SA walks tightrope trying apartheid killers

By: * JAN HENNOP

PRETORIA - South Africa is tightening the noose around perpetrators of apartheid-era crimes but analysts have warned that prosecutors should tread carefully in the still racially polarised country.

The country's most senior prosecutor, Vusi Pikoli, announced that

his directorate of public prosecutions this month had five cases

ready, which it could take to court, while it was investigating 15

others.

The cases relate to perpetrators of apartheid crimes - both from

the white nationalist regime and from the side of liberation

movements fighting apartheid - who either shunned the country's

truth commission or were refused amnesty.

 

"Applicants who did not receive amnesty are clearly in our

sights," Pikoli told a news briefing last week.

 

"This is an opportunity to prosecute crimes of apartheid."

 

Analysts who talked to AFP said they believed Pikoli and his

team were faced with a delicate and difficult juggling act.

 

The prosecutors need on one hand to see justice finally done on

behalf of apartheid victim families, but on the other to maintain

racial harmony, they agreed.

 

Polarised by 46 years of apartheid imposed by whites on the

black majority, South Africa seemed to have been heading for a

civil war before being pulled back from the brink and staging its

first democratic elections in 1994.

 

"We are still a brittle nation in transition," said Jan Hoffmeyr

from the Cape Town-based Institute for Justice and

Reconciliation.

 

"It's going to be a very delicate balancing process."

 

Pikoli himself sounded a word of caution: "Prosecutions need to

be considered within the process of national unity and national

reconciliation."

 

Analysts all considered there must be prosecutions after South

Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up in 1995

by former president Nelson Mandela, finally closed its doors in

2003.

 

"It shows that there is a will for something to be finally done

to really deal with those people, unlike in the past when nothing

happened," said Boyane Tshehla, crime and justice head at

Pretoria's Institute for Security Studies.

 

When the TRC closed its doors in March 2003 with the handing

over of the final two volumes of a hefty seven-volume report, it

had received some 6 700 applications for amnesty.

 

It granted 1 200 of those based on conditions set down by its

mandate.

 

Many of the applications came from white police and military

personnel who were employed by the apartheid state to track and

kill fighters employed by the now ruling African National Congress

(ANC) and other liberation movements.

 

But many others, including former president PW (Pieter) Botha,

who ruled apartheid South Africa with an iron first during the

1980s, simply shunned the process.

 

Prosecution of those who were refused amnesty or turned their

back on the TRC seemed to have stalled.

 

Former TRC head, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a month a ago

voiced his own frustrations at the lack of progress regarding

prosecutions.

 

"We are allowing impunity.

 

It does mean that there are those who are able to say: Hahaha,

what can you do to us?'," Tutu said.

 

Pikoli refused to say which cases would be taken to court saying

only "we are dealing with complex issues.

 

We shall go to court when we are ready."

 

One of South Africa's most notorious apartheid army brigadiers,

Wouter Basson - also known as "Dr Death" - who headed the apartheid

state's chemical and biological warfare programme, was prosecuted,

but acquitted on 46 charges ranging from murder to fraud.

 

But Eugene de Kock or "Prime Evil" as he was nicknamed in the

media, who was the commander of the Vlakplaas base for a vicious

apartheid hit squad, is serving a life sentence after the truth

commission turned down his amnesty application.

 

- Nampa-AFP

 

The cases relate to perpetrators of apartheid crimes - both from

the white nationalist regime and from the side of liberation

movements fighting apartheid - who either shunned the country's

truth commission or were refused amnesty."Applicants who did not

receive amnesty are clearly in our sights," Pikoli told a news

briefing last week."This is an opportunity to prosecute crimes of

apartheid."Analysts who talked to AFP said they believed Pikoli and

his team were faced with a delicate and difficult juggling act.The

prosecutors need on one hand to see justice finally done on behalf

of apartheid victim families, but on the other to maintain racial

harmony, they agreed.Polarised by 46 years of apartheid imposed by

whites on the black majority, South Africa seemed to have been

heading for a civil war before being pulled back from the brink and

staging its first democratic elections in 1994."We are still a

brittle nation in transition," said Jan Hoffmeyr from the Cape

Town-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation."It's going to

be a very delicate balancing process."Pikoli himself sounded a word

of caution: "Prosecutions need to be considered within the process

of national unity and national reconciliation."Analysts all

considered there must be prosecutions after South Africa's Truth

and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up in 1995 by former

president Nelson Mandela, finally closed its doors in 2003."It

shows that there is a will for something to be finally done to

really deal with those people, unlike in the past when nothing

happened," said Boyane Tshehla, crime and justice head at

Pretoria's Institute for Security Studies.When the TRC closed its

doors in March 2003 with the handing over of the final two volumes

of a hefty seven-volume report, it had received some 6 700

applications for amnesty.It granted 1 200 of those based on

conditions set down by its mandate.Many of the applications came

from white police and military personnel who were employed by the

apartheid state to track and kill fighters employed by the now

ruling African National Congress (ANC) and other liberation

movements.But many others, including former president PW (Pieter)

Botha, who ruled apartheid South Africa with an iron first during

the 1980s, simply shunned the process.Prosecution of those who were

refused amnesty or turned their back on the TRC seemed to have

stalled.Former TRC head, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a month a

ago voiced his own frustrations at the lack of progress regarding

prosecutions."We are allowing impunity.It does mean that there are

those who are able to say: Hahaha, what can you do to us?'," Tutu

said.Pikoli refused to say which cases would be taken to court

saying only "we are dealing with complex issues.We shall go to

court when we are ready."One of South Africa's most notorious

apartheid army brigadiers, Wouter Basson - also known as "Dr Death"

- who headed the apartheid state's chemical and biological warfare

programme, was prosecuted, but acquitted on 46 charges ranging from

murder to fraud.But Eugene de Kock or "Prime Evil" as he was

nicknamed in the media, who was the commander of the Vlakplaas base

for a vicious apartheid hit squad, is serving a life sentence after

the truth commission turned down his amnesty application.-

Nampa-AFP

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