THE chief executive officer of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Dr Biki Minyuku, says he will not differentiate between the victims of apartheid atrocities and those who suffered at the hands of the liberation movements.
Minyuku says it is his overall objective to unify individuals who have suffered losses during the years of apartheid, irrespective of which side they were on.
Human rights violations touched the whole spectrum of South African society. “I do not see my role as playing one organisation off against the other. We are dealing with human beings whose rights have been violated and violations know no affiliation,” he says.
Although he is a card-carrying African National Congress member, Minyuku says he does not regard himself as “overtly” ANC. “The fact that I am an ANC member has nothing to do with my effectiveness and efficiency as CEO to the Truth and Reconciliation Commision.”
Minyuku says it is his individual right to belong to the ANC, just as it is another’s right to belong to any organisation of their choice. However, he would be willing to consider relinquishing his party political membership if the community at large felt it affected his impartiality as the commission’s CEO.