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Truth Commission 
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Truth and Reconciliation Commission Update

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Initially FXI's involvement in the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission was limited to ensuring maximum transparency in the Commission's work. In 1997, however, in the light of a theme hearing on the media during apartheid, FXI compiled a massive submission the value of which the Commission acknowledged at the hearing itself. 

The FXI became involved in the controversy surrounding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in January 1995, when we were invited to a seminar organised by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Lawyers for Human Rights. The seminar involved a briefing on the provisions of the Bill (still at the discussion stage by the Portfolio Committee on Justice at that stage). Both organisations invited those present to endorse a statement calling for open hearings during applications for amnesty, and condemning the secrecy provisions arrived at in a Cabinet compromise. 

The FXI endorsed this statement and also approached the Portfolio Committee to present both written and oral submissions on the Bill identifying the freedom of expression issues. In its written submission, the FXI called for the principle of public hearings to be adopted as the general rule. It also laid down criteria by which applications for in-camera hearings could be evaluated, if this proved to be necessary: arguments developed for the Cameron Commission of Inquiry into illegal arms trading were used to flesh out these criteria. 

The Portfolio Committee did not grant the FXI an opportunity for an oral hearing, however, we did make our submission available to the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation so that they could raise freedom of expression points in their oral hearing. The FXI also gave numerous interviews to the media on the impact of the Bill for freedom of expression. 

The result of this joint pressure was tangible: the Portfolio Committee recommended open hearings to Parliament on the basis that the Commission would suffer from a lack of legitimacy if applications for amnesty were heard in secret: however, Parliament insisted that provisions be made for in-camera hearings in sensitive' cases. 

The FXI also lent support to a joint statement from human rights organisations calling for open hearings in the appointment procedures of the Commissioners. These took place that the Commission has commenced its work. 

Yet our misgivings about the actual extent of transparency allowed for by the Truth Commission Act has not gone away. In March 1996, the FXI sought legal opinion arising from comments made by Truth Commissioners at a seminar held in Johannesburg on March 1-2,1996 on the theme of "Reporting the Truth Commission". This seminar was convened by the Applied Broadcasting Centre and Justice in Transition in South Africa. At that seminar a number of Commissioners were present and they stated that they may have to make use of their in camera powers to shield certain witnesses, particularly victims, from civil defamation actions. They further pointed out that should defamatory statements be made by victims, and should these be reported in the media, the media itself could face civil defamation actions. 

The legal opinion confirmed our concerns about the inadequate protection in respect of privilege afforded to witnesses who testify before the Truth Commission as well as to the media who report on the hearings of the Commission. The lack of adequate protection for witnesses will in turn, we fear, lead to an unnecessary diminishing of transparency in the functioning of the Truth Commission. On the basis of this opinion, the FXI together with the Media Resource Centre of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) and Lawyers for Human Rights approached the Minister of Justice, Dullah Omar, for an urgent meeting to propose amendments to the Bill. No response has been received. 

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* The Truth and Reconciliation Commission 
* FXI's submission on the National Unity and Reconciliation Bill 
* FXI's legal opinion on witness and media privilege in relation to the Pormotion of Truth and Reconciliation Bill - full text version 
* FXI's representations to the Minister of Justice re. openness of Truth Commission - including summary of legal opinion on witness and media privilege, April 12, 1996. 
* FXI's Submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 
 
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FXI's submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the role of the media during Apartheid

FXI's submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the role of the media during Apartheid 
On Monday, 2 June 1997, the FXI made a submission to the TRC on the role of the media during apartheid. The submission was the culmination of five months of intense work by a team of independent researchers, whose work was co-ordinated by the Chairperson of the FXI executive committee, Mr. Raymond Louw, and fellow committee member, Mr. Clive Emdon. The entire FXI submission was made up of 19 separate papers totaling more than 600 pages. Only the five main papers were made available to the media and public, following a request from the TRC that it first have the opportunity to peruse the other papers before they were distributed. Three of these documents can now be downloaded as text files, while the other two are available as Wordperfect files. 

 
* If you need pkunzip you can download it now. The pkunzip command is run from dos. The command to use is: pkunzip (filename).zip (e.g.: pkunzip raytrc.zip) followed by a return. 

* An overarching document providing an overview of the many documents in the submission and presenting the thrust of the FXI's position (This document also lists ALL the documents handed to the TRC): 

* See the Text Document (31K) 
* Download the Text File (12K) 

* The Role and Performance of the Mainstream Newspaper Industry, its Management and Editorial Management 1960-1994 by Christel and Hendrik Bussiek: 

* Download the Word Perfect File (131K) See the text document (206K) 

* State Actions against Journalists and their Newspapers by Jennifer Nix: 

* See the Text Document (108K) 
* Download the Word Perfect File (56K) 

* A Chronology of the history of the Media under Apartheid by Karen Martin: 

* See the Text Document (359K) 
* Download the Text File (128K) 

* The Legislation affecting the Media by Karen Martin and Kevin Moorhead: 

* See the Text Document (149K) 
* Download the Text File (54K) 

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