Tutu says more apartheid crimes should have gone to court
-17/12/05
The South African g
Tutu says more apartheid crimes should have gone to court
-17/12/05
The South African government should have prosecuted the perpetrators of apartheid-era atrocities who did not seek amnesty, says Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.
The archbishop, a Nobel laureate and outstanding Christian campaigner for peace and justice, made the remarks during an interview on South African radio to mark the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The Commission, which chaired by Archbishop Tutu, was set up to probe human rights violations under apartheid. Perpetrators had the opportunity to ask for amnesty in return for confessing.
Though stressing forgiveness, Tutu has argued that repentance and justice ñ including legal sanction ñ are also vital to rebuilding after the devastation wreaked by apartheid, and to combating a culture of impunity among wrong-doers.
“We probably should have done what the legislation requires and really prosecuted people,” he told South African Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Out of 7,112 perpetrators who applied, 849 were granted amnesty, says the BBC.
The archbishop also said that victims did not receive adequate compensation, particularly since those who testified before the TRC surrendered their right to seek damages in court.
He continued: “I think that we as a nation have been less than generous in the money reparations that we have offered to the victims.”
The South African government did not begin paying compensation to victims until December 2003, more than five years after the Commission had presented its findings.
A fund of 660m rand (100 million US dollars) was set aside to make one-off payments of 30,000 rand to 22,000 victims – considerably less than the 3 billion rand fund recommended by the TRC.
The TRC spent two years listening to the testimony of more than 20,000 victims and perpetrators at public hearings.
However, unknown numbers of people who were responsible for killings, torture and other atrocities never came forward to testify.
P. W. Botha, who was president during the late 1980s when the government was operating death squads and frequently using torture against its opponents, famously refused to co-operate with the Commission and received a suspended prison sentence.
However, says the BBC, most of those who failed to testify have not been identified.
Archbishop Tutu has been keen to emphasise truth, justice and reconciliation as three integral dimensions of the TRC process. But he has long admitted that there were ìtrade-offsî involved which man found less than satisfactory.
[Also on Ekklesia: Tutu calls on Anglicans to accept gay bishop; Bethlehem launches own passport; Tutu and Havel endorse UN action on Burma; Churches back international peace day; Tutu vilified by Mugabe henchmen for pro-justice stance; Archbishop Tutu TV show to say Christianity is still a ëbig idea’ ; Tutu says its time for another African pope; Tutu compares UK government actions to apartheid regime; South African Anglican leader says AIDS stigma must go]
Tutu says more apartheid crimes should have gone to court
-17/12/05
The South African government should have prosecuted the perpetrators of apartheid-era atrocities who did not seek amnesty, says Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.
The archbishop, a Nobel laureate and outstanding Christian campaigner for peace and justice, made the remarks during an interview on South African radio to mark the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The Commission, which chaired by Archbishop Tutu, was set up to probe human rights violations under apartheid. Perpetrators had the opportunity to ask for amnesty in return for confessing.
Though stressing forgiveness, Tutu has argued that repentance and justice – including legal sanction – are also vital to rebuilding after the devastation wreaked by apartheid, and to combating a culture of impunity among wrong-doers.
“We probably should have done what the legislation requires and really prosecuted people,” he told South African Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Out of 7,112 perpetrators who applied, 849 were granted amnesty, says the BBC.
The archbishop also said that victims did not receive adequate compensation, particularly since those who testified before the TRC surrendered their right to seek damages in court.
He continued: “I think that we as a nation have been less than generous in the money reparations that we have offered to the victims.”
The South African government did not begin paying compensation to victims until December 2003, more than five years after the Commission had presented its findings.
A fund of 660m rand (100 million US dollars) was set aside to make one-off payments of 30,000 rand to 22,000 victims – considerably less than the 3 billion rand fund recommended by the TRC.
The TRC spent two years listening to the testimony of more than 20,000 victims and perpetrators at public hearings.
However, unknown numbers of people who were responsible for killings, torture and other atrocities never came forward to testify.
P. W. Botha, who was president during the late 1980s when the government was operating death squads and frequently using torture against its opponents, famously refused to co-operate with the Commission and received a suspended prison sentence.
However, says the BBC, most of those who failed to testify have not been identified.
Archbishop Tutu has been keen to emphasise truth, justice and reconciliation as three integral dimensions of the TRC process. But he has long admitted that there were ‘trade-offs’ involved which man found less than satisfactory.
[Also on Ekklesia: Tutu calls on Anglicans to accept gay bishop; Bethlehem launches own passport; Tutu and Havel endorse UN action on Burma; Churches back international peace day; Tutu vilified by Mugabe henchmen for pro-justice stance; Archbishop Tutu TV show to say Christianity is still a ëbig idea’ ; Tutu says its time for another African pope; Tutu compares UK government actions to apartheid regime; South African Anglican leader says AIDS stigma must go]