The General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Mr. Eddie Makue, commended Mr. Adriaan Vlok, the apartheid-era Minister of Law and Order, for having the humility to apologise to former SACC General Secretary Dr. Frank Chikane for atrocities committed by police during his tenure, but said that Vlok and his former government colleagues still owed the South African people a full confession.

"As welcome as Mr. Vlok's gesture is, it is no substitute for full disclosure," Makue said. "Many high-ranking members of the former government failed to participate unreservedly in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process. As a result, we are left with many unanswered questions concerning responsibility for gross human rights violations during the apartheid years."

Makue pointed to the 1988 bombing of Khotso House, the SACC's National Office, as one of the as yet untold stories. "The instruction to carry out this act of terrorism must have come from higher up in the State Security Council," Makue observed. "We urge Mr. Vlok and others with knowledge of these crimes to demonstrate their repentance by identifying those responsible and offering both a public apology and personal apologies to the victims."

According to press reports at the weekend, Mr. Vlok apologised to Dr. Chikane, now the Director-General of the Presidency, in a meeting earlier this month. Vlok also washed Dr. Chikane's feet as a sign of his contrition. During his term as SACC General Secretary, Dr. Chikane was the target of assassination attempts by the state security forces.

For more information, contact: Rev. Canon Luke Pato (083 357 3961)