AC/2000/101
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
AMNESTY COMMITTEE
APPLICATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 18 OF THE PROMOTION OF NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONCILIATION ACT NO. 34 OF 1995.
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APLA HIGH COMMAND APPLICANT
(AM 7832/97)
Heard in Chambers
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DECISION
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This is an application in terms of Section 18 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995 ("the Act").
The Applicants are the Commanders of the then Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).
These commanders did not specify their individual names as they are accepting collective responsibility for any act, omission, offence or delict committed by members of the PAC as a result of which people died, others were injured and property was damaged (paragraph 9(b) of the application form, Form 1).
In the PAC's submission to the TRC under the heading:
"The nature and particulars of such acts, omission, offences"
they state that their objective was "to liberate Azania" (South Africa) because "the country was under illegitimate government at the time".
The Amnesty Committee finds that an act, omission or offence must be subject matter of an application and in the instance no such act, omission or offence had been disclosed, the Applicants did not comply with the requirements of the Act. This would amount to the granting of general amnesty.
The application is similar to the one submitted by members of the ANC, the so-called ANC 27, in which they relied upon a Declaration to support their joint application. In that matter, amnesty was REFUSED.
In this matter the Committee has considered the application and finds that similarly, it does not comply with the requirements of the Act and therefore it fails.
SIGNED at CAPE TOWN this day of 2000
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Furthermore, the application was not signed by anybody acting on behalf of the body who is sighted as Applicant. Section 18 of Act 34 of 1995 states that "any person" who applies for amnesty . No person is mentioned as Applicant.
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C D DE JAGER A.J.