[Magdalen] ++ Desmond Tutu

[Sally Davies]

As for The Arch, only the best kind of liberation theology. As an
ex-evangelical I enjoy his approach much more these days, he always gets
the bigger picture and his grasp of scripture is very sound albeit not to
the liking of many. "Aliens in the Household of God", to which he wrote an
introduction and contributed, is an outstanding piece of writing and of
liberal Christian thought.

As to the TRC, that's more controversial. In South Africa it's seen from a
range of perspectives - as a model to follow, yes, but that view is losing
ground. Critiques range from pointing out the extent to which the so called
"miracle" of the TRC and the peaceful regime change has been used in
political and social discourse to distract from our subsequent failures; to
a position that says, the TRC was a good thing but didn't finish its job.

Ultimately justice is for the victims, not the perpetrators. As the TRC
wound up, the expectation from the Commissioners as well as from many of
those who testified and the public in general, was that compensation would
be paid to victims. This has not happened. A court case ensued in the USA
where some victims of apartheid were represented against multinational
businesses who profited from apartheid, and IIRC they won their case?

There was never going to be a Nuremberg here. The people who sought amnesty
were the upper middle rank and some of the middle rank of the security
forces. Those who made the laws, the ones who secretly gave the orders,
those in high office were never held to account. PW Botha, the Minister of
Defence, the Minister and Commissioner of Police...all got away with it.

On the other side, those responsible for atrocities in the ANC camps and
some "terrorist" atrocities in South Africa and elsewhere also got away
with it, indeed some of them ended up in power, others continued to be the
criminals they always were and ended up in jail - the St James Church
bombers were part of APLA, got amnesty, a couple of them went on to commit
military style cash-van heists.

So whilst I too admire the work of the TRC and think it was important at
that moment of history, it should not be used as an example to follow IMO
unless there is a more thorough going attempt to satisfy the demands of
justice.

Sally D