海角大神

This article originally appeared in the Sept. 30, 1996, edition of 海角大神 right before Eugene De Kock, head of a deadly apartheid state covert unit, was sentenced to two life terms and an additional 212 years in prison. The South African government granted him parole Friday after 20 years.聽

Trial Tests South Africa's Will to Forgive

JOHANNESBURG 鈥� Churchill Mxenge can鈥檛 forget the night of Nov. 19, 1981, when as颅sassins from a police hit squad stabbed his brother, Griffiths Mxenge, a prominent civil-rights lawyer, and dumped his body in a sports field.

Mr. Mxenge says one of the men who is guilty of his brother鈥檚 murder is Eugene de Kock, one of the apartheid state鈥檚 most in颅famous assassins, who in hear颅ings at South Africa鈥檚 Supreme Court has given a blow-by-blow account of his role in the deaths of scores of apartheid foes.

During his 18-month trial, Mr. De Kock, who headed the notori颅ous Vlakplaas police unit that trained death squads like the one that killed Griffiths Mxenge, has insisted he acted on orders of the formerly white-run regime.

On trial is more than just De Kock, nicknamed 鈥淧rime Evil鈥� by his colleagues. The case has deepened national debate over whether apartheid-era human rights abusers should be forgiven 鈥� or face their final days in jail.

On one side are proponents of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Nobel-prizewinning anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu. Dr. Tutu says amnesty for confessed perpetrators 鈥� black and white 鈥� of polit颅ically motivated atrocities during white rule will help heal the na颅tion鈥檚 racial wounds.

On the other side are people like Ntsiki Biko, widow of black leader Steve Biko who died while in police custody, and Mr. Mx颅enge, who want to see the killers of their relatives avenged. They say the Truth Commission is a toothless body, incapable of pro颅viding true justice for victims. 鈥淭he commission, as far as we鈥檙e concerned, is not going to be able to deliver,鈥� Mxenge says. 鈥淚n the end, the victims will come up with nothing.鈥�

On Friday, De Kock told the Supreme Court during his sentence-mitigation hearings that he will seek a full official pardon for his crimes from the Truth Commission, adding that he would reveal more details of his past to that body.

鈥淭he end result of my amnesty application is to go free,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ad I not been sitting in this court, I would have already applied for amnesty'.鈥�

De Kock鈥檚 decision coincides with recent national surveys in which a growing number of South Africans say human rights abusers should be prosecuted and not be granted amnesty.

Yet many observers predict that De Kock鈥檚 confessions about apartheid's horrific and carefully concealed security machine will tilt the scales in his favor.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no question his crimes were politically motivated and that he was following or颅ders,鈥� says Tom Lodge, a po颅litical analyst at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.

So far, De Kock has fin颅gered higher-ups such as for颅mer President Pieter Botha and Frederik De Klerk, the last white president who stepped down after April 1994 elections brought the African National Congress (ANC) to power. He has even linked a South African security agent to the 1986 murder of Olof Palme, Sweden鈥檚 apartheid-fighting prime minister.

Last month, the Supreme Court found De Kock guilty on 89 charges, including six counts of murder. He also said he supplied arms to paramilitary units of Mangosuthu Buthelezi鈥檚 Inkatha Freedom Party, which killed hundreds of ANC supporters, in颅cluding Victoria Mxenge, the murdered attorney's wife.

Earlier this year, De Kock's predecessor, former Vlakplaas commander Dirk Coetzee, who confessed in 1989 to mas颅terminding the lawyer's killing, applied for amnesty from the Truth Commission.

Mr. Coetzee鈥檚 amnesty plea raised the ire of Churchill Mxenge, who, joined by Mrs. Biko and relatives of other victims, launched civil suits that are still pending against Coetzee. Coetzee was sub颅sequently arrested and charged with the murder.

Mxenge claims De Kock, who after Coetzee headed the coun颅terinsurgency unit, is an accessory to Mxenge鈥檚 death and is also implicated in the 1985 killing of Mrs. Mxenge. He plans to take De Kock to court.

鈥淭hey both don鈥檛 deserve amnesty,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat they鈥檝e done to people is ghastly. We want to prosecute. We don鈥檛 want to play games and cry before the Truth Commission.鈥�

De Kock's impending amnesty plea will pose an immense chal颅lenge for the commission, analysts say. Until now, the body has mostly heard emotional testimony from victims鈥� relatives rather than confessions from perpetrators who seek pardons.

Truth Commission officials say the type of justice the body hopes to deliver often cannot offer direct restitution to victims, but that the process is needed for a national catharsis.

Analysts say that amnesty proceedings, for De Kock and other confessed killers, must be completed quickly given South Africa鈥檚 high crime and murder rates.

鈥淲e cannot send a signal to the people that you can commit a serious crime and get away with it,鈥� South Africa鈥檚 Justice Minis颅ter Dullah Omar said in an interview last year. "Amnesty is not a good thing for the purposes of maintaining law and order.鈥