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ANC victims 'also want answers'
13/08/2007 14:01 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Rights group Afriforum on Monday called on African National Congress (ANC) leaders to make full disclosure of "atrocities" they were involved with during the 1980s.
The call comes ahead of the court appearance on Friday of apartheid-era minister of police Adriaan Vlok, and police chief General Johann van der Merwe, for the attempted murder in 1989 of the then SA Council of Churches general secretary Frank Chikane.
"Not treating the ANC leaders in the same manner, will amount to selective morality and the violation of the constitutional principle of equality in the eyes of the law," Afriforum spokesperson Kallie Kriel said in statement.
Vlok and Van der Merwe did not apply for amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the incident against Chikane, now in the presidency office.
ANC targeted civilians
"...the victims of the ANC's terror attacks (are) also still waiting for answers from especially members of the group of 37 ANC leaders whose applications for amnesty were rejected by the court because they were not prepared to make full disclosures to the [TRC] about the specific atrocities which stemmed from their decisions and orders," the statement read.
"... Chikane's recent statements - for example that people who were responsible for human rights violations in the past, now have to make full disclosures about their atrocities and should not wait until the evidence had piled up against them - are equally applicable to the ANC leaders."
There was concern that condemnation of apartheid was being "misapplied" in some international circles to justify the ANC leaders' "human rights violations" of the 1980s.
Kriel believed this ignored the international community's previous and current prohibition of methods used by the ANC during resistance to apartheid.
"Kriel underlined that in spite of the fact that ANC had signed Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention in 1980, 80% of the ANC's terror attacks after 1985 were targeted at civilians," Afriforum said.
"The murder of two-year-old Nasie van Eck and numerous other innocent civilians as a result of the ANC leaders' directive that landmines had to be planted as part of Operation Kletswayo, surely cannot be less deserving of prosecution than the attempted murder of Reverend Frank Chikane."
Afriforum is assisting Erick van Eck whose mother, father and two siblings died in a landmine attack in 1985, with the prosecution of ANC leaders.
Vlok and Van der Merwe are expected to be joined in the stand by Christoffel Smith, Gert Otto and Johannes Van Staden, all former high-ranking policemen.
- SAPA
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