At the end of the apartheid, the South African government was left a wounded nation. The country called for healing. In order to help heal the wounds, the TRC was created. The task of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to deal with human relation violations caused during the apartheid. Despite its relief elements and large government programs, they did deliver proper justice because their policies on who gets amnesty were tainted.The Commissioner did not do a good job of addressing the horrors of South Africa's apartheid past.They did not give the racial offenders justice for the crimes they committed. For instance, they would let people off if their crimes were politically motivated but that created blurred lines between politics and race.
One reason why the Commission did not address the elements properly was because of their guidelines. One standard for granting amnesty was the crime had to be committed for political intent. This creates injustice because it could possibly let people off for crimes that were racially motivated. The Guidelines also let people off the hook for crimes that were on the behalf of a publicly recognized political organization. But much anti-apartheid
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For instance, victims were upset because many of their perpetrators were left off the hook. This caused anger toward others who participated in the crime.Reconciliation between perpetrators and victims were not handled as the single court, but in group appeals where problems were probably more cluttered, and victims did not get much chance to have a one-on-one discussion with the accused. This took away from the experience that the victims were supposed to get from the trials. The Commission could also cause an uproar because it let people off with amnesty and then the government punished them. In addition, the commission did not address the violations well because of the tension it
This action showed how the government judicial system is not all that effective in prosecuting
It starts with remembering events where human rights were violated. Many people went missing while they in police detention. The stories would be that the people would commit suicide, which the black community did not believe. Steve Biko, who was the founder of black conscious movement, was said to have banged his head on the wall. They drove him to Pretoria when he was already near an emergency treatment and naked to make the matters worse. When people questioned it, it was completely ignored by the officers. The judicial system was corrupted and was unfair to the black community. The Nuremberg trial wasn’t helpful, it caused lost of being that could have gone to education and housing, evidence never survived, and cabinet minister and commissioner of police would lie. With Tutu being in the chair of commision, the people now tell their stories and not be afraid.
The trial was highly publicized due to the sheer ridiculousness of the sentencing and the defendants’ reaction to the trial itself. The initial trial is significant because it shows a clear picture of how the government treated the rising counter culture of the late sixties and seventies. Ultimately, the trial acts as a marker of how the justice system can be corrupt. After the arduous process of the court trial, all seven men came out of the ordeal with minor infractions and minimal jail-time.
This may have led to little international opposition from some countries, which is why I do not think it was one of the major causes in the ending of apartheid. Another long-term cause was black resistance. In the 1970's the black South Africans fought back against the government in a far more powerful, bold way than they ever had done before. Extremist groups began to form in all the townships, and riots broke out. There was also the introduction of black consciousness, which was about blacks standing up for themselves without the help of whites.
Even after all the proof of their innocents and the 99 witness that protested their innocents the jury still put them to death. Also during this time Attorney General Mitchell Palmer lead raids known as the Palmer Raids agai...
This system led to an overall negative effect on the village and its people because of the lack of understanding the lawmakers had about the people and their culture. The brutal punishments are mostly caused by the lack of coherence between the judicatories and the law enforcement in the area. An example of the brutal treatment can be found in chapter 23, where the leaders of the clan were held captive and starved until their fine was paid(Achebe, 192-196). Even though the commissioner had better intentions for
Some of the positive things to come from the Rettig Commission is the truth was brought to the open for many, and it gave the victim’s families the dignity if knowing what happened...
Linking this back to my previous statement, the accused needed to be trialed. The first problem that arises is the fact that the judges can rule how they please towards the accused. We all have times when we feel better than others and this can affect our reasoning as well as our attitude towards certain aspects of life. This statement also applies to the judges when they are in court. Naturally they are supposed to determine whether the accused is guilty of the crime that has happened and come up with a reasonable and suitable punishment but some judges let their personal affairs get in the way. While this might sound strictly unjust to the accused, the judge displays signs of inequality when he or she lets signs of weakness from the victim affect their final verdict. The judge is there to assign a verdict as well as give out the proper punishment that is associated with the crime that was committed. If the judge changes their decision based on their point of view as well as how they feel towards the accused this means that the judge is bias. This creates an inequality between the accused members because if different people have been accused of the same crime and get the same judge they might get different verdicts depending on what the judge thinks and feels about them. Beccaria states that ‘‘we see the same court
The judges and higher authorities even compensated the families for the mistake and publically apologized. After some later investigations the rest of the people being held in jail were eventually
Before 1980, the court and justice system officials were reluctant to identify the rights of the accused or the victim because of lack of the consultation, information, and lack of trust in the system. The courts or legislators focused less on victim injury or condition. Victims may be subjected to insensitive questioning by the police as they have somehow at fault in the offence. Victims rarely report incident to the police due to embarrassment or questioned by the police. After the initial pain of the crime, victims can be made feel worse by the actions of criminal justice system by postponed their case or dismissed and lose wages because of time spent testifying in court. Victim may be fearful of testifying in court due to low faith in the justice system or being embarrassed by defence attorney. Victims’ suffering does not end with the offender act; they may suffer more victimization at the hands of the justice system.
Mr. Nelson Mandela as peace maker struggle to reinstate the apartheid rule of South Africa with multi-racial democracy, During
It can be easily stated that the apartheid movement bestowed cruel and unusual punishments upon the people of South Africa, in order to execute its purpose. However, apartheid could have not been carried out if they were not individuals who believed in its principles. In order to understand the National parties ideologies regarding the issue of apartheid, it is essential to acknowledge the history of Boer soc...
Of course there is a challenge in implementing justice. Whether it’s a corrupt justice system, a fragile peace transition, large numbers of perpetrators or victims, and legal impediments such as amnesty laws. People can get justice through fair trials, truth seeking and fact finding, reparations, institutional reform, or memorialization. These mechanisms can be implemented by the national government, United Nations, international organizations or civil society. In order for these mechanisms to be successful they must be victim- centric, pragmatic, empowering, and work in the path of rebuilding trust relationships. Also, to emphasize the balance and for choosing the best strategy for justice, it is necessary to:
I was treated well in prison; security guards grew a certain respect for me. I decided not to waste my time, so I informed my cellmates about the apartheid, and their horrible laws. They listened attentively, and wanted to help, so together we organized hunger strikes and protests. After 27 years, on February 11, 1990 I was released from jail. I could’ve got out of jail in 1985, P.W. Botha offered me a release but only if I would stop the armed conflict. Without a doubt, I chose to stay in prison because I believed that the right thing to do was to put an end to apartheid. P.W. Botha was an evil man, he committed to state terrorism and to thwart black majority rule. He had a stroke in 1989 and Frederick Willem replaced Botha. Frederick on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Botha. He set me free from jail.”
Apartheid in South Africa became a huge issue due to the loss of human rights. Apartheid segregated and created problems between the whites and blacks of South Africa. Many of the blacks of South Africa had their rights violated due to the National Party making the white minority more powerful. Which automatically made the white richer and the black poorer. This was all changed when Nelson Mandela and F.W. De Klerk joined the African National Congress (ANC) and stood up against the National Party which created a more equalized South Africa.