STATEMENT BY THE WESTERN CAPE OFFICE OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

17 JULY 1997

Several angles of the role and consequences of conscription during the apartheid years will be examined at a special submission event at the Cape Town offices of the TRC on Wednesday 23 July 1997.

The submissions will enable the TRC to fulfill it's mandate in providing as complete a picture as possible of the events between 1960 and 1994 and to make recommendations on rehabilitation to the State President in it's final report.

Human Rights Violations Committee member, Ms Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, earlier emphasised that the submissions would be neither an attempt to find perpetrators, nor a process that will lead to the awarding of victim status for purposes of reparations. "The conscription issue is surrounded by a legacy of silence, handed down from the bad old days, "says Ms Gobodo-Madikizela, who coordinated the submission event. "Yet for many who were conscripted into the Defence Force, the `war' that prevailed is not merely a relic of the past, but an ever-present reality and legacy that shapes their memories and identities. "Their voices should be heard, so that we can understand the psychological wounds of silence left by the law of conscription."

Amongst the submissions to be heard are:

• The view of anti-conscription activists;
• An academic analysis of research done during the seventies and eighties on the apparent support for conscription amongst whites during the eighties;
• A perspective from a chaplain in the former South African Defence Force (SADF), focusing on religion as a strategy to encourage support for conscription;
• The view of a psychologist who worked in the former SADF on his personal experiences and the clinical consequences of what is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD);
• Several individuals will talk about their personal experiences, amongst others a conciencious objector, someone who left the country to avoid conscription and some who served in the former SADF;
• Another individual submission will come from a conscript who was sent into the townships during the eighties, but have for the last ten years worked on reconciliation strategies in townships across the country;
• Aspects of conscription, like those who served on or beyond the border, those who were sent into the townships and those who were sent to the South African Police Force will be covered in the submissions.

The hearing is scheduled to start at 09h00am at 106 Adderley Street, central Cape Town. Members of the public and the media are welcome to attend.