Special Report Transcript Episode 85, Section 2, Time 31:05

Alright, we only have five minutes left and I want to address the whole concept of reconciliation now. Maki Mandela, let’s look at what has happened in the Truth Commission in terms of reconciliation and what lies ahead. Your views. Where are we now in terms of reconciliation? Are we stuck in a racial divide? // I don’t think, as I said before, the Truth Commission I don’t think it has promoted reconciliation. As I said, to me reconciliation is much more than that. // Would you have preferred us not to have had a Truth Commission? // No, the Truth Commission that I think we should have had. I think it was nice, as Donald said, for the educational thing. I think that it forced a lot of those people who also denied their actions to come to terms with their actions, but that is different to saying that it is promoting reconciliation. // So is the Truth Commission not the Truth and Reconciliation Commission? // Yes, it’s the Truth Commission, not the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. // What is reconciliation then? // For me reconciliation is to say that we are going to address all the social injustices and inequities of the past. Yes, you can have the Truth Commission where people confess that truth. But if nothing changes in the fundamental basic conditions of the black people who were affected by apartheid, how do they reconcile? They are reconciling with what? // Isn’t that the ruling ANC’s problem? This is a government problem, isn’t it? // This is not just a government problem it’s a problem of every citizen of this country, especially those who benefitted most from apartheid.

Notes: Max du Preez; Maki Mandela

References: there are no references for this transcript