RONNIE ELLIOT, Pretoria | Monday 3.30pm.
The government would abide by the ruling should a court try to stop the handing over of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report to President Nelson Mandela on Thursday.
Justice Minister Dullah Omar would not be drawn of the merits of former president FW de Klerk’s Cape High Court application for an urgent interdict to stop the report, which apparently implicates him in acts of terror by the state. He said the government did not bar access to the courts and he personally hoped that nothing would stop Thursday’s hand over.
Asked about possible recommendations for the prosecution of, among others, senior ANC cabinet members, he said the government would be handing a copy of the report to National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Mgcuka. Mgcuka would decide whether to prosecute or not.
He said that the Truth Commission process had been extremely generous. “It has never been one sided … it’s regrettable that people criticise the TRC and say it is not even-handed,” he said.
About 40 victims of human rights violations will witness Thursday’s historic ceremony in Pretoria.