Gaye Davis
JUSTICE Minister Dullah Omar said on Thursday he would be meeting with President Nelson Mandela, “hopefully within the next few days”, to finalise the procedure for appointing members of the Truth Commission.
Urgency will be the watchword: the 18-month lifespan of the Truth Commission started ticking away this week, when President Mandela’s signature marked the passage into law of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act.
Omar would not be drawn on the possibility of prospective commissioners being interviewed in public hearings, which a range of South African organisations, and Amnesty International, called for this week. “We need to get the commission going as quickly as possible but, at the same time, the commission has to enjoy broad support,” he said.
However, he was adamant that political horsetrading would play no role in the appointment of commission members. “The President is also strongly of the view that there be no political appointments as such, and that the commission enjoy the confidence of the public at large.”
While there had been “no such pressures thus far”, the fact that President Mandela would have to consult with the various political parties and the Cabinet opened the possibility of the process “degenerating into a horsetrading exercise”.
“We are absolutely determined not to allow this to happen,” he said.
A coalition of human rights and community-based organisations this week expressed the same fear, saying the effectiveness of the Truth Commission would rest on the calibre and integrity of its commissioners.
“The human rights community has fought long and hard for the establishment of an effective Truth Commission,” the coalition said. “The government can expect the strongest resistance if it jeopardises the entire endeavour by staffing (it) with political
It called for names of nominees to be made public so their track records could be scrutinised and comments made, in addition to public hearings where each nominee would be questioned on their commitment to human rights and past activities in this regard.
Theologian Frank Chikane is still a contender for chairing the commission. Sources said, however, there were concerns in National Party quarters over his activities within the United Democratic Front and the fact that he was a victim of dirty tricks in a 1989 poisoning attempt.
Other names doing the rounds include those of Dr Alex Boraine, director of Justice in Transition; Yasmin Soeker of the World Conference on Religion and Peace; Black Sash veteran Mary Burton; political philosopher Professor Andre du Toit, and UCT professor of public law Hugh Corder.
Minister Omar said he would be asking individuals, organisations and institutions to submit nominations to be passed on to President Mandela. Neither he nor the president had so far approached anyone, he said.
“To have started any discussions before Parliament had completed its work would have been contemptuous. The president made it clear he would do nothing until the democratic process had taken its course. Having signed the Bill, he is now prepared to take the next step”.
He expected an announcement on the appointment process to be made “very soon”, he added.