Apartheid

During the time of Apartheid many innocent people had gone through allot such as racial discrimination and many harsh experiences which had taken place during that era. It will be investigated why it was necessary for the South African government to heal the wounds of past political experiences and try and correct its past mistakes and how the Truth and reconciliation commission contributed.

Before the year of 1994 many South Africans especially non-whites had experienced harsh racism and discrimination due to the colour of their skin ,many were beaten ,badly treated, not given fair opportunities because of their race  this had been known as the Apartheid era, an era in which people of all different races had suffered and were restricted and seen as inferior to whites ,the TRC was a committee which was implemented to try and fix the bad effects of Apartheid and was dedicated through its aims of the project ,debates ,successes and through some of its limitations it was able to contribute to the process of healing past political wounds .As the Apartheid South Africa had been described by as “ the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights” (Tutu)

The TRC project  had been sparked of by many contributing factors with in South Africa were by innocent people ,mainly people who were non-white were suffering .The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Government to help deal with what happened under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses, deaths of many innocent people from all sides. This was one of the main contributing factors which led to the creation of the TRC. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up under the conditions of the “Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act , No 34 of 1995’ (Omar). The main purpose of this sector was to record, and in some cases grant amnesty to people who committed crimes relating to human rights violations as the creation of the sectors of the TRC could help those move forwards from the bad effects of Apartheid. The Truth and Reconciliation Committee consisted of members such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu Chairperson, Dr Alex Boraine.

Members of the TRC such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu played an important role in trying to help South Africa move forward from apartheid but as Alex Boraine deputy chairperson of the TRC explains that “it was not the intention of the commission to demand forgiveness, to pressurise people to forgive, but to create an opportunity where this could take place for those who were able and ready to do so” (Boraine, 2013). The Truth and reconciliation committee had provided a platform for the once Apartheid South Africa to move forward and this had been tasked through three TRC Committees.

The work of the TRC had been split through three committees: Human Rights Violations Committee investigated human rights abuses that took place between 1960 and 1994. Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee had the responsibility of helping victims' gain their dignity and formulating plans to help with rehabilitation. Amnesty committee considered and looked at requests by people who applied for it. Through the structure of the TRC which had been based on the opportunity for people to move forwards from this bad time in south African history with the help of both, the chair and vice chairperson and contributing committees a cycle had started which was a pivotal point in trying to fix the bad effects of Apartheid as many people who had been affected were innocent, and sought closure to which the TRC had promoted through its aims

The TRC has set up aims in which ,through these aims they were able to fix and help people who had been in justice during the apartheid era, violations of human rights which were committed during the period from 1 March 1960 to a certain date cases were reassessed both circumstances and factors as well as the perspectives of the victims and the motives of people responsible for committing such violations were looked at .TRC had a list of aims which had been split and promoted through its three committees the human rights violations committee ,the reparation and rehabilitation committee and the amnesty committee. which all had the same goal and aim which was to bring justice to those who were hurt and had their human rights violated during apartheid and to heal the past political wounds of which the apartheid south African government had brought to its people .through the truth and reconciliation this could be achieved although the TRC had been involved in much debates

The was involved in many debates which concerned it intentions for the victims who wereactually suffering

The TRC achieved some notable successes.  As vice chairperson Alex Boraine says “I believe the TRC contributed to a national process of acknowledgment (recognizing and admitting the truth), accountability, and responsibility which has unlocked the greater possibility of a measure of reconciliation, not only for individuals, but also for the nation “ (Boraine A. , 2013). In an open process the TRC had records of apartheid-era human rights abuses that could no longer be denied and will be dealt with directly in order to bring peace of mind to those who were affected by the apartheid regime .Through one of the TRC committees some cases were granted amnesty to qualified perpetrators in a gesture of peace and reconciliation as way to move forward from what has happened. In some cases, relatives of victims forgiven individuals who admitted killing their loved ones this had been one of many major successes achieved by the TRC as this had started to decrease anger among the South African nation from effects of Apartheid. While the Truth and Reconciliation Committee may not have united the nation, it layed a platform for all South Africans who were ready to forgive and move forward .The TRC had been successful in many aspects as it had brought peace of mind to those who had been hurt , racially discriminated ,beaten and for those who had lost their loved ones .the TRC also formed unity among the South African nation and was mostly a success through its aims and ambitions as the TRC provided psychological healing and reconciliation for individuals, groups ,victims and offenders and provided forgiveness for those who had committed crimes it was a total success as in the sense of trying to create a democratic and diverse nation where apartheid didn’t . Through the TRCs successes the South African government was able to lay a platform for the people of south Africa to help heal the nation’s past political wounds, although it wasn’t entirely successful, as many were not ready to forgive due to some limitations were by many cases were unsolved due to many not testifying and as many crucial people didn’t get justice