Research and report on an individual who was granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for their violations of human rights during the apartheid era in South Africa. Discuss if granting Amnesty to this individual, the entire racist National Party government of South Africa and hearing the stories of those that were negatively affected by apartheid, was something that has brought progress to post apartheid South Africa. Hint: You will also have to see how the country has progress since the T.R.C. ended.
This assignment needs to be posted no later than 8:00am Wednesday January 27th.
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Everyone who was rejected by the so called "Truth and Reconcilliation" Comission should be pardoned now, especially those who saved the lives of many innocent people by killing a few merciless terrorists.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard a shocking thing: That some in the ANC or other extreamist group forced "their" women and girls to have sex with "their" men, "in order to produce many soldiers for the struggle". What a pervercy!!! And suppose, God forbid, the Boers have resorted to such "tacktics", or the Serbs, or Wallachia in the 15th Century? What would the world's opinion be???!!!
Former P. W. President Botha who was replaced by de Kerk, was never punished by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for not ending the Apartheid system. Although he made some small improvements to the system, under his control, Apartheid became harsher and more inflexible. He claimed that he did not authorize the killings that took place under his control and stated that he did nothing wrong. He was involved in the founding of the Ox Wagon Guard in Cape Town, a pro-Nazi group. Botha met with Mandela while he was imprisoned but refused to free him.
ReplyDeleteHe refused to testify before them, and was supposed to be fined 1600 dollars or face a year in prison but did not do either. It was decided that the time limit had run out, and no consequence was imposed.
By not punishing Botha, it could be argued that the TRC did not truly bring justice to victims of the Apartheid system. Many people never really got justice for the crimes committed under Apartheid. The TRC granted amnesty to many people and did not punish as many as may have deserved punishment. The goal was to reunite the country so that it could become one coherent country again.
The TRC has been deemed a debatable success since the country is now one country and has not descended into civil war. Some of these pardons were necessary to prevent a white 'witch hunt' which would have led to a reverse racist country. For this reason, the TRC could be called a success because although it did not bring justice to all the criminals of Apartheid, it did manage to get the country to function as one without civil war.
Ntobeko Peni was an individual granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He was one of four men who, in 1993, attacked and killed Amy Biehl, a student from California who was visiting South Africa on a Fulbright scholarship. After Peni was released from prison, he met with Amy Biehl’s parents and had begun a youth group in his town. Eventually he helped create the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust with her parents.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, granting this one individual helped him bring progress to the parts of South Africa that he interacted with. Peni was a black man who was deeply angry due to the injustices made against him and his people. This anger drove him and four others to attack a young, white girl visiting South Africa. It’s my opinion that he deserved to be granted amnesty. I can understand his motivation behind his actions, and I think that granting him amnesty was one of the major causes as to why he changed his mindset after being released from jail. I also think that his hearing and his testimony were extremely influential in helping Amy Biehl’s parents forgive him.
But looking at the effect of the TRC to all of South Africa, not every story is a success. Many South Africans believed that since the TRC granted 849 people amnesty, that there was a lack of justice. Without justice, they argued, there is no appeasement between whites and blacks.
Despite this, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was the beginning of a new South Africa. It allowed both victims and perpetrators to share their experiences, have a voice, and ask for forgiveness. Although the TRC wouldn’t undo all the deeds of the apartheid-era government, it allowed South Africans to accept what happened and move forward. This began to heal the rift between the different races of South Africa by embracing the idea that facing the past is the only way to move forward in the future.
Adriaan Vlok, was the Minister of Law and Order in South Africa from 1986 to 1991. Vlok arranged and executed extreme force in suppressing civil unrest and political opposition. He was the only member of the cabinet to admit to racial crimes he committed while in power (many of them ranged from assassinations, bombings, and excessively forceful police raids). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission granted him amnesty in an extremely controversial case, due to his large involvement in repressing anti-apartheid In a public apology for numerous acts in 2006, Vlok washed the feet of mothers and widows of men he had played a part in killing.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, while controversially pardoned, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission deftly demonstrated its ability to forgive if one is deemed regretful and admitting of past actions. If viewed from trying to further and act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions goals and creed, Adriaan Vlok was a success. However many people argue that him and others of the 846 that were granted amnesty were not properly dealt justice. In this specific case, Vlok was later jailed for 10 years in 2007 so one could argue that justice was served in the end.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a revolutionary beginning for a reborn South Africa. Through a mutual exchange of incidents from multiple parties, all of which were judged and outcome determined by the same level system, it began to heal a nation previously torn by racial injustice. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission helped to allow the nation to gain acceptance for previous acts and strive to move forward in hopes that the knowledge of past actions will prevent anything similar from happening again.
Adriaan Vlok served as Minister of Law and Order in South Africa during the later years of apartheid from 1986 to 1991. Vlok planned and implemented many radical oppressive procedures, including hit squads, carrying out bombings and assassination of anti-apartheid activists. At the TRC Adriaan Vlok admitted to committing various crimes, including the bombing of the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches at Khotso House, and the COSATU trade union headquarters.
ReplyDeleteWith the case of Vlok the truth and reconciliation commissions demonstrated its ability to forgive a person’s past. But many argued that these people being pardoned were not being properly punished. In the case of Vlok justice was severed in spite of his pardon. In 2006, Vlok came forward with public apologies for a number of acts that he had not disclosed to the TRC, making him eligible for prosecution. Vlok washed the feet of Frank Chikane who was secretary-general of the South African Council of Churches, and had been targeted by Vlok for assassination. He also washed the feet of the ten widows and mothers of the "Mamelodi 10.” In the end Vlok was given a ten-year sentence for his role in the plot for Frank Chikane’s assassination.
The TRC was beneficial for South Africa, people could not simply be asked to forget the loss of their brothers, and the TRC was a way for them to forgive the people who killed their brothers. Vlok’s trial for incomplete disclosure showed a change in South Africa. At his trial of the judge, prosecutors, defense lawyers, defendants, and all the court officials, all but one were Caucasian, and the proceedings were in Afrikaans, but the victim in the case was black. The fact that White South Africans convicted another White man of committing a crime against a black South African shows that South Africa has for the most part dropped all of its prejudices. “Apartheid was wrong. I was involved in a cruel, bloody, revolutionary war for years. I have to accept responsibility for that. My situation is dismal now.” [Adriaan Vlok] This quote from Vlok shows that many white South Africans who committed crimes during the era of Apartheid are willing to accept responsibility for their actions, giving proof that the TRC contributed to unifying South Africa.
The T.R.C. (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) was created after the Apartheid rule of South Africa was dismissed. The purpose of this commission was to give the people that had done bad deeds under the Apartheid government amnesty. The TRC worked like a court room, the “defendant” would tell the members of the TRC his/her story and what he/she did during the Apartheid times. Some were given amnesty, but a vast majority of these people were just sent to jail.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson was one of the few people given amnesty. Under the Apartheid government, he was a spy that left the country to assassinate possible members of the ANC. There were several ANC offices in different countries, and Williamson allegedly infiltrated them and killed the high ranking members. He killed Ruth First, who was an exiled Anti-Apartheid campaign leader, and he also attempted to kill Marius Schoon with a letter bomb. However, the bomb ended up killing Schoon’s wife and daughter instead of him. Williamson was granted amnesty for both of these murders because the TRC believed he was acting only because the Apartheid government made him.
The things the TRC did definitely helped out South Africa, now the government’s cabinet is made up of 12 ANC representatives, and 6 NP representatives. Without the TRC, there would still be conflict between the ANC and NP in post-apartheid South Africa.
Brian Victor Mitchell was one of the many who was given amnesty by the TRC. At a previous trial in 1992 he had been sentenced to death for the murder of eleven individuals. He had also been sentenced to imprisonment for thirty years.
