Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
PRESS RELEASE FROM KWAZULU NATAL OFFICE OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
This press release relates to the statements made by the Inkatha Freedom Party calling for the resignation of certain members of the Kwazulu Natal office of the Truth and Rconciliation Commission.
The statements issued by the IFP came in the aftermath of the recent public hearing on the so-called Seven Day War in the Edendale Valley near Pietermaritzburg, and are based on the following:
1. The IFP alleges that IFP MPP David Ntombela was "summoned" to appear at the public hearing. In fact, nothing of the sort happened. Mr. Ntombela was invited to attend by letter, and he personally accepted the invitation during the course of a telephone conversation conducted between himself and Mr. Mdu Dlamini, who is a Committee member from the Durban office of the TRC. Copies of the polite, informal correspondence from the Commission to Mr. Ntombela are available. On the morning he was due to testify, Mr. Ntombela notified the TRC through his lawyer, that he would not be testifying, because he had not been given copies of witnesses statements in which he had been implicated. It must be stressed that these hearings are not adversarial in nature in that the parties can "attack" or "defend" their respective positions. People are merely requested to related their accounts of what happened. In terms of a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, people who are implicated by others in alleged human rights violations, are NOT entitled to copies of witnesses statements at the stage that they are called on to testify. Accordingly, in terms of this ruling, neither Mr. Ntombela nor any of the other many witnesses who testified at the hearing, were given copies of statements in which they were implicated in alleged violations of human rights.
2. The second basis for the call on Commissioners to resign, was that they handled the hearing in a biased manner. The Commissioners reject this statement completely. The facts of the matter are that almost every witness who testified at the hearing, including former and serving policemen, implicated members of the IFP in the violence. This does not indicated bias on the part of the Commission. When Mr. Ntombela, his lawyer and several supporters appeared on the stage to read out a letter, they were drowned out by shouting by the crowd. The Commissioners pleaded with the crowd to give Mr. Ntombela's lawyer an opportunity to read his letter. After he had done so, Mr. Ntombela left with his supporters. He was followed by elements of the crowd from outside the City Hall, who surrounded the provincial parliament. The crowd's behaviour in and outside the City Hall, cannot in any way be blamed on or attributed to the Commission. Not a single Commissioner or Committee member made a derogatory or biased remark about Mr. Ntombela or the IFP during the course of the hearing, and neither has he made an allegation to this effect.
3. It is worth noting that the Commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were appointed by the Cabinet of the GNU, following a public interview by a multiparty panel, including members of the Freedom Front and the IFP. No objections were lodged at that stage to the appointment of the Commissioners and Committee members.
4. Mr. Ntombela has also called for the resignation of Mr. Lax. Mr. Ntombela has alleged that Mr. Lax is a member of the ANC and acted for the ANC members at the time of the Seven Day War. Mr. Lax is not a member of the ANC, although he has been a member in the past. This does not in any way disqualify him as member of the TRC. He is a human rights lawyer, and well known in the Pietermaritzburg area for his commitment to human rights, peace and reconciliation.
5. The TRC completely rejects the outrageous and defamatory remark attributed to Mr. Ntombela in yesterday's edition of the Natal Witness, that one of the Commissioners or Committee members was involved in the violence. The IFP must know that this disgraceful remark is devoid of any truth, and we expect them to put the record straight.
Signed by; R. Lyster Commissioner
and
Dr. K. Mgojo - Commissioner
26 November 1996