Old Wounds

South Africa's semi-orderly transition from white minority rule to full democracy could not have been accomplished without The Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This board of inquiry was chaired by Bishop Desmond Tutu and was sub-divided into three committees: one to investigate human rights violations from 1960 - 1994, one to rehabilitate the dignity of apartheid's victims, and one to hear requests for amnesty from those who participated in the violence.

This third Amnesty Committee granted 849 pardons while refusing them to 5392 applicants, including the alleged murderers of Stephen Biko. High profile South Africans such as PW Botha and Winnie Mandela were both given the stamp of disapproval by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was also recommended that "rigorous attention" be paid to the prosecution of police officers, who were often accused of torture, abduction and general gross misconduct during the apartheid era.

The Truth Commission allowed for several decades of hurt to be screamed out in a public forum. If you'll pardon the unsavouriness of the metaphor, the infection of apartheid was given a public lancing.

It should be noted that the African National Congress

( Mandela's party ) was also dealt with sternly. It was remarked that the ANC, in its laudable quest for freedom, killed more civilians that it did government forces.

Forgiveness is indeed "Divine," a praiseworthy super-human quality that's often hard to swallow at the application stage. The Truth Commission insisted that perpetrators come clean with what they did before amnesty could be considered. The soul of South Africa had to be unburdened before it could be cleansed.