ReplyDeleteHe appealed for amnesty from the TRC for his eleven murders, all of which occurred on one night. He was working under Captain Terblache as a police officer. The goal of that night was to attack UDF activists in New Hanover. The main targets were men from the ages of sixteen to thirty-two. The house of Mr. Mbongwe was to be burned because it had been a storage facility where activists kept petrol bombs along with other weapons.
The police, including Brian Victor Mitchell, traveled in plain clothes and a plain vehicle to launch the surprise attack. The police serving under Brian Victor Mitchell attacked a house killing eleven inside and injuring two others. Although, Brian Victor Mitchell did not partake in the actual event, the police that committed the crimes were to report to him and he knew exactly what was happening.
Soon after the crime was committed, the police found out that the special police under Brian Victor Mitchell had attacked the wrong house and those killed and injured were not the intended victims. Brian Victor Mitchell was granted amnesty from the TRC for his crimes.
The TRC was a powerful tool that healed South Africa after apartheid. The granting of amnesty to individuals, such as Brian Victor Mitchell, helped South Africa forgive. It seems that today South Africa is healed, despite the opposition to the TRC and the fact that not all were granted amnesty or that any were granted amnesty. But even though not everyone believed the TRC to be fair, it showed a balance of benevolence and punishment that helped give the country a good sense of justice. And South Africa is doing well. Since the end of apartheid, South Africa’s economic growth has been tremendous, although poverty and HIV/AIDS are major issues there.
Rowland Keith Robinson was one of the many individuals who were granted amnesty by the T.R.C. Robinson was accused of many things, including: bombing the Perdektop School in the district of Volksrust, possession of explosives, manufacture of explosives, possession of machine guns and ammunition, supplying explosives at Hendrina, possession of unlicensed firearms, and illegal possession of ammunition.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that Robinson did all of these illegal and horrible things, I would think that he would be refused amnesty. To me, apologizing for one small mistake is acceptable, but just saying that you are sorry for doing many horrible things and not really meaning it is totally different. He somehow got past the T.R.C. by saying that he knows now, that what he did in the past was wrong and he thought it was the right thing to do. Even if he sounded like he meant it and that he was really sorry, I would think to ask him, “Why would you think that bombing schools and selling weapons (so that more people could die) was the right thing to do?” Even back then in those days, the people must have known the difference between right and wrong.
Even though the T.R.C. made some questionable calls on granting amnesty to people who were sorry for their crimes, it was a good point for the start of a new beginning. Because of the T.R.C., the people who thought that they would always be considered a “criminal” finally had a say in what made them do those crimes. This means that the T.R.C. gave a voice to everyone so that they could express their own opinion or story without being judged. It also allowed South Africa to move forward in its history, which began to erase the differences in color and race and start a new beginning.
When somebody is granted amnesty for a crime of robbery or even murder, it can raise many questions and create much controversy. During apartheid, crime, unfortunately, was very present. A person could testify infront of the TRC, proving that their crime was merely birthed from the political disfunction of apartheid. Because of this, they could be granted amnesty. Roland Roy Petrus was a member of what is known as the Three Million Gang. The Gang planned attacks, boycotts, and raids during apartheid. Although the gang was responsible for the deaths of many, the TRC saw Petrus's acts as politically motivated, even gaining the support of the police. Is granting amnesty fair, or is it a free pass to those that are responsible for so many deaths? At first glance it may seem unfair that those who committed such acts could be released as if nothing happened. However, when taking a closer look, you may see that maybe the political state is responsible, and it is unfair that many citizens are paying the consequences for the state of politics. I suppose that it is all personal opinion, but it may be helpful to think of yourself in the situation of a person living during apartheid, and feeling as though it is neccessary to take such actions.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson was one of the many granted amnesty from the TRC in 2000. Williamson was involved in a series of bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, burglaries, and propaganda during the apartheid. In 1970 Williamson was employed as the deputy director for the IUEF (International University Exchange Fund). The IUEF was an international non-governmental organization based in Geneva which helped suffering victims of the system of apartheid and gave scholarships to African Students. By being the deputy director he was able to ban the ANC.
ReplyDeleteWilliamson also participated in bombings and burglaries. He had sent out several letter bombs, such as to Ruth First and Marius Schoon. Marius Schoon was not killed by the letter bomb, but his wife and daughter were, and unforunately Ruth First was killed by the letter bomb. Williamson had applied for amnesty in 1995 from the TRC for the deaths of Schoon’s wife and daughter, the death of Ruth First, and for bombing an office in London.
For people hearing that Craig Williamson received amnesty in 2000 was shocking because he was known to be the most notorious murderers during the apartheid era. After he was granted amnesty he set up his own business. The TRC was a hard and long process to go through, but it helped heal South Africa from the Apartheid government. From the video we watch in class Craig Williamson said that he will probably never feel forgiven by many people, but the TRC helped him and the country start a new beginning.
After the apartheid was terminated, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up by the Government of National Unity. According to the former Minister of Justice, Mr. Dullah Omar, “... a commission is necessary exercise to enable South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of reconciliation.” Out of 7,112 people that requested amnesty, only 849 South Africans were granted it.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson, a former South African police spy, was granted amnesty by the TRC for his past actions. Even though he was defined as ‘one of the most notorious murders of South Africa’ according to Victoria Britain, a journalist. Previously he had ordered people to send letter bombs to those who opposed the government and killed Ruth First, Jeanette Schoon, and her six-year-old daughter, Katryn. He initially meant to send the bomb to Jeanette’s husband, Marius, however his plan backfired and ended up killing Marius' family. He also took part in many burglaries, such as the one which happened at the Pat Africanist Congress office in London, and even tried to kidnap the entire ANC leadership. He, as well as many others, was granted amnesty simply due to the fact that the government believed that he only acted that way and committed those crimes because he was 'forced' to by the apartheid government. Many others were not granted amnesty only because the TRC believed that they did those crimes on their own without any influence from the corrupt government.
Some people were angry since they believed that some of the people who were not granted amnesty should have been. Others believe that the lack of capital punishment for people who have committed murders and other terrible crimes were basically just getting away with it. However, it was a healing process to South Africa especially after the apartheid and it brought a calming effect to the country. The TRC led to better equality between whites and blacks and led to the recreation their new governmental system, which consisted of both races.
From July to September of 1981, the world witnessed a momentously catastrophic event. The South Afrrican rugby team, Springbok toured the New Zeland continent, in an epic mission to prove themselves as the worlds greatest rugby team. Although a sports based event, this tournament spread the issues of the Aparthied over seas. This event transfrerd the controveries of the segregrational issues of South Africa, and in effect, began corrupting other lands. New Zeland, wanted the South Africans to come and tour their island in order to prove themselves as the worlds greatest rugby team, and prove their dominance. However the racist and segregational ideas, weren't accepted everywhere in the world, and specifically New Zealand. And this resulted negatively in several ways. First, South Africa was banned from the 1984 Olympic games. Also, in may of 1981, a group of 150 athletes, from 22 different countries, including over 60 americans, came together for the first Anti-Apartheid United Nations meeting. Notables of attendance include PGA professional Gary Player.
ReplyDeletePart 1:
ReplyDeleteThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to help deal with the horrific events that occurred under the Apartheid rule. During the Apartheid era, acts of domestic violence, and human rights violations occurred consistently, from both the white and black community. The Truth and Reconciliation commission( or TRC) consisted of a trial process in which defendants pleaded for forgiveness from something they did during the Apartheid era. The TRC was said to be "a Committee on Human Rights Violations, a Committee on Amnesty
and a Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation". However the TRC didn't give amnesty to everybody.
