Thursday, March 20, 2003

Message of Hope for Victims

20 MARCH 2003

Contact person: Ike Tlholwe 011 403-4098 0834550444 (South Africa)

MESSAGE OF HOPE TO VICTIMS

We confirm and are in agreement with the theme of the inter-faith service planned for the 21st March at St Albans Cathedral in Pretoria .It is indeed a new beginning in the fight to keep hope alive .In the spirit which we believe the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act was conceived in ,we pledge our support to the process of payment of reparations to victims of gross human rights abuse that have thus far been identified. We agree with and commend the TRC commissioners on the work done in the compilation of the 22 000 case summaries and other parts of the volume prepared for handing over on the 21st March.

Victims their families and communities are urged to stay strong in the knowledge of the justness of their claims to payment . Whilst acknowledging the complexity of the process that the government is faced with we urge that inefficiencies be stripped out and only value-adding elements be given a place in an expedited process . We take this opportunity to pledge all logistical and information support to the process of the reparations part of the healing of the nation . We furthermore take the opportunity to announce that we are hard at work finalizing our database of victims throughout the length and breadth of the country , both identified by the TRC and those left out .The cases that we and partner organizations have lodged in the United States against corporations which aided and abetted the apartheid criminal exploitation are well underway.

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