TRC Final Report

Volume 4

Chapter 8

Volume FOUR Chapter EIGHT

Special Hearing:Compulsory Military Service(Conscription)

■ PURPOSE OF THE HEARING

The broad purpose of the special hearing on compulsory military service (also known as the ‘national service system’ or ‘conscription’)¹ was expressed by Archbishop Tutu as follows:

The Commission is required by law to investigate all aspects of the conflicts of the past which gave rise to gross violations of human rights and to consider the perspectives and motives of the various participants within that conflict.

We know that there have been different points of view about the sensitive issue of conscription and strong views expressed for and against the old SADF [South African Defence Force]. Some held very firmly to the view that South Africa was facing a total onslaught from the Communist empire and its surrogates, and believed that they were constrained to defend South Africa against what they perceived as an atheistic, unchristian foe. Others believed, equally vehemently, that the enemy was not out there; that the border was here in our midst, that certain things happened in waging wars that were thought to be totally necessary - things that must make us all hang our heads in shame.

This issue, like so many in our apartheid past, divided our nation. We want to know as much as possible about the truth from all perspectives so that we, as a Commission, can suggest ways in which a divided and traumatised nation may be healed and make recommendations on how to ensure that the mistakes of the past (made on all sides) are never repeated.

2 More specifically, the objective of the special hearing was to:

a provide an opportunity for those who suffered, and continue to suffer from their experiences as conscripts, to share their pain and reflect on their experiences;

b explore the range of experiences of those affected by conscription. Included amongst these were those who opposed conscription and those who believed they were fulfilling their duty – those who fought on the border, servicemen who participated in township policing, those who were part of the citizens’ force and those who served as conscripts in the South African Police (SAP). It included those who went into exile to avoid conscription, those who opposed it at home, and the experiences of families who suffered as the result of the traumatisation of their husbands, sons, or friends;

c raise public awareness about the reality and effects of post-traumatic stress disorder;

d develop recommendations on rehabilitation and reconciliation arising out of these experiences.

3 In a press statement calling for submissions from ex-conscripts in the South African Defence Force (SADF), the Commission emphasised that the hearing was “neither an attempt to look for perpetrators, nor a process that will lead to the awarding of victim status”, as defined by the Act governing the Commission.

■ PREPARATION

4 The special hearing on conscription was the subject of intense debates within the Commission and the product of sensitive and careful planning that involved consultation with various groups, both inside and outside of government. For example, in addition to the general call for submissions through the media, the Commission exchanged correspondence with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in an attempt to involve people from within the former defence force.2 The programme of the day was also designed in such a way as to reflect a diversity of views, beginning with a broad overview of the social and political context of compulsory military service in order to provide a background to individual testimonies. The hearing closed with an inclusive focus on the way forward.

5 Yet, despite attempts to cater for the widest possible divergence of views, most individual testimonies submitted to the Commission were critical of conscription and the SADF. Because of this, the Commission was accused of bias.³