Human Rights Violation Hearings — Zeerust — 1997-05-06

CHAIRPERSON: No.  You're ... (interrupted)
______________:   He's not hearing me Sir.

CHAIRPERSON: Has clearly been someone who's believed strongly in your principles and you carried those principles out in the community that you lived in.  I just want to make one point in relationship to your story and so many other stories that we've heard to-day.  Many people say that the Truth Commission is about the past and closing the past but the Truth Commission is also a mirror on the future and your story as well as the others to-day reflects one of those mirrors, if you like, because it clearly shows that where people who are meant to protect our rights and the rights, and, and the people I'm talking about here are the police.  Where they start taking sides in a situation and start believing clearly that one side is better than another side, then they stop protecting our rights and in a sense I think that's what we need to also be learning as we're going along, that that's part of the recommendations, if you like, that the Truth Commission will be making.
 I really thank you very, very, very much for  being  so  patient to-day and for 
coming  here  and  sharing  your  story  with  us.   Thank you.   Ladies and gentlemen that 
brings to an end the proceeding here to-day in Zeerust.  We have heard many, many stories to-day.  I want to finish where I started off this morning, which is to appeal again to people to come forward on the one side, to make your statements.  If you haven't been able, if you haven't been covered to-day, as far as statements go, there will be people coming back to your area.  
 On the other side, and I think as we've heard the stories to-day, people have been very careful when it's, when it's come to mention the names of the individuals  who were responsible for that pain and torture, but as, I think it was Dr Ally who said earlier on that we have informed those people.  Those people should have received letters, not should, will have received letters from us, as well as a statement that has been made  by the individuals who have come forward to-day.  
 That time  that's been offered to us, that we as a nation  and as a government  have allowed to happen, so that people can come forward and tell their side of the story, is now- we have four days left before the amnesty deadline closes and I think this is the opportunity for people, those people to come forward and to apply for amnesty, if they so wish, or to respond to us and to the letters that we've sent to them, so please,  I make that appeal again to all of those  individuals who may be listening right here, or where people can take the message back to them, that the opportunity is now.  
 Thank you very much for having us here to-day, for hosting us.  I would like to thank the Council of Zeerust for, for have, giving us the opportunity to use this splendid hall.  I would also like to thank a number of community briefers, who have assisted our briefers in the work to-day.  I'm sure you recognise some of the individuals who have been  coming to the stage and I hope that those people will be able to continue giving some support to the deponents, to the witnesses who've come here to-day, because clearly, we are opening up the wounds again and people need to be given support and that support can come in various ways, either through the professionals in our communities, through the churches, through other NGO's who are, may be functioning in this area.   So, again, let me thank those people in anticipation for the work that's ahead because we were told at the beginning, we recognised this, that really the work of the Commission, the difficult work of the Commission is after we have finished.  So, thank you very, very much for having us here to-day.  
 We will be proceeding to Rustenberg to-morrow and then Mabopane on Thursday.  Thank you.