In 1996 Nicolaas Willem de Jongh went before the truth and reconciliation commission to speck about what he had done. Nicolaas Willem de Jongh, was a Commandant in the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging. He assisted two other members of that organization to bomb two homes. The first bombing took place during the night of August 13, 1993 at the house of Wiseman Zitembile Sana and the second occurred the next night of at the house of Johnson Dumile Sateni. Fortunately, the bombing only caused property damage and no one was injured. On the 28th of July 1998 he was granted amnesty.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, because no one was hurt I believe that granting amnesty was the correct decision. Even though I was not there and didn’t see how Nicolaas presented his story I would also grant him freedom. If I was on the committee I would suggest that Nicolaas would have to confront those people and say he was sorry, pay 20% of the damages he produced with the bomb, and spend a certain amount of time in jail-6 months.
The truth and reconciliation commission overall was a success because it aloud the victims and the family of the victims to get closure. They got to hear the truth about the events and who committed them. It allowed South Africa as a whole to repair the damage it had done. Even though the TRC couldn’t undo the events or how people felt about them, it let people come together but races and share their experiences. This let all of South Africa come out of the dark years of Apartheid. However, the TRC granted amnesty to those, in my mind that did not deserve it. It allowed people that murdered, bombed, and assaulted many people go free. Though, those people many have sorry for what they did they should be punished. No matter how you were raised you should have the common sense to understand that killing a human being is wrong.
The TRC was set up to stabilize South Africa. It faced the problem head on and addressed it with forgiveness, rather than ignoring it. Ntobeko Peni was convicted of murdering Amy Biehl in 1993 along with three other youths. She was an American Fulbright scholar working in South Africa against Apartheid. She was beaten and stabbed in a black township near Cape Town. In 1998, the four were given amnesty by the TRC, after serving four years in prison. Ntobeko Peni now works for the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust in Cape Town, a charity which dedicates its work to putting up barriers against violence.
ReplyDeleteThe TRC were very careful when they granted amnesty to people. They made sure the people regretted their past actions. They only granted amnesty to 849 people, which proves how much thought was put into the amnesty, and the people whom they gave it to truly felt sorry for their actions. Some people would argue that too many people were pardoned for their horrendous deeds and they should have be punished further. Families might have been hurt worse knowing that the murderer of their son/daughter/husband/wife/mother/father had been released from prison because he felt bad about it. Some people might have put on the facade of feeling guilty in order to leave prison early.
In my opinion, the TRC unified South Africa and brought it forward, truly making in the “Rainbow Nation” Those in the National Party were not discriminated against, and those affected by Apartheid were given the opportunity to share their stories. Today, the government’s cabinet is made up of 12 ANC representatives, and 6 NP representatives. The nation has less racial discrimination thanks to the TRC who healed the wound of the Apartheid.
During Apartheid, the social pressures of various groups led to many citizens making statements and taking actions they would not have otherwise. The inequalities in favor of a small portion of the population led to many potentially non-political South Africans becoming political.
ReplyDeleteOne such newly motivated citizen was Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada. He was convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment on June 12, 1964. He was an active member and leader of the African National Congress at the time of his crime and, since his crime was politically motivated, he was given amnesty by the TRC on May 24th, 1999. He was not pardoned for all of his crimes, however. Kathrada was not freed of responsibility for his leadership role in the African National Congress because some of the crimes the ANC committed were not directly political.
I believe granting amnesty to individuals who had solely political motives had more of a healing effect for the country of South Africa than doing nothing would have. In absolving political criminals of their crimes, South Africa was able to move out of that period in history without pretending that it never happened. The chaos and pressures of Apartheid led to many committing criminal acts they never would have otherwise and giving them amnesty was a way of shortening the effects of Apartheid as well.
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ReplyDeleteThe Truth and Reconciliation Committee granted Vusi Thokozani Manqele amnesty. He applied for amnesty for his murdering of Emmanuel Bhengu in July 1991. Manqele was walking to the store to purchase beer for his friend’s bar. Emmanuel Bhengu’s house was on the road that led to the store, and Vusi Thokozani Manqele knew Bhengu by way of his Spaza Shop. When Manqele was walking back to the tavern, he observed that the lights were on in Bhengu’s home, and decided to enter and shoot Emmanuel Bhengu, an ANC chairperson. This was not a premeditated crime. He justified his actions with the 1987 bombings of his home. In these bombings, his home was destroyed, and his cousin and her son were killed. The conflict between the ANC and IFP intensified, and since he was a known IFP supporter, his home was bombed. In addition, ANC members shot an additional cousin in 1988. The court concluded that political factors motivated his actions, and granted him amnesty. While I sympathize Manqele’s rage against the ANC, I believe it was wrong for him to attack and murder Emmanuel Bhengu while he was a “sitting duck”.
ReplyDeleteThe Truth and Reconciliation Committee was vital to South Africa’s transformation after the fall of the apartheid government. It consisted of three subcommittees: Human Rights Violations Committee, Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee, and the Amnesty Committee. The TRC was a platform for all of those South Africans who were wronged by apartheid to share their stories and air their grievances. The previously unknown wrongdoings of apartheid were exposed. The act of uncovering all the crimes hopefully helped the world learn from South Africa’s mistakes and prevented similar situations. Many citizens told their stories, which was helpful in gaining closure and moving South Africa forward into the future. The TRC helped South Africa live by the motto: “the truth will set us free.” In South Africa, HIV/AIDS has increased and some still experience horrendous living conditions. Though South Africa is not perfect, the TRC helped South Africa begin the long healing process and was an arena for the horrors of apartheid to be shared, documented, and learnt from.
In an effort to recover from Apartheid, the South African government set up the Truth and Reconciliation commission, or TRC. The TRC was quite similar to a modern day courtroom. However, instead of the defendant fighting the promise of going to jail for his/her actions, the “defendant” in the TRC was fighting for forgiveness for those actions. The TRC was very careful not to grant amnesty to anyone who did not show true remorse for what they had done. So, during the defendants “testimony” he/she would tell the story the story of all the crimes they committed and also say why they were wrong and show true regret for their actions.
ReplyDeleteIn 1995 Craig Williamson appeared before the TRC to beg immunity from his bombing of the ANC headquarters in London on March 12, 1982. He and other South African security police, armed with nerve gas, jumped the back fence and left a bag full of explosives in an office and detonated them at 9:00AM that morning. The building, however, was completely empty except for one man, who sustained only minor injuries. Craig was perhaps the most notorious murderer of the Apartheid period. He is given credit for several other murders, such as that of Ruth First. Williamson allegedly sent her a package in the mail, which contained a bomb.
Normally the TRC would not grant amnesty for crimes not committed for political reasons. But, in Williamson’s testimony he stated that the bomb was in fact not addressed to Ruth, but her husband, Joe Slovo. Joe was a key member of the military strategy devised by the ANC. This therefore classifies Williamson’s crime as a legitimate political one.
More than 4 years later, Williamson was finally granted amnesty. This caused huge outrage in the South African community because Williamson was generally thought of as a cold-blooded murderer rather than a political activist.
The truth and Reconciliation commission was put in place after the fall of apartheid in South Africa in order to make amends or allow South Africa to see itself in the mirror. Trials were held where people were allowed to confess to crimes they had committed, and if those crimes were caused by apartheid then that person could be granted amnesty. This was supposed to heal the wounds of South Africans who had committed crimes that were caused by a sincere lack of justice.
ReplyDeleteOne man named Adriaan Smuts testified in August 1996 to the TRC. He was involved in an attack of a bus full of black people and part of a group, which was anti PAC. Originally in 1991 he was sentenced to death for murdering 7 people, attempting to murder 28 people and for being in possession of unlicensed weapons. The sentence was later changed to 25 years in jail. In his testimony it talks of how he received orders from a higher-ranking officer of whom he trusted and obeyed. He talked about how he shot the bus full of black people because they (PAC) shot white people first. The complex situation had to do with both PAC hatred and racial hatred and revengeful actions. Mr. Smuts was in a pressured situation where he believed he was doing the right thing. He was defending his people the Boers. Though his weapons were not his he used them anyway to fight for what apartheid made him believe was right.
