Reconciliation, but Justice Too : South Africa is right to prosecute former officials indicted in 1987 massacre

During South Africa’s tortuous path from apartheid to democracy, the white government waged war on blacks, slaughtering many innocents. Now, in the post-apartheid era, there is a new government and a new reality. Behavior condoned by a regime intent on keeping the races separate is now condemned by a multiracial government committed to integration.

As the nascent democracy continues to take root, a process evidenced by last week’s successful local elections, President Nelson Mandela insists on prosecuting war crimes that his predecessor, Frederik W. de Klerk, now the nation’s deputy president, would rather the nation forgive and perhaps forget.

Consider Magnus Malan, a former defense minister and a prominent leader in the old white regime. During his tenure, from 1980 to 1991, Malan led the “total onslaught” strategy against the government’s enemies. That so-called onslaught included teaming with militant Zulus, members of the Inkatha Freedom Party, who were driven by a misguided zeal to stop their rivals, Mandela’s African National Congress, from assuming power. The Zulu hit squads--trained, financed and encouraged by the white government--stopped at nothing.

Malan and 19 of his former aides are accused of authorizing a death squad that murdered a priest and 12 women and children in 1987 while they were sleeping.

Mandela, who has forgiven much although he endured 27 years in prison, is right to prosecute Malan and the others, all charged with murder. The indictments won’t sit easy with those whites who feel they have given up everything and gained nothing in the transition to black majority rule. De Klerk has warned of a white backlash and labeled the indictments as selective prosecutions.

De Klerk pleads for patience and temporary amnesty until those accused of “political crimes” can formally apply for amnesty. The new nation cannot risk prosecuting every white South African who committed a so-called political crime or every black South African similarly accused. However, it’s important to distinguish between the crimes of those who directly controlled and perpetrated violence and discrimination against people because of their race and the crimes of those who fought against that immoral system. In that light, the prosecution of Malan and his top lieutenants is inarguably right. Reconciliation is important as South Africa makes the transition from international pariah to respected nation state. But so is justice. Mandela and De Klerk: Disagreeing on how to handle old crimes.