Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
September 26, 1997
STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU, CHAIRPERSON OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission today received the submission which follows this statement, signed by 127 journalists from Nasionale Pers newspapers and magazines.
The submission has been endorsed by journalists, in their individual capacities, from Beeld, Die Burger, Rapport, Volksblad, Insig, Huisgenoot, Sarie, You and Fair Lady, as well as a number of former Nasionale Pers journalists. We understand that more are expected to sign.
Their submission is an extraordinarily powerful statement, and I welcome it on behalf of the Commission and of victims of apartheid. While I understand they are not acting under threat of losing their jobs, I want to commend the journalists warmly for following their consciences in the face of very considerable opposition.
Theirs is a very significant contribution to reconciliation and the process of healing our land.
An English translation of the full text of the Afrikaans submission follows:
" I, a journalist at Nasionale Pers, wish to make the following submission in my individual capacity and not on behalf of Nasionale Pers or any of its publications.
"I BELIEVE
"(1) Reconciliation between and the just treatment of the different groups of people in South Africa are essential to nation-building in our country, and that disclosure of our past is an essential part thereof;
"(2) Although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is not perfect, it creates a much-needed process to deal with our divisive, unjust past as part of the transition to a fully-fledged democracy based on justice, respect for human rights and the supremacy of the law;
"(3) Since early this century a close relationship developed between Nasionale Pers and the National Party, with our newspapers acting as NP mouthpieces;
"(4) Nasionale Pers's newspapers formed an integral part of the power structure which implemented and maintained the system of apartheid through, for instance, the support these influential newspapers gave the National Party running up to elections and referendums;
"(5) The efforts Nasionale Pers made to change and oppose apartheid should also be acknowledged, as should the efforts to prepare whites for and persuade them to change and reform. This, however, does not diminish or neutralise the efforts to support apartheid;
"(6) Although I was not personally or directly involved in gross human rights abuses I regard myself as morally co-responsible for what happened in the name of apartheid because I helped maintain a system within which these abuses could occur;
"(7) I, like many others, was blind and deaf to the political aspirations, anger and suffering of my fellow South Africans;
"(8) I, like many others, and given the context in which I worked, did not properly inform readers of the injustices of apartheid, did not oppose these injustices vigorously enough and, where I had knowledge of these injustices, too readily accepted the National Party government's denials and reassurances;
To all those who suffered as a result of this, I offer my sincerest apology and fully commit myself to prevent the past from being repeated.
TRC Inquiries: John Allen, 082- 452-7859