Adriaan Smuts was granted amnesty and was released from jail. I believe that he could have had his sentence lightened but I do not believe that he should just walk. He still killed 7 people. No matter for what reason he should be punished. The people whose family members died had to suffer, and the killer should suffer too. It takes two to argue but perhaps Smuts had no choice. He had been in jail during this time so perhaps he did need to be let go. His people were hurt too and it was the fault of the government. He got to make amends, free his burdened past, start anew in the new South Africa.
TRC I think did good things for South Africa. It might not have solved all of the problems but it certainly helped the post apartheid nation. It allowed for forgiveness, reflection and rebirth for new South Africans. It allowed the deep wounds to heal, not to disappear, but to heal.
The Truth and reconciliation commission was a court that was created in South Africa after the apartheid was abolished. The court was designed to allow people who have been victims of gross human rights during the apartheid to give statements about their experiences some were also selected to give public hearings. Some also came to request amnesty for crimes they may have committed during the apartheid. They were granted amnesty as long as the story was believable and can be connected to the apartheid one way or another. The TRC lasted for many years, however less then half of the people who requested amnesty were not permitted amnesty possibly because the crimes were to great, but also it was just a way to get rid of the voice inside your head saying that they didn’t something wrong. The TRC was a great way for the country to start recovering from the effects of the apartheid because it started off with the entire white community seeing how the black community was treated during the apartheid. After the TRC ended the country slowly started becoming less and less racist and they were accepted by other nations once again.
ReplyDeleteThe TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) was a court-like structure that was set up in South Africa after the fall of apartheid. It was meant to help the country as a healing process by listening to others struggles and bad deeds. Many people who committed awful crimes during Apartheid were given amnesty, as the court deemed their crimes forgivable.
ReplyDeleteOne of the people who received amnesty was Petrus Casparus Snyders. Snyders was on trail for the attempted murders of unknown ANC members in two countries. He relates that one of his “missions” was aborted because of unforeseen circumstances. The other mission was also a failure, as the bomb never went off, according to Snyders, who assumes it didn’t work because he did not hear any explosions.
Although Snyders did not commit any real crime he still attempted to commit murder, twice. On this decision I do not agree with the TRC as this man would have committed murder if he was asked and if the missions were not aborted he would be a murder today. If he felt any remorse for his “almost deeds,” I would agree more with the TRC but in his trail he did not mention his feelings about what he almost did. This makes me feel like he never cared what he did.
This is one case that I don’t agree with. The TRC had many people, both black and white, come in front of them to tell their stories. These stories could have been about murder, death, stealing and any others that related to apartheid. Some people that got amnesty didn’t deserve amnesty but there are some people who did. I believe that the TRC was a great healing event in South Africa because it showed the country that they were not alone in the struggles, the remorse and guilt. The TRC showed South Africa that to heal the wounds of Apartheid that they needed to lean on each other’s shoulders, be it black or white. The TRC has been so successful in South Africa that many other countries have tried their style of forgiveness, though with less affect.
Even with the TRC there is still tensions in South Africa. The Africans are very patient and were willing to wait for their freedom but there is still some hatred between the “whites” and the “blacks” of South Africa. There is also a big difference in life styles that is clearly left from Apartheid. Even though it didn’t heal everything I feel that the TRC helped. It helped make the rift smaller but there is still more work to be done until the rift is closed completely. It is now the peoples job to help close the gap, we just need to work hard towards a country that is truly a rainbow.
Mr. Hlobo was a ANC marshal who gave the order for and participated in the brutal attack of four passengers within a vehicle. Mr. Hlobo first asked the passengers why they had come. They told him they had come looking for shebeen and women. Mr. Hlobo then asked if they carried guns. They answered no. Mr. Hlobo then proceeded to order all of his comrades nearby to kill the people in the car. Mr. Hlobo requested amnesty for the four lives he had ordered and participated in ending. Mr. Hlobo, in his defense, claims that he gave the order because of the high tension of the time. He had been told earlier that people were planning to attack the comrades. He told the committee that he had thought that the comrades should attack first to protect themselves. He was overly suspicious and capricious and did not think clearly before he sentenced the innocent, unarmed people in the car. The TRC refused Mr. Hlobo’s plea for amnesty. They say he had no reason to believe that the people in the vehicle had come to attack the comrades. They said otherwise and carried no guns. Mr. Hlobo was denied his amnesty, but was this ruling just?
ReplyDeleteThe truth is, no one will ever know. The people of South Africa, whether they were fighting for or against Apartheid, were all under enormous strain and almost crazed with the desire for what they believed was equality. Each person did things they would not normally do and killed when they should have talked. Mr. Hlobo is one example of someone who was overly suspicious and acted without thinking it through. Innocent people paid the price for his capriciousness. Still, Mr. Hlobo could have, on the other hand, had ill motives and ordered the killing for other reasons. Was apartheid responsible? Yes, but not directly. Apartheid caused a lot of anger and jealousy between the two groups of people. How people chose to channel their anger and jealousy, however, is completely dependent on them. The people who killed don’t deserve pardon. They should live with the consequences for their wrongdoings.
However, amnesty was given not so the individuals who had hurt and killed could heal, but so South Africa could heal. People were forgiving each other. They were listening and forgiving. They might not have forgiven the individuals who asked for amnesty specifically, but they forgave the group of people those individuals represented. This allowed the people of South Africa to unite for the first time in history.
Therefore, I believe the handing out of amnesty was justified because of the overall healing it allowed South Africa to commence in, whether the individuals deserved pardon or not.
In 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) granted amnesty to Phineas Ndlovu. Mr. Ndlovu was previously charged with assault from a prior incident that occurred at Daveyton in November 1985. His sentencing was seven strokes with a light cane. Ndlovu was seventeen years old at the time of the incident and a member of the Daveyton Youth Congress and the Daveyton Student's Congress. According to Ndlovu, during November, he and a group of his friends were shot at by police, resulting in the death of one of his friends. Ndlovu and the rest of the group took the deceased to a nearby house, but the police had come to arrest them. Ndlovu resisted arrest and eventually punched one of the policemen, resulting in his assault charge. During the amnesty hearing, Ndlovu asserted that he was justified in punching the policemen, and that at the time, the police were considered enemies.
ReplyDeleteI was not surprised at all that Ndlovu was granted amnesty after reading about his incident. I believe, in Ndlovu’s case, granting him amnesty has showed how fair the TRC is. Clearly, Mr Ndlovu was wronged and was lucky to make it out that situation alive. The TRC has shown that it is reasonable and puts much thought into each case that is presented. Ndlovu’s case proves that those who were wrongfully treated or misjudged because of their “crimes” can have a chance for justice.
However, not every case was as clear as Mr. Ndlovu’s case was. 849 cases have been granted amnesty, and this have caused people to question the ethics of the TRC. The people believe that without ethics South Africa in no different than it was before the Apartheid was overthrown. Regardless, the TRC was a fresh start for South Africa and gave the people a chance to put the horrors of Apartheid behind them, allowing them to move forward and rebuild their country.
