SOUTH AFRICA: 10 FORMER POLICEMEN ASK FOR AMNESTY FOR BIKO'S MURDER

(28 Jan 1997) English/Nat

Ten former South African policemen have applied for amnesty for the killing of Steve Biko and other anti-apartheid activists in the 1970s.

The announcement brings to an end years of anguish by relatives who did not know what had happened to their loved ones.

The announcement was made by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, shedding light on some of South Africa's most notorious unsolved deaths and disappearances.

The lawyer for the police officers who have admitted involvement in the killing of Steve Biko and other anti-apartheid activists in the 1970s sets off for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) meeting in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.

Ten former South African policemen have applied for amnesty to the commission for the killings.

But, their names have not been divulged by the T-R-C, set up by President Nelson Mandela's government in late 1995 to investigate apartheid-era political crimes.

The panel can grant amnesty for political crimes to people who make full confessions.

News of the police confessions broke in South African newspapers earlier in the week, finally shedding light on some of the country's most notorious unsolved deaths and disappearances.

At a news conference on Tuesday, journalists were told of new evidence that revealed how activists were sedated, shot and burned.

It also included "acknowledged responsibility" by former security policemen for Biko's death in police custody.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has succeeded in getting former policemen, who have claimed responsibility for four major incidents involving the killing of ten anti- apartheid leaders and activists in the Eastern Cape, to come forward and identify themselves."
SUPER CAPTION: Alex Boraine, Deputy Chairman for Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Relatives of victims of apartheid gathered in the hall to hear the T-R-C findings.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Members of the former security branch of the South African police acknowledge responsibility for, and now I list them; firstly, assaults on Steven Bantu Biko and Peter Cyril Jones in September 1977, and the killing of Mr. Steve Biko."
SUPER CAPTION: Alex Boraine, Deputy Chairman for Truth and Reconciliation Commission

30 year-old Biko died of untreated head injuries in a Pretoria prison on September 12, 1977.

The death - apparently the result of a beating by police although this was denied - impassioned the anti-apartheid movement, giving the cause its best-known rallying point after then-imprisoned activist Nelson Mandela.

Biko, a charismatic black leader, developed a wide following during the early 1970s, urging South African blacks to take pride in their culture and to fight for control of their country.

Biko's family and friends still want justice for his killers, not amnesty.

Itumeleng Mosala, a close friend of Biko and fellow activist in the 1970s, called for the police officers in question to be brought to justice.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Justice should be done, justice should prevail and for justice, justice does not equate to amnesty. We believe that they should not be offered any amnesty. They should rather subject themselves to the process of the justice system."
SUPERCAPTION: Itumeleng Mosala, friend of Biko and fellow activist

Last year, Biko's widow and the families of two other apartheid victims went to South Africa's highest court to challenge the commission's right to forgive certain crimes.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
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