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	Victims of apartheid crimes protest suspended sentences as too lenient by Michael Wines New York Times South Africa   August 18, 2007   Five security officials who confessed to the attempted murder of a black activist in the dying days of South Africa’s apartheid government received suspended sentences on Friday, ending a case that reopened a national debate about forgiveness for racial crimes.   It was less clear whether the sentencing would end the debate, however, as whites and blacks at opposite extremes of the issue expressed doubts about the justice of the court’s decision.   The most senior of the officials, Adriaan Vlok, caused a sensation last year after he publicly begged for forgiveness for trying to murder the activist, the Rev. Frank Chikane, in 1989. Mr. Vlok sought to atone by washing the feet of Mr. Chikane, now an aide to President Thabo Mbeki.   As part of a plea bargain, a Pretoria court gave suspended 10-year sentences on Friday to Mr. Vlok and Johan van der Merwe, then the national police chief. Three lower-ranking police officers received five-year suspended sentences.   Mr. Vlok was the feared minister of law and order in the government of P. W. Botha, the South African president who commanded a campaign of murder and oppression as efforts to overthrow apartheid gained steam in the late 1980s. Part of the campaign was a series of bombings and other acts against the South African Council of Churches, a crucial link in anti-apartheid activities.   Mr. Chikane was secretary general of the council in 1989, when Mr. Vlok approved a plan to kill him during a business trip by planting underwear laced with a nerve poison in his suitcase. He became violently ill but survived. Mr. Vlok has said that he always presumed that the order to kill Mr. Chikane had come from Mr. Botha, but that he had no proof.   Since Mr. Vlok confessed his crime last year, Mr. Chikane has said that he believed that the act of repentance was genuine and that he forgave him. He had said that he did not want Mr. Vlok and the others accused to be sent to prison, and that he hoped their confessions would help heal national divisions.   A government prosecutor, Anton Ackerman, echoed that, telling journalists that the case was neither about revenge nor retribution.   Outside the courtroom demonstrators representing black victims of apartheid crimes protested that the suspended sentences were too lenient.   A central issue in the Vlok case was how the government should treat criminals who did not seek amnesty for racial crimes in the mid-1990s, when South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered them immunity from prosecution in an effort to short-circuit a cycle of revenge between the races.   In fact, Mr. Vlok appeared before the commission and sought amnesty for a series of acts. But he did not mention the attempted murder of Mr. Chikane.
	Northern Ugandans want justice for past atrocities, reveals UN study by UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights   15 August 2007   A new study by the United Nations human rights office shows that communities in northern Uganda blame both the Government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for atrocities committed during a more than 20-year conflict, and want those responsible to be held to account.   The report, entitled “Making Peace Our Own: Victims Perceptions of Accountability, Reconciliation and Transitional Justice in Northern Uganda,” is based on private interviews with 1,725 victims of the conflict in 69 focus groups in Acholiland, Lango and Teso sub-regions.   “Most notably, this research study shows that the population broadly believes that both the LRA and the Government – and specifically their leaders – should be held accountable for the harms they have caused during the conflict,” the report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) found. Participants in the study “repeatedly expressed their need to discover the truth about the past, especially to shed light on the identity of the perpetrators and the nature of the acts that have been committed.”   “Sentiments of anger and vengefulness and a desire for prosecution abound in many communities,” the report added.   Also, while respondents expressed “an overwhelming desire for reconciliation,” opinions varied on the type of mechanism that would best deliver truth and compensation – both of which were “consistently identified as the principal transitional justice needs of the communities.”   Similarly, perceptions on the virtues of amnesty, domestic prosecution, views on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and local or national practices were “greatly mixed” among the victims. “The desire to prevent impunity was, however, consistently present amongst affected communities,” the report stated.   The study, which was designed to “amplify victims’ voices,” seeks to contribute to ongoing discussions on how best to redress northern Uganda’s past abuses – a central issue at peace talks between the Government and the LRA.   According to the report, current negotiations, being held in Juba in southern Sudan, represent the “best-ever opportunity for lasting peace.”   Thousands of people have been killed and an estimated 1.5 million others have become displaced in Uganda or in neighbouring countries since the LRA insurgency began in 1986. During that time, the rebel group has become notorious for abducting children and then using them as soldiers or porters, while subjecting some to torture and allocating many girls to senior officers in a form of institutional rape.   In October 2005 the ICC issued its first-ever arrest warrants against Joseph Kony, the LRA leader, and four of the group’s commanders – Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya – on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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