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12. Truth and Reconciliation: The South Africa Case
- State University of New York Press
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One of the recent developments in peacebuilding and conflict resolution is the introduction of the phenomenon of “reconciliation,” prompted primarily by the nature of ethnoreligious conflict. Such conflicts occur between enemies living geographically close to each other, and they are no longer simply a matter of the “guts and blood” of professional soldiers . Millions are displaced and orphaned. Ethnoreligious encounters are frequently based in issues of identity, often manifested in terms of stereotypes, fear, hatred, and more often expressed as conflicts of irreconcilable causes or interests. Diplomacy and large-scale peacekeeping are no longer enough. The quest for reconciliation has become an indispensable part of peacebuilding . Commissions for Reconciliation have recently mushroomed all over the globe and more specifically in Latin America1 and Africa. Among the countries that have resorted to reconciliation are the following : Chile (1978), Brazil (1979), Uruguay (1986), Argentina (1983, 1986, 1987, 1989), Guatemala (1986), Honduras (1987), El Salvador (1987, 1983), Peru (1995), and now also South Africa. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa has captured the attention of peacebuilders and scholars in many places.2 243 12 Truth and Reconciliation The South Africa Case H. RUSSEL BOTMAN This chapter critically examines the role of religion in the apartheid conflict and in the subsequent reconciliation process in South Africa. Subsequently, I examine particular conceptual questions related to the peacebuilding capacity of reconciliation. I then discuss specific implications of the South African case study for peacebuilding. RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ROOTS OF APARTHEID The truth and reconciliation process is rooted in the deep-seated conflicts of South Africa’s apartheid history.3 This history has both religious and political aspects. Richard Elphick points out that some of the most intimate matters of white and black culture, politics, and sociality have been debated at length and with passion in religious communities.4 These debates were conducted largely in Christian terms. The issues of integration and segregation were first debated in churches and, more specifically, in the white Dutch Reformed Church before they actually emerged in political institutions. The celebration of communion, a sacred ritual in Christianity where celebrants share bread and wine in a symbolic form of table communion, was instrumental in establishing the conflict. The sacraments, specifically communion , formed part of the inner core of white ethnic identity over and against other identities. While whites were allowed in communion, Khoisan converts (converts from the first peoples of South Africa) were not included in communion until the nineteenth century. Allowing Khoisan people to communion led to the beginning of formal church apartheid in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in the nineteenth century. In 1831, a DRC congregation was founded among the Khoi-Khoi people near Grahamstown. White people, who have moved into the area, were invited by the Khoi-Khoi people to join the church. Very soon, some white congregants petitioned the local church council asking for the separate celebration of Holy Communion. The matter was referred to the supervisory body, the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Synod of 1857 addressed this issue and formally adopted the following resolution: The Synod considers it desirable and according to the Holy Scripture that our heathen members be accepted and initiated into our congregations wherever it is possible; but where this measure, as a result of the weakness of some, would stand in the way of promoting the work of Christ among the heathen people, then congregations set up among the heathen or still to be set up, should enjoy their Christian privileges in a separate building or institution.5 244 H. Russel Botman [3.235.243.45] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 09:41 GMT) With this decision the DRC first affirms the desirable way of unity expressed in the Bible. Indeed, they seem to say, according to the bible, the unity of races in one religious institution was more in line with the Christian scriptures. However, this position would no longer serve as the ultimate orientation of the Dutch Reformed Church because of the “weaknesses of some.” The reference to the “weakness of some” refers to the racism of the white members who have petitioned Synod. The word “heathen” refers to people of color. The apartheid policy of separate development was essentially forged in the DRC’s mission policy (1935). However, the historical roots of the mission policy go back to the nineteenth century. The missionary policy environment within DRC circles emerged in the growing conflict of the South African Missionary Association (established in 1799) with the...