Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1997-10-31

CHAIRPERSON: They certainly were not intended in any way to 
hurt you.  I want to assure you that I am sensitive to the feelings of 
people who have been injured in the tragedy that has taken place in 
our country.
	I have been entrusted like the other members of the Amnesty 
Committee, to hear applications, we have been doing that for more 
than a year now, nearly two years.  We had been hearing harrowing 
accounts of terrible deeds committed by applicants in Cape Town 
and in other parts of the work, we have listened as patiently as we 
can to these details.
	We have afforded the applicants every opportunity to put 
forward their case, because the law requires that they should be 
given a hearing.  We have never held back requests by victims and 
dependants to express their feelings in the matters that we had to 
deal with.  And if my remarks, have conveyed to you and the other 
parents and victims, that I am not sensitive to your hurt and your 
feelings, I am sorry for that.  I want to assure you that that was 
furthest from my mind.
	Such remarks as I may have made, at the time, about the 
evidence that was given by Mr Sibaya, were as a result of a lengthy 
hearing on evidence in a matter which was only tangentially related 
to the issues before this Committee.
	I haven't made up my mind, we haven't considered the 
evidence and we haven't rejected the evidence of any witness who 
has given evidence before us.  We will only be considering the 
evidence and evaluating the evidence and coming to a final 
conclusion after all the evidence have been led and counsel on both 
sides have had an opportunity of addressing us.
	Finally, to you and your colleagues, once more, I say that if 
my remarks may have seemed injudicious to you, I am sorry for that.

ANDREA JEANNETTE LANGFORD: I thank you for your explanation and I fully 
accept what you have just told me, Judge Mall, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: You are excused from further attendance.

ANDREA JEANNETTE LANGFORD: Thank you very much.

MR PRIOR: Mr Chairman, will this be an opportune stage to take a 
short adjournment.  I have my next witness, Mr Cornelius.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, we will take a short adjournment.

MR PRIOR: Mr Chairman, I call Mrs Fourie.   Mr Chairman, Mrs 
Fourie had requested to sit a little closer to the applicants, and I 
understand there is no objection to that, if that pleases the 
Committee.

JEANETTE ANNE FOURIE: (sworn states)

MR PRIOR: Mr Chairman, the witness has not made submissions, 
her husband in fact, made written submissions, but she requested an 
opportunity to address the Committee.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, Mr Prior.

MR PRIOR: Mrs Fourie, is it correct that 
your daughter was killed in the Heidelberg Tavern attack on the 
30th of December 1993?

MRS FOURIE: That is correct, Lindi Anne was killed.

MR PRIOR: Would you please continue, or proceed with what you 
want to address the Committee on?

MRS FOURIE: I would like to address the Committee, Mr 
Chairman, but a bit more personally, I would like to address the 
gentlemen before us and if you don't mind being onlookers whilst I 
do that.

CHAIRPERSON: Please proceed.

MRS FOURIE: Molweni amadoda.

APPLICANTS: Good morning Mama.

MRS FOURIE: I am very sorry, that I can't express my thoughts 
and feelings in Xhosa.  I think you remember me.  At the criminal 
trial, I asked the translator to tell you that I had forgiven you.  Do 
you remember that?

APPLICANTS: Yes, we remember.