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ReplyDeleteIsaac Ntoka was a memeber of the ANC. He was involved in a group that patrolled the community to protect it from attacks by members of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). On August 21, 1992 he and his fellow patrollers met a male wearing an IFP shirt and carrying a spear. Though the man did not attack them, Ntoka, along with one other person, shot the man and killed him. The group proceded to burn his body. During this period, it was also illegally in possession of the firearm. Between 1992 and 1993, he was also involved in a large group of people who burnt down the homes of several IFP members. Mr. Ntoka was granted amnesty in 2000.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mr. Ntoka should have been granted amnesty and that the court made the right decision. If he recalled the events fully and honestly and he isn’t the type of person who would obviously commit an act like this again (essentially that he shows remorse), then he should be freed. He showed that he had learned his lesson and was essentially caught up in a group that was passionate in the heat of the country’s situation then he should be freed. If a person feels threatened by another group or person who is carrying a weapon, normally they wouldn’t kill them. However, in a country with such hatred and chaos, it is only human nature to be caught up in such passion that one might act the way they normally wouldn’t.
The TRC was a brilliant idea and it greatly helped to revive a country that had once seemed hopeless in fear and hatred. However, that isn’t to say that it wasn’t flawed. The TRC (and the court system in general) was not liberal enough. After reading some of the cases (both refused and granted), it is hard to say that any one person was acting completely on behalf of a political organization. I believe that all of the killings, though possibly conducted by people working for a group such as the ANC, were under the heat of some sort of passion that was created by the hatred and fear from nearly all people in the country. If we are to say that people can be released because they were working for a particular “group” or “organization,” isn’t it also understandable to say that that “group” or “organization” was also working (unofficially as it may be) on behalf of most white or black people in the country? Even if someone isn’t working on behalf of one particular organization, aren’t they simply working towards the same goal? In the case of Michael Phillip Luff, a member of the South African Police at the time, Luff shot a black man who was running away from the police. It seems as though Luff may have had even more reason to shoot. He was chasing after what he considered to be a dangerous man who was running away from officials (for no particular reason aside from fear). At the time, he was working on behalf of what he considered a good organization. However, so was Ntoka. Neither men were attacked and both killed another man. Both were acting in the heat of the passion that had enveloped the country. All people that presented their full stories to the TRC should have been released so long as they weren’t obvious racists at the moment and weren’t considered dangerous people. The TRC had one idea right: we can’t cure hatred by slapping people and locking them up. However, it failed to recognize that this TEMPORARY hatred that was caused due to the STATE OF FEAR AND HATRED (that has died out in the hearts of most people in South Africa) in the country was present in nearly ALL people and that these “organizations” that it recognizes are all really just fake.
The case I chose was the “TRC AMNESTY DECISION ON THE DEATH OF STEVE BIKO”1. Steven Biko, the leader of the “Black Consciousness Movement.” died in 1977. The official statement the Apartheid government made was that Steven Biko committed suicide. An autopsy proved the statement false. Biko had several large head wounds and was proven to be clubbed and beaten to death.
ReplyDeleteThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard the cases of the four men involved with the murder: “Major Harold Snyman who led the investigation team that interrogated Biko, Daniel Petrus Siebert, a former bodyguard to Prime Minister B.J. Vorster, Jacobus Johannes Oosthuysen Beneke, and the 76-year-Rubin Marx”2
The TRC decided that the men should not be granted amnesty because they did not meet and fulfill the requirements. Steven Biko’s murder was decided to not be politically driven. The accused did not fully disclose the happenings during the event.
The men were denied amnesty and sentenced to jail.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission allowed South Africa to forgive the men and women that had murdered their parents, siblings, spouses, and children. Before South Africa can move on to a brighter future, its inhabitants must apologize and forgive one another. The TRC was a wonderful success it many regards but did not fix the problems completely. You can replace someone’s house or wealth but not their husband or wife. Many South Africans still have problems overcoming that. South Africa is still recovering from the darkness of its past and moving on to the vista of tomorrow.
1,2 : "TRC AMNESTY DECISION ON DEATH OF STEVE BIKO." South African Government Information. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. .
On August 14, 1996, Hendrik Jacobus Steyn was tried at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In a country struggling to heal the deep scars left by apartheid, the two racial groups struggled to atone and forgive. During the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the severe human rights violations were pardoned if the committer expressed deep regret for the deed and acted under the influence of the former government.
ReplyDeleteAt that time, Steyn was a detective warrant officer in the South African Police whose main area of focus was murder and robbery. He had been specially trained in combatting terrorism and preserving internal security and peace. However, the ANC/PAC/UDF, were all considered liberal, terrorist organizations. The government had attempted to suppress these groups by placing banning them. This took all the human rights from the people associated with these organizations. Steyn’s responsibiities as an officer required him to “combat onslaughts” from the ANC and other “terrorist organizations”. Steyn was a supporter od the IFP and he and his fellow officers took matters of terrorism very seriously. One gang they were dealing with was extremely notorious for committing 21 murders, 35 attempted murders, arson, public violence, armed robbery, housebreaking, and theft. These crimes were all directly focused upon members of the IFP. Steyn acknowledged that the government at the time was in favor of the IFP over the ANC and unjustly bestowed preferential benefits upon the prior. This triggered a “total onslaught against the ANC.”
On the morning of the incident, Steyn was reporting to the scene of a crime. A fellow police officer had been killed by two gang leaders and powerful ANC advocates. The shooters had been apprehended and while being transported to the hospital, came across Steyn. Steyn believed that the two men would be a threat to society if they were to escape from the hospital. He decided to take matters into his own hands on impulse. He directed his coworkers to haul the two freedom fighters from the car and shoot them. He then instructed all witnesses to claim that the two men had died on the way to the hospital.
It was later confirmed, after a search of the deceased’s houses, that they were in possession of an AK47 and several petrol bombs.
Hendrik Steyn was granted amnesty and expresses sincere apologies to the next of kin of both men.
Granting amnesty to the National Party was a good decision for the future of South Africa. It is much easier to wreak vengeance upon all those who have done wrong but that would make the ANC just as wrong as the oppressors. The ability to forgive and move forward is precious because it instills a feeling of unity post-apartheid. The foreign invaders that ruled over the natives apologized and the natives forgave them. All thus, uniting them under the same name, South Africans. Post-apartheid, South Africa has developed a successful economy and fair government (a very noteworthy accomplishment considering that many African countries battle with corruption).
Craig Williamson was one of the people granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Williamson was a former police spy and assassin during apartheid South Africa. Some people were outraged that he would be granted amnesty because of the horrible murders that he committed. The TRC granted Williamson amnesty because they believed his story and they said he was forced by the apartheid government to murder those people and be a spy. The TRC would grant amnesty to most people who said that they were coerced by the apartheid government to do something.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the TRC helped South Africa positively because it helped to get innocent people out of prison and gave them the chance to testify before a court. Even though some people did not like that certain people were granted amnesty, the TRC helped to create better equality between whites and blacks. The TRC helped to heal South Africa’s wounds from the previous apartheid government.
The TRC, Truth and Reconciliation, was created after the termination of apartheid in South Africa. The purpose was to allow those affected by apartheid share their stories, and also to allow those sentenced with crimes testify. The TRC was presented like a courtroom, where the defendant would state his or her case, and then request amnesty. Although only 849 were actually granted amnesty, this was an opportunity for everyone affected by apartheid let their voices be heard.
ReplyDeleteAn example is forty-four year old Adriaan Smuts, who was previously convicted by the Supreme Court, and sentenced to death for seven charges of murder, and twenty-eight charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. However, his punishment was already reduced to twenty-five years of imprisonment. To justify his crime, he protested it was pure revenge of a previous offence of blacks attacking whites on a beachfront. Although he was sorry people had to get hurt in order for him to express his views, is the path to peace from both black and white prospective simply by means of killing and destruction?
The controversy with the TRC is that some people don’t believe that those who committed crimes should be let off without punishment. Since the number of deaths was so high, it was likely almost everyone had a close companion or relative die. However, some also argue that the TRC was advancement for South Africa, as it was a way for the effected people to clear their conscious, and move forward in the development of a peaceful nation.
John Heenan.
