Human Rights Violation Hearings — Ladybrand — 1997-06-26

MR LAX: Thank you, Chairperson.  One of the things that we have heard across the country - there's been a whole range of evidence, not just by and about acts perpetrated by the State against other people, but of acts perpetrated by the liberation movements, by vigilantes, by other political organisations, and by people even within political parties.  As we heard today, conflict between the ANC and SANCO, conflicts within the IFP, conflicts between the SDUs and MK and the ANC, and conflicts between the PAC and the ANC.  It seems that the levels of conflict knew no bounds in this country, and in every small little community somebody was fighting for dominance in some way or other.
We've heard stories across the political spectrum - the bombings, the Magoo's bomb, the Church Street bomb, the St James massacre, the massacre of IFP children outside Port Shepstone, the one striking case we heard there where 11 children were gunned down while they were waiting to go to an IFP Youth Brigade conference, and one of the survivors told us how they were sitting in a half-built house singing songs, as any youth group would sing, and suddenly out of the semi-darkness - it was getting dark - people came running in with guns and just shot randomly.  Terrifying stories.  We've also heard stories of ANC massacres, where ANC people were simply massacred by police and IFP.  And, as Richard has very correctly said, the very lonely stories of people who were tortured in detention, people who were all on their own facing the very powerful men with the whole State behind them.  And then the very moving story we heard yesterday of a policeman who simply couldn't stand being a policeman any longer, and I am sure there were countless others like him who simply couldn't continue to do their jobs and see what was happening to their people.
There's one lesson we need to learn from this Commission, is that never again must the police in this country be allowed to become the operatives of the ruling class, the hands of any political party.  This Commission will make recommendations in due course about how we think the structures of our society can be changed so as to prevent human rights violations from happening again, and we will certainly make our voices very loudly heard in that regard in relation to the role of the police.  And we strongly believe that we won't stop the fight against crime, and the fight against violence in this country, until such time as we're able to truly transform the police force.
Just when we thought we had heard every kind of story possible we come to Ladybrand and we hear a whole new range of stories, each one subtly different from the one before.  And in some ways it's sad that we have come to the end of our victim hearings because we believe we will probably continue to hear new stories, new experiences, and, in a more horrifying way, new concepts in how man's inhumanity to man has no bounds.
One aspect that has really struck us has been the incredibly detailed way in which people remember what happened to them, the way in which they tell their stories as if they happened yesterday, not 10 years or 20 years ago, and the incredible variety of their responses in telling their story.  Some people, as you've seen during these hearings, bring an incredible humour to bear on the way they tell their story, and that might be their survival mechanism.  Others are clearly very traumatised by the process.  And yet in all of them, in my personal discussions with people who've given testimony, the vast majority are very grateful to have had that opportunity to be acknowledged.
And so, as we have grappled our way through this process from that first hearing in East London to this hearing in Ladybrand, we have slowly learnt more and more about the cruel past we've had to deal with, but also, as Richard has said, about the incredible bravery and fortitude of people.  
I'll hand back to Richard at this point.

CHAIRPERSON: I think I finally just need to again thank the victims from Ladybrand, Ficksburg, Rouxville, Bothaville, and other parts of the central and southern Free State, who have come here over the last three days to tell us their stories.  They have opened yet another window for this Commission to understand the violent past of this country, and we thank you today for having been brave enough to come here and to tell us your stories and relive those memories.
There are a couple of other people to thank, particularly the volunteer staff who have sat with every witness after they have given their evidence and assisted them to get over the experience, and debriefing them;  the TRC staff, particularly those here in the Free State, under the leadership of Mr Moses Pitso.  We thank the police for providing protection and making us feel secure and safe here over these past few days, and the interpreters for their excellent work.
I want to say a special word of thanks to the media, to the SABC radio, television and the newspapers, not only for reporting on this hearing, but for the many, many hearings that they have reported on throughout the country.  We have travelled a long and often very difficult road together over the past 14 months through the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, and I am sure many of us will miss the intense experiences that we have all gone through, and the camaraderie that has developed between everyone.
Obviously this process is not finished.  We're not having any more victim hearings, but we are having many other hearings.  We're having institutional hearings, hearings into the role of the press, hearings into the roles of the legal system.  We've just finished a hearing into the role of the medical system.  We will be holding a very long and important event hearing in August into the role of the State in training para-militaries.  So the Truth Commission certainly hasn't come to an end, we still have much work to do, particularly the work of making findings.  We have to make findings in respect of each victim and each perpetrator, so our work will continue for many months to come.
But again thank you to all those people - I forgot to mention the people who provided the sound system.  Thank you very much.  Please remember that as you go, those people that have these earphones please leave them on the chairs.  They are no use to anybody outside.  And  I am going to ask one of our staff members from Bloemfontein, the Reverend Bosman, again to lead us as we sing the national anthem.  Thank you very much.