Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
1. Statement by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chairperson, TRC
The Commission's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Biki Minyuku, this afternoon accepted the resignation of the TRC's National Director of Investigations, Adv. Glenn Goosen.
While Dr Minyuku's statement below explains the background to the resignation, I wish to comment on the misrepresentation of the reasons reflected in the weekend Press. The Commission - including Mr Goosen and Mr Ntsebeza - is outraged at the unsourced claim in a weekend newspaper to the effect that during discussions within the TRC, Mr Goosen accused the TRC and Mr Ntsebeza of being racist. No such accusation was made by Mr Goosen to Mr Ntsebeza or anyone else. Mr Goosen repudiates in the strongest of terms the suggestion that he believes this and we are convinced that he does not. Contrary to the newspaper's claim, Mr Goosen at no stage spoke to their reporters.
2. Statement by Dr Biki Minyuku, Chief Executive Officer, Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The resignation of Mr Glenn Goosen, which I accepted today, was triggered by disagreements over the reorganisation of the TRC's Investigative Unit which emerged last week. The Commission has been working on plans for many months to ensure (1) that as many investi- gations as possible are completed, (2) that the statements of about 14,000 victims or survivors of gross violations of human rights are corroborated by early next year and (3) that the Amnesty Committee has enough investigative capacity to be able to complete its work.
A select committee of the Commission, including Mr Goosen and myself, was responsible for the reorganisation proposals. Mr Ntsebeza raised serious reservations about the manner of the reorganisation shortly before the last Commission meeting. Strong disagreements over the issues at stake, and at the manner of their handling, led to Mr Goosen's resignation. The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson attempted to resolve the matter but in Mr Goosen's view, the dispute represents the culmination of events which make it impossible for him to review his position. After discussions with Mr Goosen and Commissioners during the course of the day, I am satisfied that adequate efforts have been made to resolve the problem and I have accordingly accepted Mr Goosen's resignation.
We deeply regret Mr Goosen's resignation two months before the expiration of his contract. While we are beginning to wrap up the TRC's investigations, his departure will leave a substantial gap to be bridged by other staff.
ends