ReplyDeleteThe South African Truth and Reconciliation commission was established following the abolishment of Apartheid to aid in the healing of the country. The commission established that many individuals were acting for political reasons, and many were granted pardons for their actions during Apartheid. Of the 7,112 persons who applied for amnesty from the commission, 849 were granted amnesty and 5,392 were refused it, with some falling into other categories. One individual who was granted amnesty was Brian Victor Mitchell. Mitchell was a Police Constable who rose through the ranks, and was eventually appointed as the captain of Riot Unit 8. Mitchell was aware of black separatist groups in the area he was policing. He decided that the best course of action was to weaken the already flimsy leadership structure in the area. He ordered 4 Special Constables to enter an area where the leadership was believed to be and assassinate them. He also ordered them to arson a house that was believed to hold petrol bombs and arms used by the UDF. The officers entered the area at night. They wore civilian clothes and drove in unmarked cars. They were not recognized in the area. They proceeded to enter the house and killed 11 people, injuring two more. They also torched the house. It was later discovered that they had assaulted the wrong house, and police leadership began a hasty and ill-conceived cover up. This failed, and the officers responsible were later tried, following the fall of Apartheid. They were pardoned by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Mitchell testified before the commission, and he was pardoned, with the belief that he had omitted no relevant details and was politically motivated. He had previously had his sentence commuted from multiple life sentences to 30 years. This was further commuted by the Commission, and he was pardoned. It should be noted that he attempted to make recompense with the persons he had killed, and that he was not physically present when the killings took place. Nonetheless, he is responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians, as he ordered the operation that took their lives. While he is largely responsible for the deaths, he was motivated politically. It can be demonstrated that the actions of the TRC had a positive impact on the people of South Africa, and national unity. It should be noted that the hearings were originally meant to be held without the presence of cameras, but many organizations intervened, insisting that the hearings be televised. A study that was conducted following the findings of the commission shows that it had a largely positive impact, and all South Africans felt that it helped national unity. However, Afrikaners felt that it had the least positive effect, while the Xhosa felt that the hearings were very effective. This demonstrates that the country restored some sense of national unity through the hearings, and thus has helped progress in post apartheid South Africa.
One of the many cases heard by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was that of Craig Williamson, former spy and assassin for the apartheid government. Williamson was involved in several bombings of overseas ANC offices as well as several assassinations of leaders of the anti-apartheid movement such as Ruth First, who he killed with a letter bomb, and Marius Schoon, who actually avoided death but whose wife and daughter were killed by the letter bomb meant for him. Williamson was eventually granted amnesty by the TRC for his crimes due to his belief that what he was doing at the time was for the good of South Africa and for his seemingly sincere grief over what he had done.
ReplyDeleteThe TRC was an enormous force of good and healing in post-apartheid Africa. There was a lot of pent up anger and resentment after the end of apartheid, and with the TRC people could share their stories and thus both sides were able to begin to understand the motives of the other and forgive each other. For example, in the case of Craig Williamson, many people hated him for what he had done, and while he was still despised by many after his TRC hearing, the trial helped people to understand and forgive what he had done in the name of a stable South Africa. So while the TRC may not have seen "justice" served, as it pardoned many who might otherwise have been imprisoned for many years, the release of a few potential criminals was definitely worth the great healing and unifying effect the TRC had on South Africa.
Mabhungu Absolom Dladla and his friend Nkanyiso Wilfred Ndlovu were both applicants for amnesty in the South African TRC in 1998. Both men were charged with the murder of ten people and the attempted murder of six others. The two men attacked a mini bus of ANC activists and killed each passenger in the raid. The men pleaded that the killings and attempted murders they committed were due to their being in an emotionally confusing position. The men were in an insecure emotional state when they committed the offenses because their associations, Inkathas, had previously been attacked. As a result of the violent tussle, members of the men’s family were killed by ANC members. However the men were not under any outside influences when they performed the crimes; it was their personal judgement and their actions that are accountable for the offenses. One of the two men was also convicted with the illegal possession of loaded firearms and ammunition. The man charged with illegal possessions and murder was sentenced to sixty eight years and six months and the other 60 years in prison. On top of that, the men were ordered a death sentence. Later, after confessing and apologizing, both men were granted amnesty by the commission.
ReplyDeleteI believe that when someone sits themself in a position where they control someone’s life and future (especially in South Africa at the time) by deciding whether a persons sins can be forgiven, they must take that responsibility seriously and really think through each and every angle of each and every situation. I honestly think that in the case of Mabhungu Absolom Dladla and Nkanyiso Wilfred Ndlovu, amnesty was the wrong decision. I understand that at the time, many people were experiencing inner confusion and had to fight with numerous thoughts running through their heads for years on end. However, I do not understand why two men who are responsible for taking the lives of ten (who are at the end of the day fighting alongside them) and terribly abusing six others should be forgiven. The men’s actions in my mind were not at all justified; for though revenge is a natural human emotion, killing ten and hurting more is extremely unnecessary and barbaric. I believe no simple confession should be enough to clean a man’s hand of ten murders and physical offenses whether the person granting amnesty is trying to heal a nation or not.
South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee granted amnesty to numerous African people and denied amnesty to a great less. It brought peace, hope and healing to the nation and broke down certain barriers and tensions. It helped restore confidence and personal worth to destroyed and bothered people. Overall, the TRC was a big picture success since these were their goals. Yet I will never quite concede how South Africans found it okay to always push aside even unimaginable wrongs with one swift apology, while denying amnesty to others who had committed sometimes less crimes but offered less apology.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a court created after the apartheid to allow those affected by apartheid to apologize for their actions, the had the power to either grant amnesty to those who confessed what they had done or reject their request for forgiveness. There was a total of 7,112 cases that were heard by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; however, only 849 of the cases that were heard were granted amnesty.
ReplyDeleteOne example of a hearing that was granted amnesty was a man named Phila Martin Dolo. The hearing took place in the year 1998, even though he was charged on December 9th, 1994. His charges consisted of one account of murder, two charges for attempted murder, illegal possession of machine guns, illegal possession of ammunition for a machine gun, possession of an explosive, and illegal possession of grenades. Phila Martin Dolo was in possession of these firearms because of his attempted bombing of the Yeoville Police Station. In total, the amount of time he was sentenced to in jail was a lifetime sentence along with 50 years. He was granted amnesty for the failed bombing attempt at the Yeoville Police Station and for the weaponry he carried on that day, May 30th, 1993, along with the other charges he had accumulated.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was definitely a beneficial idea to help aid those affected by the apartheid. If someone was truly sorry and wanted to confess their intensions for any crime or act of violence they committed they were given the opportunity to do so; however, there was still the possibility for some people to be heard and not be sorry for their wrongdoings. Overall, this allowed for the healing of the South African nation that was being searched for after the apartheid.
Brian Victor Mitchell was one of the 849 South Africans who was given amnesty for the crimes they committed during Apartheid from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Mitchell was working for the police, beginning in 1975. He was trained to put a stop to any rioting or opposition to government, yet he claimed that when they did initiate riots/fights with people against apartheid, it was because they honestly believed those people were the enemy.
ReplyDelete“The ANC/UDF was not looked upon as being anti-government or anti-State, but as the enemy. The IFP was regarded as an ally of the Government and was therefore to be assisted in its fight against the ANC/UDF,” (www.justice.gov.za).
It is truly sickening, appalling, and overly depressing to have it admitted before the commission that the peaceful, patient, innocent natives of Africa were, in actuality, viewed as enemies; hated by most people who imperialized there. Dreadfully, Brian Victor Mitchell was a part of this disgusting racial separation and confesses that during his time as a police officer in South Africa, he, without questioning the morality of the situation, took part in murdering eleven people and critically injuring two others. As stated in his trial records, he was ordered to burn down a house of an ANC/UDF supporter.
