The National Prosecuting Authority would not stop hunting apartheid-era criminals unless asked to do so by Parliament, the NPA said on Tuesday.
”And as far as we are concerned no law on blanket amnesty is being considered,” said NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi.
As the presidential inauguration draws near, speculation has arisen over the possibility of a blanket amnesty for criminals named by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, or presidential pardons for specific prisoners.
Such a blanket amnesty could be to the benefit of several people jailed for political crimes, both servants of the apartheid state and members of liberation movements.
Among those who might benefit were apartheid-era chemical and biological warfare expert Wouter Basson, whom the State still hopes to prosecute after several failed attempts, and Gideon Nieuwoudt — facing prosecution for the murders of three anti-apartheid activists in 1985.
African National Congress spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said talks had been held with the New National Party on the issue of a general amnesty, but the recent elections had interrupted discussions before any decisions were reached.
The talks would be resumed, but no date had been set, he said.
Before last week’s elections, Ngonyama said it would not be in the interests of nation building to proceed with ”mini-Nuremburg trials” against former members of the former security forces.
A report in ThisDay newspaper suggested on Tuesday that former security policeman and assassin Eugene De Kock might qualify for a presidential pardon.
”His application was submitted a long time ago and is just one of thousands,” presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said.
The president was not paying special attention to De Kock’s case, he added.
The newspaper said there was speculation that De Kock’s name and that of former Western Cape ANC leader Allan Boesak might be among several to receive amnesty.
But Khumalo said it was premature to speculate whether Mbeki would announce pardons as a gesture of goodwill.
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation said they were ”deeply concerned” by reports of ongoing negotiations for a possible further amnesty for perpetrators of political atrocities.
”Reports of a future amnesty threaten to undo these achievements however and undermine the very purpose of the TRC,” said a statement from the centre.
”The fact that current amnesty negotiations between the ANC, NNP and human rights abuse perpetrators have occurred covertly (without input from the victims concerned), and have been continually denied until now, raises serious doubts about the integrity of government’s commitment to reconciliation.”
”Whilst representatives of perpetrators are given space to air their client’s concerns, the process has excluded the voices and participation of survivors,” said the centre’s statement.
”It is unfortunate that the ANC, having just campaigned in part on the basis of reducing crime and addressing confidence in our criminal justice system, should choose to celebrate their victory by deliberately protecting some of the most hideous perpetrators of past violence.” – Sapa