Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU, CHAIRPERSON OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA
SEPTEMBER 8, 1999.
"We are devastated by the revelation that the Commission has apparently misidentified a number of bodies which were exhumed during the course of our investigations.
"My heart goes out especially to the families of those whose bodies were exhumed, to whom we apologise profusely and unreservedly. The Commission will strive to contact as many of the affected families as soon as possible, and to ensure that finality is reached as quickly as possible over how many and which bodies were misidentified.
"I know that my colleagues in the Commission are almost all of them conscientious and hardworking people of integrity, who are as deeply distressed about the situation as anyone, but there will be weaknesses in even the best teams. As chairperson of the Commission, I must take responsbility for this distressing state of affairs."
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Atlanta, September 8, 1999