“Their instructions were to target male persons between the ages of 16 and 35 years who were involved in the political violence in the area. Applicant says that he instructed the Special Constables to burn down the house of Mr Mbongwe, because that house had been used by the activists to store petrol bombs and other weapons,” (www.justice.gov.za).
The most horrible part about this case is that Mitchell and his other police officers realized after they committed arson that they had burned down the wrong house!!! Eleven people who may or may not have even been involved in anti-apartheid matters were murdered that day, and two other innocent citizens were severely wounded.
“Within a short while after the incident, it was discovered that the Special Constables had attacked the wrong house and that the people who were killed and injured, were not the intended victims,” (www.justice.gov.za).
Brian Victor Mitchell was freed from his original death sentence or 30 year imprisonment even after the awful, horrific injustices he committed against other humans. The TRC had seemed to forgive him for the things he did in the past, yet his previous actions can never be undone. Those eleven guiltless humans will never come back no matter how many times Mitchell apologizes. It is extremely hard to get one’s mind around the fact that the TRC seriously “let him go” after what he did to other individuals. Even though it’s hard to imagine that it’s possible for murders to be completely forgiven of their vicious, heartless crimes, this definitely brought good and peace to South Africa. The TRC and Nelson Mandela truly understood (probably better than I do) that if they sought out revenge on all the pro-apartheid people, there would never be peace again in this country. They knew that you just cannot fight fire with fire to revive and restore a broken nation. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in fact proved that they had the much, much, much bigger heart and successfully reunited the country after the gross racial separation by allowing all South Africans to be able to seek amnesty.
Source:
http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/decisions/1996/961209_mitchell.htm
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (or TRC) was set up by the new South African government as a way to help settle certain events that took place during The Apartheid. Te idea was that people could granted amnesty (a pardon) if they justified their reasons for committing the crime(s) that they were asking forgiveness for. Not everybody, however, would be granted amnesty. Only those who had a good reason had the chance to be (such as truly believing that they were doing the right thing, or following direct government orders). This eventually became part of a healing process for South Africa, with the idea that those who truly regretted what they had done and sincerely apologized would be spared. Because of the above requirements for being granted amnesty, just under 850 people were granted amnesty out of the over 7,000 people who requested it (those who did not get it were either jailed or given “community service”) and the last case was closed in 1998.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson was one of the lucky few who was granted amnesty his crimes included kidnappings, assassinations, burglaries, and bombings. He applied for amnesty in 1995 and, much to everybody’s surprise, was granted it. Though many believed that he should have been jailed for his crimes the people he was tried before were convinced that he only committed these crimes because he was forced to by the government at the time.
South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission inspired other countries to try out this new method of helping smooth out wrinkles in the nation’s fabric of history including Liberia and Chile. However, the other counties attempts have been met with only partial success.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid for a sole purpose: bringing closure to apartheid, its victims, and even to those who may have profited from the system; in short, to all South Africans. This purpose was accomplished in two ways. The first way was that people who had suffered gross human rights abuses could come before the the TRC and make their suffering heard. The second function performed by the TRC was nearer that of a court; the TRC heard cases and granted amnesty to some who had performed acts, often human rights violations, that both had been politically motivated and also were now much regretted. This was very much controversial, both in its time and in ours. One example of an amnesty case that came before the TRC was the case of Craig Williamson.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson was a spy and police major under the apartheid government. He was accused of burglary, infiltration, arms trafficking, bombing, kidnapping, assassinations, among other things. He applied for amnesty to the TRC in 1995. The crime he applied for amnesty for was the bombing of the offices of the African National Congress (ANC) in London. The ANC, after hearing his case, decided to grant him amnesty. Williamson’s actions were, at the time, not only legitimized by the apartheid government, but actually ordered by it. They were in essence political. Williamson showed regret for his actions and also expressed that he had thought that he was doing the right thing, as he had been told.
Many have condemned the TRC as a poor excuse for justice; a sham that only served to let criminals who worked under the apartheid government off the hook. Regardless of the justice of individual cases, the effects of the TRC were striking. The new South African government had avoided the usual criminalization and damnation of the previous government, and indeed of South Africa’s White population as a whole. There was no repeat of the Nuremberg Trials, and as a consequence there was no backlash from the criminalized population. There was violence, there was conflict, there was tension, and there was hate, but South Africa emerged a nation. A country shaken to its core, fractious and divided, but a country nonetheless and on the path to healing and to unity. This path was smoothed, on the whole, by the TRC. It steamrolled the path ahead, bringing evils of apartheid to light, so that they could no longer be secret shames and angers. It revealed apartheid in all of its ugly truth and said, “This is apartheid. This is our past. This is what happened to me, to my family. This is our history.” It moved apartheid both into the light of truth and into the hands of the past.
Craig Michael Williamson, one of the most disgusting men in South African apartheid era, or even the whole South African history. His nick name, the South African Superspy, that he should be guilty of; instead, he was proud of having this unofficial title. He should not be granted amnesty due to all his violent action such as bombing the ANC office and kidnapping ANC high ranked members. His actions were unforgivable and dangerous. Granting him amnesty would not bring progress to post-apartheid in South Africa, would only bring to negative effects. This man’s soul is not clean, and will never be. He had no sorrow in the actions he had done. In an article of the SA Sunday Time with Craig, which the name of the article was named “The Spy who never came in from the cold”, this guilty man even said "I respect a person who's willing to die for his country, but I admire a person who is prepared to kill for his country.” His dirty soul was filled with bloody and devious thinking. He had no regret for those people he killed or suffered from his bombings, assassinations, burglaries, and kidnappings. He may have no conscience about what he was doing during apartheid era, but at least he should have conscience knowing that he is killing innocent people who were just fighting for their rights. If he does not have any conscience, then he does not deserve living; he would become the “super murder” instead of superspy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there was still one more reason that he does not deserve amnesty. That is, after he was granted for amnesty, BBC’s Tim Sebastian interviewed Craig about the actions he did during apartheid and he said this disgraceful quote to Tim. Craig said the actions he took during the apartheid era had to be seen against the background of the Cold War and were in support of the West. The NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999, he said, killed far more civilians than his dirty tricks brigade ever did. If someone has no agony after the wrongly actions he has done, he does not deserve to live.
Craig Michael Williamson was granted amnesty in 1999. The TRC help South Africa to progress, but it also gave some unlawfully amnesty such as the Craig Williamson case. The TRC united the country and prevent it from civil war and racism. It benefited the country, but it did not bring justice to all 7112 people who requested amnesty. Out of the 849 people who were granted amnesty, some did not deserve it, but other than those, the TRC was a very successful move.
After Apartheid ended, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission formed. It was a court assembled to grant amnesty and forgiveness to those who committed crimes during Apartheid. 849 people total were granted amnesty.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson was born in Johannesburg in 1949. He was one of the few granted Amnesty. He worked as a former spy and was also involved in many kidnappings, bombings, robberies, and assassinations during apartheid. One of his major crimes was bombing the ANC building in London in 1982.He applied for amnesty in 1995 and was granted it in 1999 because his crimes during Apartheid were political.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission did progress South Africa. In my opinion, South Africa would not be the strong nation it is today without it. Although some that were granted Amnesty deserved to pay for their crimes in prison, it helped heal the country. People were able to move on with their lives. Also the black South Africans did not seek revenge of those who discriminated against them. I believe it was a peaceful solution for the country’s healing.
