the apartheid

system need healing.Perpetrators - those whotortured and killed - are, intheir own way, victims of theapartheid system. They, too,

need healing.


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1.Human Rights Violations Committee: Investigate violations

between 1960-19942. Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee:Giving victims bacthei

r dignity and making proposals to help with rehabilitation

3.Amnesty Committee: Considered allowing those whocommitted politically-motivated crimes to go free, as long as they

told the whole truth of what they did.

There were 3 committees.


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6

No one was free from being charged.

White policemen

Regular citizens

Members of the ANC

Members of resistance groups

Members of the apartheid government


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How did it work?

1. First, victims cameforward. They told theirstories and identifiedperpetrators.

2. Then, the TRC would

order those people to comeand give evidence.

Sometimes perpetrators came on their own, without beingordered.

If the crimes were politically motivated and if the person toldthe whole truth, they would be set free.

If not, they would go to a criminal or civil court for a trial.


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Many important people were appointed to bemembers of the commission, including

Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

"Without forgivenessthere can be no futurefor a relationshipbetween individuals orwithin and betweennations." -Desmond

Tutu talking about Truthand Reconciliation


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South African citizens listening to the TRChearing.

The TRC hearings were held in bigcities around South Africa. They were

broadcast on the radio and television.


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Eunice Miya gives testimony to the TRC .

Her son was an activist who raided a police van inthe 1980s. The police later killed all seven peopleinvolved in that raid, rather than arresting them. She

told her story to the Commission.


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Amnesty = No punishment

7, 112 people applied foramnesty.

5, 392 of those people weredenied amnesty. (75%)

849 were given amnesty. (12%) The rest were withdrawn or the cases thrown

out.


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Justice

In 1998, after 3 years, the TRC published itsreport. Both the ANC and the apartheidgovernment had committed atrocities.

Here, justice did not equal punishment. Justicewas showing the reality of what happened. Itwas giving survivors a chance to share their

stories. The hope of amnesty caused people to come

forward who otherwise would have hid.


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Controversy

Steven Biko was an activistkilled by security police.

His family said the TRC

robbed them of their rightto justice.

They brought a caseagainst TRC to the

Supreme Court, calling itunconstitutional.

S h Af i T d


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South Africa Today-11 recognizedlanguages: Afrikaans,

English, and manyethnic languages.

-Parliamentarydemocracy

-Since 1995, the

economy has grownevery year.

-GDP has risen by 3%per year.

-Developed agriculture and manufacturing industries.-One of the highest HIV infection rates in the world.

-High unemployment 50 % of people live in poverty.


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If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are alsoroads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be namedGoodness and Forgiveness.

-Nelson Mandela

Documents

South Africa-- Truth and Reconciliation