Richard Goldstone on Exposing the Truth
Richard J. Goldstone is a justice of the
Constitutional Court of South Africa, which has been trusted with the
task of interpreting the new South African Constitution and supervising
the country's transition into democracy. He is a member of the
international panel established in August 1997 by the government of
Argentina to monitor the inquiry into Nazi activity in the republic
since 1938. Goldstone is also chairperson of the International
Independent Inquiry on Kosovo established in 1999; national president
of the National Institute of Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of
Offenders (NICRO); chairperson of the Bradlow Foundation, a charitable
educational trust; and head of the board of the Human Rights Institute
of South Africa (HURISA).
Before taking a seat on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Goldstone served as chairperson of the Standing Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation-later known as the Goldstone Commission. The Commission played a critical role in defusing the political violence that erupted when apartheid in South Africa began eroding in the late 1980s as the country moved toward its first democratic elections. From 1994 to 1996, Goldstone served as the chief prosecutor of the United Nations International War Crimes Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
In this clip from a talk he gave for Facing History, entitled "For Humanity, Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator," Justice Goldstone discusses how so many white South Africans did not believe the heinous acts against blacks in their own country. Goldstone stresses the important role the TRC played in exposing the truth of apartheid.
Before taking a seat on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Goldstone served as chairperson of the Standing Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation-later known as the Goldstone Commission. The Commission played a critical role in defusing the political violence that erupted when apartheid in South Africa began eroding in the late 1980s as the country moved toward its first democratic elections. From 1994 to 1996, Goldstone served as the chief prosecutor of the United Nations International War Crimes Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
In this clip from a talk he gave for Facing History, entitled "For Humanity, Reflections of a War Crimes Investigator," Justice Goldstone discusses how so many white South Africans did not believe the heinous acts against blacks in their own country. Goldstone stresses the important role the TRC played in exposing the truth of apartheid.
Transcript:
"In 1990, I would guess
the majority of South Africans did not believe that the South African
Security Forces were murdering people, poisoning people, torturing
people, burning their bodies and all the rest of it. There was
skepticism. People didn't want to believe it. It wasn't in their
interest to believe it, and for many people it strained their
imaginations; they didn't believe it.
There were two histories. Black people knew that this was happening because they were the victims. White people didn't want to believe it, and didn't believe it. And they believed the fabrications that were put out by the security forces. People weren't tortured to death in police cells, they stepped on a piece of soap and died from head injuries caused in falling. That was a very common story that was put out to explain tens of deaths in the Johannesburg Police cells.
So the Truth Commission has really put an end to that, in that there is one history people saw in South Africa on television, and those of you who have seen the Facing History Bill Moyers film will understand the shock it was to many South Africans to see the perpetrators themselves convicting themselves out of their own mouths. And so we have that wonderful opportunity now in our schools to teach that history."
There were two histories. Black people knew that this was happening because they were the victims. White people didn't want to believe it, and didn't believe it. And they believed the fabrications that were put out by the security forces. People weren't tortured to death in police cells, they stepped on a piece of soap and died from head injuries caused in falling. That was a very common story that was put out to explain tens of deaths in the Johannesburg Police cells.
So the Truth Commission has really put an end to that, in that there is one history people saw in South Africa on television, and those of you who have seen the Facing History Bill Moyers film will understand the shock it was to many South Africans to see the perpetrators themselves convicting themselves out of their own mouths. And so we have that wonderful opportunity now in our schools to teach that history."
Related Videos:
Related Facing History Resources:
Video length:
01 min 35 sec
Date filmed:
Jan 23 2001 