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ReplyDeleteTwo-Boy Jack and Maxim Phakamisa were two individuals granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These two men, who testified before the TRC in 1997, had each been convicted of the same 10 counts of attempted murder and 2 counts of possessing illegal weapons in 1993 and were in prison at the time of the amnesty trial. Jack and Phakamisa, both Xhosa, lived in a township in the Western Cape which in 1992 had been under great pressure from the governmental police ISU’s (Internal Stability Units). In order to protect the residents from midnight house raids and murders, SANCO (the South African Community Organization, of which both Phakamisa and Jack were a part) chose to install SDU’s (Self Defense Units) to patrol at the same time as the IsU’s and fight these police off if they seemed ready to harm the residents. Frustrated with the resistance, the ISU’s allied with the Koevoet gang to destroy the ISU’s and murder their leaders. The Koevoet gang received ISU uniforms and joined the police in the township, burning houses almost every night. Jack received information that he was on the top of the ISU “hit list,” and so in order to protect both the residents at large and his own family he, along with Phakamisa, attempted to kill the police on the night of July 22, 1992. The council granted amnesty to these two men because they had acted under the command of a political organization in defense of their families and neighbors.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, amnesty seems to have been clear. These men had been acting only defensively, to protect their own. However, many cases were not as clear cut. Assassins applied for amnesty, bombers applied for amnesty, men and women who had chosen to act offensively rather than defensively applied for amnesty, and even one government official responsible for many of apartheid’s atrocities (Adriaan Vlok) applied for and was granted amnesty. The TRC was a rather warped system of justice, as the victims were forced to wait years hoping for small monetary compensation while the criminals could have received amnesty immediately and, if they were white, quickly and easily returned to their comfortable homes and privileged lives.
Despite the inherent contradictions of this justice system, only the TRC or a similar measure could have brought healing to South Africa. Had the new South African government sought out and punished the offenders of apartheid, many whites would have felt justified in believing that the blacks who had suffered under apartheid could not forgive and even perhaps that the blacks were incapable of running a government. However, had the new government overlooked apartheid as if it were merely a small blight on the country that was hardly worth mentioning, people’s fury, sorrow and disgust would have erupted into civil unrest. As Desmond Tutu wisely said, “Those who suffer from amnesia, those who forget the past, are doomed to repeat it,” and the TRC provided a safe place both for people to pour out their grief and frustration and for people to apologize and ask forgiveness. While nothing could have made the wounds of apartheid disappear, in the words of one victim, the TRC healed the bleeding sores of apartheid into “scars.”
With the help of the TRC, South Africa has become one of the most developed countries on the African continent. This middle-income nation (by UN and World Bank standards) still has townships and still has some racial tension, but the hate of apartheid lies in the not-so-distant past. In fact, South Africa, once banned from all international sporting events because of its human rights issues, is now the host country for the 2010 World Cup, an honor conferred only on countries with enough financial and structural capacity to support large numbers of players and fans and on countries esteemed greatly by the world. This statement alone shows how far South Africa has come since apartheid.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (T.R.C.) was created after the Apartheid rule of South Africa was gone. It was set up by the new South African government to help deal with what happened under apartheid. The purpose of the commission was to have people confess their wrong doings during Apartheid, to receive government amnesty. The T.R.C. was conducted like a live courtroom. The Apartheid participants would tell the members of the T.R.C. his or her story. Amnesty was not easily granted. Some people received amnesty, but many people were given jail time.
ReplyDeleteThere was a spy for the South African government under Apartheid. Craige Williamson, assassinated members of the A.N.C. He was also said to allegedly kill high-ranking members. One high ranking person he tried to kill, is Marius Schoon. Williamson sent a letter with a bomb inside. Unfortunately, the letter got in the hands of Schoon’s wide and daughter, which ended up killing both of them.
Williamson is one of the few people that were given amnesty for his murders. It is controversial if Williamson is truly sorry for his actions, because when interviewed, Williamson did not seem to have any remorse. He seemed like he just wanted to have the public accept him of his wrong doings, then just forget about the people he assassinated, and all the other people killed by people just like him. He needs to be more understanding that his confessions cannot take away the pain and hurt of the victim’s families. His confessions also cannot bring back the deceased.
Overall, the T.R.C. was a success. To some, it gave closure; to others it just revisited the pain of Apartheid. Families were finally given the opportunity to hear what happened to their loved ones. The T.R.C. gave South Africa the chance to repair their damage. It forced people of different races, and different points of views come together to share their thoughts. South Africa was finally brought back to life.
When the NP was in control, they strictly enforced apartheid in ways that were often not within the confines of law. After the African National Congress (ANC) took over the South African government from the Nationalist Party (NP), there were many crimes that needed answering for. Many people called for revenge and wanted all the offenders to stand trial in a court of law, and be judged under the current laws for what they did. However, the ANC decided to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to listen to both sides’ testimonies, record them, and then decide on a verdict.
ReplyDeleteCraig Williamson was a spy for the South African government when apartheid was in practice. He committed horrendous crimes such as bombing the ANC office in London, ordering the assassination of Ruth First, and mailing a letter bomb to Marius Schoon that that instead killed Marius’ innocent wife and daughter. Those are crimes he admitted to the TRC, though it is suspected he is guilty of many more. He applied to the TRC for amnesty for the crimes and was granted amnesty for the office bombing on October 15, 1999. He was later granted amnesty for the assassination and the letter bomb in June of 2000.
We watched a small video on Williamson and the TRC, and it did not seem to me like Williamson was remorseful enough to deserve amnesty. Many others felt the same and criticized the TRC for being too lenient by granting amnesty to people who were “remorseful.” Though there are probably a few decisions I would disagree with the TRC on, the people who were working for the apartheid government were just doing what their government told them to do thinking they were patriots for serving their country.
One of many to be granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee is Eugene De Kock. He is a former commander of the Vlakplaas Security police base outside Pretoria. The act that he was forgiven for was the 1982 bombing of the London offices of the African National Congress. The policeman was also granted amnesty for conspiracy to bomb the SA Communist Party's offices in London, malicious damage to property, obtaining false passports, and the illegal possession of weapons and explosives.
ReplyDeleteKock complied with all of the amnesty requirements. "The acts, omissions or offences to which the applications relate are acts associated with a political objective and committed during the course of the conflict of the past. The offences committed were advised, planned, directed, commanded and ordered inside South Africa.” The acts were directed at political opponents and ordered by Louis le Grange, the former Minister of Law and Order. Eugene De Kock had made full disclosure.
I believe that the TRC was a good thing for post-Apartheid South Africa. It helped the country to move on, forgive and forget. If the new government had persecuted all of the people of European descent then there could have been a backlash, the fighting would have continued. This way Apartheid was healed, turning a wound into a scar.
Adriaan Johannes Vlok, was born on born 11 December 1937 in Sutherland, Cape Province. He was best known as the Minister of Law and Order in South Africa from 1986 to 1991 in the final years of apartheid.
ReplyDeleteFacing increasingly intense opposition and political unrest in this period, the South African government, through the State Security Council, of which Vlok was a member, deliberated and executed drastic brutal measures, including hit squads, carrying out bombings and assassination of anti-apartheid activists, most of which were black.
In 1999, Vlok was granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) – the sole cabinet minister to have admitted committing crimes, including the bombing of the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches at Khotso House, and the COSATU trade union headquarters. However, to to reseive amnesty you must swear to confess everything you have done to any person relating to apartheid. In addition, anything the TRC asks you must answer honestly but, Volk came forward with public apologies for multiple acts that he had not disclosed to the TRC. Anyone of these acts could cause him to be prosecuted. In a dramatic gesture, he washed the feet of Frank Chikane who, as secretary-general of the South African Council of Churches, had been targeted by Vlok for assassination. Subsequently, he washed the feet of the ten widows and mothers of the "Mamelodi 10", a group of anti-apartheid activists who had been lured to their death by a police informant.
Although Volk got off easy and washed feet rather than spending a lifetime in jail it did bring peace to the country rather than angry citizens that wanted revenge. However in Volk’s case he did not confess everything and as a result he should be prosecuted.