scholarly journals Het Suggereren van Verzoening Tijdens de Hoorzittingen van de Waarheids- en Verzoeningscommissie

Afrika Focus ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Annelies Verdoolaege
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
The Other ◽  
The South ◽  
Specific Kind ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
African Context ◽  
The One

Suggesting reconciliation at the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) took place under unique circumstances and in a very particular historical context. This article will explore how such a specific kind of reality gave rise to a specific kind of discourse, a so-called ‘reconciliation discourse’. On the one hand, this discourse offered the apartheid victims a lot of opportunities regarding linguistic expression. On the other hand, though, this discourse was also regimented and limited to a certain extent. By means of fragments from the TRC victim testimonies, this article will deal with one aspect of this linguistic manipulation, namely the introduction of the concept of reconciliation. In the first part of the article, I will explain which linguistic methods were used during the TRC hearings in order to emphasize the notion of reconciliation in the narratives of the testifying victims. In doing so, a lot of attention will be paid to the concrete interaction between the testifiers and the TRC commissioners. In a second part, I will try to investigate why the construction of this specific reconciliation discourse was necessary in the South African context. We will see that, amongst others, also political considerations played a role in the control exercised over the discourse of the TRC victims. In this way, we will understand that the reconciliation discourse of the Commission was a reflection of a very ambiguous social attitude: this discourse had to reveal as much as possible about the apartheid past – and this in a manner as spontaneous, as transparent and as open as possible -, but it also had to be adapted to certain socio-political needs. This will tell us that also a quasi-judicial institution such as the TRC involves an inevitable interplay between language on the one hand and ideology and society on the other.

scholarly journals Suggesting reconciliation at the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Afrika Focus ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelies Verdoolaege
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
The South ◽  
Specific Kind ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
African Context ◽  
The One

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) took place under unique circumstances and in a very particular historical context. This article will explore how such a specific kind of reality gave rise to a specific kind of discourse, a so-called 'reconciliation discourse'. On the one hand, this discourse offered the apartheid victims a lot of opportunities regarding linguistic expression. On the other hand, though, this discourse was also regimented and limited to a certain extent. By means of fragments from the TRC victim testimonies, this article will deal with one aspect of this linguistic manipulation, namely the introduction of the concept of reconciliation. In the first part of the article, I will explain which linguistic methods were used during the TRC hearings in order to emphasize the notion of reconciliation in the narratives of the testifying victims. In doing so, a lot of attention will be paid to the concrete interaction between the testifiers and the TRC commissioners. In a second part, I will try to investigate why the construction of this specific reconciliation discourse was necessary in the South African context. We will see that, amongst others, also political considerations played a role in the control exercised over the discourse of the TRC victims. In this way, we will understand that the reconciliation discourse of the Commission was a reflection of a very ambiguous social attitude: this discourse had to reveal as much as possible about the apartheid past - and this in a manner as spontaneous, as transparent and as open as possible -, but it also had to be adapted to certain socio-political needs. This will tell us that also a quasi-judicial institution such as the TRC involves an inevitable interplay between language on the one hand and ideology and society on the other.Key Words: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, victim testimonies, critical discourse analysis, reconciliation, apartheid 

The Role of the Legal Profession in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-298
Author(s):  
Heidy Rombouts ◽  
Stephan Parmentier
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth Commission ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

