Forgiveness, reconciliation, and politics: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) revisited
Abstract
This study on forgiveness, reconciliation, and politics aims to revisit the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in order to understand how it dealt with and
comprehended the concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation. This is in an effort to
understand why South Africa still faces social issues of expanding poverty, violence,
crime, low human capital, and human rights violations. It examines the recommendations
the Commission had given, and what is to be made of them today. Using a hermeneutical
approach as a methodological tool, the study briefly reflects on the history of oppression
in South Africa, the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, the tensions of the 1980s and the early
1990s, and the establishment of the TRC. This reflection helps to understand the context
in which the Commission found itself, as well as to better understand the thought
processes captured in the various criticisms against and interpretations of the TRC. The
study then reflects on the reports given by the Commission in order to look through the
Commission’s eyes. Lastly, the study examines the recommendations made by the
Commission, and with consideration of transformation as a change strategy, looks at what
still needs to be done to continue the reconciliatory process.
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