Punishment will also deter future abuses. It will remove the worst elements from the old regime's remaining military and security forces. Prosecution of the abusers will also facilitate the victims' healing. Others advocate a policy of amnesty and reconciliation. They note that prosecution has only worked in cases where the military has lost power.
New democracies are usually fragile.
Where the old regime's military is still powerful, attempts to prosecute its members may spark rebellion. In such cases a policy of amnesty and reconciliation is the best way to protect the new democracy. Moreover, in many cases both the opposition forces and the old regime were guilty of human rights abuses. Benomar surveys a number of attempts to secure transitional justice. He examines the transition from communism in the former Soviet states, East Germany and Eastern Europe.