In situations of a transition to democracy, the legal profession tends to have a strong impact. While this is quite clear in the case when criminal prosecutions are initiated against perpetrators of gross human rights violations, and when amnesty provisions are enacted for some violations, it is far less obvious in cases when a truth commission is set up. The current article looks into the role that the legal profession, i.e. the judiciary, the bar and the non-governmental organisations, has played in the notorious case of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It draws on the systems analysis of political life by David Easton, which identifies how demands (input) that rise in society, are processed (conversion) and produce results (output), which provide new inputs to the political system. This ‘flow model’ is applied to two separate processes during the life of the TRC: the Special Legal Hearing of October 1997, and the legal challenges put to the Commission in Court in 1996. Our analysis reveals a number of interesting conclusions. One is that the organised profession approached the Special Legal Hearing from a very legalistic point of view, despite the non-judicial character of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at large. This stands in contrast with the position of the Constitutional Court, which recognised the limits of the traditional judicial system and came out in support of the TRC. Another conclusion is that, although the participation of the judges and the magistrates in the Special Legal Hearing was limited to written submissions, their influence proved very large, as they threatened the TRC with a constitutional crisis. Finally, throughout the two processes under review, breaches became visible within the legal profession, between the ‘progressive’ non-governmental organisations and the ‘conservative’ organised profession on the one hand, and between the organised profession on the one hand and the judges on the other hand. In sum, it can convincingly be concluded that the impact of the legal profession remains quite important when a truth commission is opted for in a context of transition to democracy.

scholarly journals Shattered stories: Healing and reconciliation in the South African context

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cori Wielenga
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Meaningful Change ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Current Events ◽  
African Context ◽  
Part Model

Sharing our stories has been described, by those in the field as well as by popular opinion, as a way to foster healing and reconciliation following violent conflict. This article argues that sharing stories is in itself not necessarily helpful. It is when our stories are shattered by the story of another that meaningful change can begin to take place and new stories can emerge. This idea will be explored in the South African context, with reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as current events. It will consider storytelling and reconciliation using John Lederach�s four-part model of justice, truth, mercy and peace.

scholarly journals The end of truth?

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
African Context ◽  
Metaphysical Truth

As we are approaching the end of the century, many ideas, systems, and certainties, previously taken for granted, seem to be questioned, altered and rejected. One of these is the notion of truth, which pervades the very fibre of Western thinking. Rejecting the relevant critique as simply a postmodem fad, this article proceeds to give attention to the questions regarding the end of religious, scientific, and metaphysical truth. Truth and power are dealt with, as well as the narrative nature of truth. The article concludes with reference to the functioning of truth in the South African context as manifested in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

scholarly journals Truth and reconciliation in South Africa: Hindu experiences and concerns

2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P.G.J. Meiring
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Hindu Community ◽  
The Way

The author who served on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), focuses on the Hindu experience in South Africa during the apartheid years. At a special TRC Hearing for Faith Communities (East London, 17-19 November 1997) two submissions by local Hindu leaders were tabled. Taking his cues from those submissions, the author discusses four issues: the way the Hindu community suffered during these years, the way in which some members of the Hindu community supported the system of apartheid, the role of Hindus in the struggle against apartheid, and finally the contribution of the Hindu community towards reconciliation in South Africa. In conclusion some notes on how Hindus and Christians may work together in th

'Papieren' voor de toekomst

1970 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Gustaaf Janssens
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Cultural Perception ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
The Government

A purely cultural perception of records and archives is one-sided andincomplete. Records and archival documents are necessary to confirm therights and the obligations of both the government and the citizens. "Therecords are crucial to hold us accountable", says archbishop D. Tutu, formerpresident of the South African 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission'. Forthis reason, the government should organize the archives in such a way thatarchival services can fulfil their task as guardians of society's memorie.Citizens' rights and archives have a close relationship.

Crimes and Accountability in Shakespeare

1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodor Meron
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Final Solution ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The Holocaust

Accountability for crimes, a theme central to Shakespeare’s plays, is also extraordinarily pertinent to our times. Newspapers have reported on the care taken by the leaders of the former Yugoslavia to order atrocities against “enemy” populations only in the most indirect and euphemistic way. Even the Nazi leaders constantly resorted to euphemisms in referring to the Holocaust. No explicit written order from Hitler to carry out the final solution has ever been found. At the height of their power, the Nazis treated the data on the killing of Jews as top secret. Similarly, a high-ranking member of the former security police told the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission that written instructions to kill antiapartheid activists were never given; squad members who carried out the killings simply got “a nod of the head or a wink-wink kind of attitude.”

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document