Special Report Transcript Episode 42, Section 2, Time 18:46

Alright, Benedict you wanted to come in? // Benedict from Special Report, SABC. Why have people like PW Botha not been subpoenaed to come to the TRC? // Well they don’t have to be subpoenaed. You see, I think the whole idea of subpoenaing people is only for purposes of investigating and information gathering. And the view is that if you can gather the information other than calling people by way of a subpoena, I mean the end result is the same. There is a sense in which, and I will be open about it, there is a sense in which the leadership of the Commission, and we were carried along with it, felt that we should take into account the age of the person. It’s like the same position that I have taken into account and other people have been saying why have you not subpoenaed KD Matanzima? // Are you then not neglecting the victims of that era? // No I don’t think so, because the intention and especially if you look at the other side of what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is about. I don’t think the purpose is to humiliate PW Botha; the intention is to get information from him, which it would be possible to get from him if we adopted a certain strategy. Let me tell you, in an example, and this is the example that the Archbishop gave. When President Nelson Mandela went to see PW Botha, PW Botha made it very clear that he is going to have nothing to do with the Commission and that was when he was being approached by the man himself, I mean by the president of the country. He just did not cooperate. But the approach that was adopted by the Archbishop, with all its flaws from the point of view of those that think that we are adopting a soft approach, produce the results. Not only did we meet with PW Botha, swearing that he is not going to meet the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he met us, he gave us a statement, we are going back to him for further clarification and we are getting the information that we wanted by adopting another …

Notes: Max du Preez; Benedict Moteau; Dumisa Ntsebeza

References: there are no references for this transcript