Mandela, verdad y reconciliación

Resulta patético el espectáculo de los últimos días en que dirigentes políticos situados en las antípodas de la dignidad ética de Nelson Mandela intentan subirse al carro de la celebración de su memoria. Quienes lo catalogaron de terrorista y comunista, hoy lo encumbran a los altares. Y Mandela no fue terrorista, pero sí luchó -incluso con las armas- por la liberación de su pueblo y fue, primero militante y después firme aliado, del South African Communist Party (SACP).

Hasta en la Cadena Ser el inefable Carles Francino se atrevía a comparar a Mandela con "nuestro" Adolfo Suárez, por aquello del entrañable "rollito" de la transición modélica, la reconciliación y bla, bla, bla... En la misma línea, se han pronunciado Rajoy y García Margallo, obviando que Mandela impulsó la creación de una Comisión para la Verdad y la Reconciliación que, presidida por Desmond Tutu, desveló las flagrantes vulneraciones de los derechos humanos sufridas durante el terrible régimen del apartheid.

Nada de todo ello puede ser aplicado a nuestro país, donde se ha confundido reconciliación con olvido y pérdida de memoria, y se ha forzado a que las víctimas de la dictadura franquista tengan que acudir a la Justicia argentina en búsqueda del reconocimiento de sus derechos preteridos.

Mandela no fue un santo, simplemente un ser humano comprometido con las circunstancias de la historia de su pueblo, decidido de forma inquebrantable a luchar por su liberación, que arrostró las consecuencias de su lucha -incluso armada-, sufriendo cárcel y que, cuando tuvo el poder en sus manos, lo utilizó con inteligencia y visión de futuro. Pero, eso sí, basó la convivencia de la nueva Sudáfrica en la elaboración de la memoria histórica colectiva, como demuestran las actas de la Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Hoy, Obama llora lágrimas de cocodrilo, mientras envía drones asesinos, ordena ejecuciones extrajudiciales fuera de Estados Unidos de Norteamérica o espía a través de la NSA incluso a los dirigentes políticos aliados. Hollande exhibirá su hiératica figura llena de falsa grandeur, mientras envía tropas a las ex colonias francesas, como una suerte de nuevo Napoleón. Pero ninguno de ellos podrá arrebatar la memoria de un luchador como Mandela, que pertenece a todos los pueblos oprimidos que todavía deben buscar un nuevo horizonte de justicia y libertad.

Olvidemos a todos esos farsantes y simplemente volvamos a releer la emocionante autobiografía de Mandela, El largo camino hacia la libertad. ¡Hasta siempre, Madiba!

Para quienes estéis interesados aquí tenéis un pequeño sumario de los contenidos del Informe de la Comisión para la Verdad y la Reconciliación, que podéis consultar completo en www.justice.gov.za/trc/.

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the Commission) consists of five volumes, each with a particular focus. It is important to note that, once the Amnesty Committee finishes its work, an additional volume will report on the work of that Committee, based on amnesty hearings conducted and findings made. That volume will also include summaries of the statements of those people the Commission found to have suffered gross violations of human rights. While the current report contains a full list of the names of those in respect of whom such findings were made, the codicil will include details of the violations.

The bulk of the findings of the Commission may be found in the final volume, as indicated below. However, specific findings are made in individual chapters throughout the report.

The logical sequence of the five volumes of the report is as follows.

Volume One is an introductory volume, containing important discussion of key concepts and debates within the Commission itself and in society at large. It provides the basis and rationale for the work of the Commission, as described in the chapters that appear in the following volumes. It also describes the way the Commission worked and the methods it used in order to fulfil its mandate.

Volume Two addresses the commission of gross violations of human rights on all sides of the conflict. The first and greater part of the volume deals with the period between 1960 and 1990, while a separate chapter is dedicated to the unique political environment of the 1990s. The role of the state in the perpetration of gross violations of human rights is, for practical reasons, divided between violations committed outside South Africa and those committed inside South Africa. The homelands and their unique circumstances are described in a separate chapter, as is the role of the liberation movements.

Volume Three, which addresses gross violations of human rights from the perspective of the victim, is a companion to Volume Two. For reasons of space, accounts which are described in detail in one are frequently simply referred to in the other. The chapters in this volume are regionally structured, reflecting the regional structure of the Commission. This allowed for a targeted focus on distinct geographical area and a detailed examination of variations between different parts of the country.

Volume Four seeks to address the nature of the society in which gross violations of human rights took place, reporting on a series of 'institutional hearings' which sought to explore the broader institutional and social environment. In the process of conducting these hearings, the Commission sought to provide opportunities for self-examination by the various sectors, as well as discussion of their possible role in the future. In addition to hearings on the various sectors, the volume includes reports on three special hearings: on compulsory military service, children and youth and women.

Volume Five, the final volume of the report, contains the conclusions reached by the Commission, including analyses and findings and recommendations. It also includes the Minority Position of Commission Wynand Malan and the Commission's response to this.