STATEMENT BY THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION: WESTERN AND NORTHERN CAPE REGIONS
29 APRIL 1997
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is awaiting special submissions on the experiences of ex-conscripts who served in the former South African Defence Force (SADF), both inside and outside the country. The purpose of this special appeal is amongst others to help the TRC to capture the effect of psychological violence imposed by military conscription, and to explore its consequences on the lives of many who did not choose to participate in a war. We appeal to all those who were affected to come forward and make their submissions.
Our request for submissions on conscription is neither an attempt to find perpetrators, nor a process that will lead to the awarding of victim status for purposes of reparation. Instead, it will be an opportunity for those who suffered, and continue to suffer, to share their pain, and to reflect on their experiences. This will enable us to fulfill our mandate to establish as complete a picture as possible of violations during the apartheid years. We also hope this will lead to the raising of public awareness about the nature of psychological violence, and of the reality of post traumatic stress disorder. It will also assist the Commission to make the appropriate recommendations on rehabilitation and reconciliation in its final report to the State President.
Those who come forward need not make public statements at a hearing. We will handle all submissions as confidential unless otherwise specified. The Commission will also welcome submissions from people who witnessed, but not necessarily took part in violations.
In addition, we have held discussions with the Ministry of Defence, who agreed that the secrecy clause in the Defence Act could be waved for the purposes of the submissions, which will enable people to tell their stories without fear of contravening the law or exposing sensitive defence information. Deputy Defence Minister, Ronnie Kasrils, has pledged the ministry's full support to the appeal.
We are looking for several categories of submissions on conscripts:
"Conscription is an example of the militarisation of society by forcing large numbers of people to participate in a war", says Human Rights Violations Committee Member, Ms Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela. "In South Africa, it also served the function of keeping a certain section of the population, mainly white people, in a perpetual state of terror and distrust for another group, black people. Although army conscripts in South Africa were not exclusively white, black and brown people served in the army as `volunteers'. Thus, the submissions we are asking will not be restricted to the experiences of white men."
We are already in possession of a number of statements from conscripts and their families, but hope to give as many people as possible a chance to contribute. In addition, we are considering a public submission event, where context statements will be made on behalf of conscripts as well as conscientious objectors. Such an occasion would also allow us to highlight the problems of post-traumatic stress syndrome through the testimony of psychologists and researchers in the field.