Human Rights Violation Hearings — Balfour — 1997-05-23

DR RANDERA: Reading through your statement again what comes across so clearly is the difficulty that your family went through.  Initially I understand your parents had a medical aid and that covered some of the expenses but later on that medical aid ran out and your father lost his farm.  You went insolvent.  What surprises me is how little support the then Government gave to you and your family.  Would you like to comment on that ?

MR COETZER: I no longer have the exact amounts of the medical costs.  I can give you some indication that the medical costs must have been around fifty to sixty thousand rand at that time.  We received an amount from the so-called State President's Fund, an amount of forty thousand rand which was paid out to us.  The medical fund was then exhausted.  This fund was not sufficient for the medical costs related to the incident and I want to make it clear that I do not want to say by this that money would return me my health or my leg but the mere idea that what one has experienced, the difficulties which I had to experience as a young person, I've mentioned that I was in a flourishing period of my life.  I was a very fit young person.  I was a very active sports person.  I never sat around for a single moment, I ran around all the time and this was cut as if with a knife.  Money itself cannot return one's leg but we were disappointed in some of the letters which had been written to us in which it had been said that no further additional funds would ever be considered.  At a later stage I managed to address an additional request to the State President's Fund with regard to the replacement of my artificial limb for which I did not have funds.  I made an application.  I asked for assistance which they did provide and that was the only additional assistance from their side which I received.  Beyond that we have never heard anything or received any support from such institution..

DR RANDERA: Despite what happened to you and having been left with the disabilities that you have to-day, you appear to overcome many of those problems.  I understand that you're a student at Free State University.  In my opinion there are thousands of people like yourself in our country who haven't actually had the opportunities of the best medical treatment available in our country that you have had.  As you know, we have to make recommendations to our Government.  Would you like to make from your own experiences, for the treatment that you've had, thinking that's gone on, would you like to put your thoughts as to what recommendations we should be making towards assisting people who have been disabled through the conflicts of the last thirty four years ?

MR COETZER: I do not know what the exact position would be financially speaking to assist such persons.  I do feel that should the present Government be able to do anything like this then they should particularly where persons have physical difficulties because of that which they have experienced.  I would like to recommend that be assisted as far as it is possible.  These victims should be assisted insofar as it is possible, regardless of what had happened to them.  I don't say that the Government should go beyond it's abilities and that there should be damage done because of these efforts but as far as possible, most or if possible all of the victims should be assisted with regard to medical expenses.

RUSSELL ALLY: Mr Coetzer, you say that you actually had the opportunity to meet those who planted this landmine.  Can you tell us a little about that.  How  did  that  happen ?  What was the circumstances of you meeting them ?

MR COETZER: It must of been around May of 1987.  The Security Police made contact with me and asked me to indicate the place where the landmine had been planted.  The Government of that day provided me with a air travel fare to Johannesburg from Bloemfontein.  They then collected me at the them Jan Smuts Airport, took me through to the farm where the Security Police had the three persons whom they had taken into custody.  These persons were present.  I stood next to them.  They were under very great police security so I couldn't have any personal contact with them.  I could only see them.   I was close enough to touch them but I could only point out the place.  It was at our farm gate at that time and that is where I saw them and those were the circumstances under which I met them.

RUSSELL ALLY: You also in your statement seem to suggest something happened to them subsequently.  Do you want to comment on that, make some comments about what happened to them after this incident ?

MR COETZER: These are only rumours which I have heard.  I don't know what truth there would be in these rumours.  I wrote a letter, I'm sure exactly who this was but if I recall correctly it was towards the persons in charge of the State President's Fund at that time and I've said to them that I've heard rumours that the persons who had planted the landmine were political prisoners and that they had been released.  What was reported back to me was that this information could not be made known to me.  That it was not appropriate had occurred.  Where this is true or not I would not know.  I would assume that in the process of reconciliation when the political prisoners were released that they would have been part of those who were released.  That's what I assume.

RUSSELL ALLY: Is this something that you would like to know ?

MR COETZER: For interests sake I would, I assume be interested but this not the Alpha and the Omega to know this.  In my heart I believe that if this is part of the reconciliation process, for them to be released I would have no difficulty with this.  If all of us wants to achieve reconciliation in our nation and if they are willing to turn themselves towards reconciliation, I would have no difficulty with them being out and free.

RUSSELL ALLY: Mr Coetzer, did you follow or read about the recall of the political parties that took place last week ?  Did you follow any of that ?

MR COETZER: No, I did not follow the media in any way last week.

RUSSELL ALLY: Just more generally then, you made the point that an important condition, maybe the most important condition for reconciliation is genuine remorse.  Just generally do you think that the political parties, organizations or any other actors party to this conflict of the past, do you feel that there has been genuine remorse ?  With regard to those who became victims of the conflict ?

MR COETZER: This is once again a difficult question.  I do not think that every single person actually has shown true remorse and I want to repeat, if you only go as far, if people can only bring themselves so far as to show remorse and if people want to also continue to forgive because remorse and forgiveness must go hand in hand.  If you show remorse then this automatically almost brings about forgiveness.  It is my prayer that those people who were victims and those people who were perpetrators, that there will be true remorse to take a part in the process of  reconciliation.