The General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Dr. Molefe Tsele, has written to his counterpart at the Namibian Council of Churches, Rev. Phillips Strydom, to ask what South Africans can do to honour the memory of those whose bodies have been found in mass graves at Eenhana in northern Namibia.

Dr. Tsele said that the Council was "shocked" and "morally outraged" by the finds, which he felt were clearly linked to Namibia's struggle for independence against the long and brutal occupation by South Africa's apartheid era security forces.

He expressed the Council's condolences to the people of Namibia and indicated particular concern that the remains of the dead be treated with dignity and their memories with respect.

"There is a danger that the deaths of these soldiers will be dismissed as an inconsequential artefact of an unpleasant conflict that we would rather not recall and that the people who committed these crimes will never be brought to justice," Dr. Tsele wrote.

He invited the Namibian Council of Churches to suggest what its sister Council in South Africa might do to ensure that the victims of these atrocities receive the respect and justice which is their due.

Dr. Tsele urged those South Africans who have information about these graves and who had not yet taken the opportunity to share this information to do so now. "We invite them to help us to close this ugly chapter of our history by telling what they know," he said.

For more information contact: Dr. Molefe Tsele, 082 458 2037