Monitor: Truth and reconciliation

Comments on the conclusions of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Mail & Guardian

South Africa

FOR ALL the fine work the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has done it will take generations to wipe the slate clean. It is one important link in an ongoing process of uncovering the truth. The process of national healing, uncovering the truth and even prosecuting the offenders must go on. But it has performed an extraordinary service for this country which the pettiness of the politicians has only thrown into relief. We salute Desmond Tutu and his team for the way they breathed life into their strange and cumbersome task. It is a magnificent achievement.

The Age

Australia

PERHAPS THE most poignant and eloquent finding of the TRC is not about apportioning blame in the search for truth, but about the quest for reconciliation that now confronts South Africa. It must now promote a culture of human rights from a low base, part of its apartheid inheritance. It faces the daunting task of bringing black and white together even though they remain economically at opposite poles. None of this will be easy, but the findings of the TRC are a basis from which to begin.

Business Day

South Africa

THE COMMISSION has edged blacks and whites towards a common view of SA's violent past. It has shown all South Africans the dangers posed by racial divisions. It has been driven by men and women from all communities and many walks of life whose generous humanity and commitment to the truth shine through the report's every page. It has been a microcosm of the society we must strive to be.