Human Rights Violation Hearings — East London — 1996-04-18

DESMOND MPILO TUTU: Mr Jordan your story is very painful.  We know that during the struggle there are always casualties.  We are very thankful and grateful that you could come here and ...(tape ends)  ... be able to meet those you say you would like to see.  Thank you very much.  Thank you Mrs Jordan for coming.
 We have reached the end of our hearing session.  I want first of all to pay tribute or perhaps to thank the Premier, the government and the people of the Eastern Province for their welcome.  The Mayor, the Council and the people of East London for - could you please be quiet.  We want to thank the churches and all who were involved in Sunday's service and members of the different faith communities for supporting us with their prayers.  We thank those who have been catering for us. Thank you to the police for providing security here, and the traffic police.  It's unusual for us to have been led by flashing lights.  In the past when you were in South Africa and you heard flashing police lights you knew you were in trouble.  We thank all those who have been able to be interpreters.  Thank you to the Media, members of the Media, electronic and print Media for helping to tell the world the stories that you have heard here.  
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Thank you too to Commissioner Finca and all of his staff for the very, very hard work that they put in which has made this first historic hearing go as smoothly as it has done.  Thank you also to all the Commissioners and members of the various committees who have been part of the proceedings on different days.  Thank you to Tiny and Dumisa and Ntsiki for leading evidence.  Thank you too to the Briefers who have been wonderful in giving support to those who were witnesses.  But perhaps we want to say a very big thank you especially to the witnesses, their families and friends and although I have not allowed this to happen before I would say that I am going to break the solemnity of this place and suggest that we give all of those people I have mentioned, but especially the witnesses and their families, the people who have been so courageous in coming here a very warm hand.
Thank you.  
 I think that every one of us must say that we have encountered some extraordinary people and I have said in the course of listening to the evidence that the oppressive system of apartheid did not stand a chance.  The people who have come forward here are people of some quite extraordinary character.  Thank you very much for your hospitality.  .... as it hears the harrowing stories that you have been telling that there can be this willingness to forgive, this humaneness.  On the one side you have a Mrs Savage saying the traumatic experience she has had has enriched her life and she wants to meet the person who did this in a spirit of forgiveness that she should forgive him and that he should forgive her.  Extraordinary.   And then the people from Cradock saying now something like a heavy burden has been removed from them.  
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 We give thanks to God for all of you.  All of your stories, stories that are going to inspire us and inspire our people for many a long day.   We believe that on the basis of what has happened here that this is probably the one way on which our land will be healed.  We have been deeply touched by your stories and I think the world and our country has been deeply touched. 
 We will be going forward to another round of hearing in the Western Cape, in Cape Town starting next week.  We pray that you will pray for all of us and for all who will be appearing that this process that has begun here will continue, that indeed we will all in this land experience this true freedom that embraces everyone, Black and White.  Thank you.

BONGANI FINCA: Your Grace on behalf of the East London office can I reciprocate and thank you and the deputy chairperson of the Commission and thank the fellow Commissioners who do not come from this area for your presence in our hearings.  You have presided over our hearings with grace and with dignity and I believe that that grace and that dignity would not be possible if you did not dedicate yourself to doing so on these last four days.
 May I also say a word of thanks to your Lady, Mrs Tutu for joining you for these hearings.  Also a word of thanks to the Speaker of the Legislature and to his wife for the time that they have spent in this room in the last four days.  It's amazing and extraordinary that a person of his busy schedule should be able to set aside the time to do this.  
 I wish to join you Chairperson in thanking the Mayor, the deputy Mayor and the City Council of East London for 
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giving us this facility which proved to be an ideal facility for this hearing.  
 Lastly I thank all the people who have participated in this hearing and who have attended these hearings which I believe have been a resounding success.  Without your support, without your presence, without your participation it would have been a failure.  Thank you very much.
 I wish to announce that the next hearing for the Eastern Cape Province will be in Port Elizabeth on the 21st to the 23rd of May 1996.
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