Ann Eveleth
A COALITION of KwaZulu-Natal mental health and human rights organisations has warned that the start of the Truth and Reconcilation Commission next year could escalate rather than ease tension in the volatile province, unless the commission is adequately equipped to deal with the social aspects of the process.
In a submission to Justice Minister Dullah Omar, Lawyers for Human Rights, the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, Human Rights Committee, the Community Dispute Resolution Trust and the Human Rights Documentation Project warned that the commission could take place against a backdrop of escalating violence if financial, legal, social, psychological and security needs of the commission were not met.
The coalition warned that a single massacre similar to those in Ndwedwe and Ulundi on the eve of last year’s election could “jeopardise the whole process and prevent people from coming forward to tell their stories”.
Political violence in KwaZulu-Natal had claimed more than 13 000 lives in the past decade and displaced more than 500 000 people, and “the potential exists for the commission to create more harm than healing if not implemented with real consideration of the mental health aspects of the process”, the submission said.
Warning that the local government elections due in the province next year, a general breakdown of the rule of law and the administration of justice, and a history of security force complicity in violence stood to aggravate tension in the province in the run- up to the commission, the coalition said proper structures needed to be set up now to ensure the commission functioned effectively.
The coalition also warned that a negative attitude by provincial politicians, unrealistic expectations promoted by the media and the conflict between the commission and the criminal justice system could hinder the
Recommendations of the coalition included: the expansion of the definition of a gross human rights violation to include displacees in the process; a provincial operation proportionate to the volume of violence; adequate support and resource personnel versed in local dynamics; a stong legal base to prevent interdicts against the commission; radio education about the commission; a strong mental health component to prepare and counsel participants, and an undertaking by all stakeholders to ensure the personal safety of investigators.