TRC: Episode 01, Part 01

Special Report's inaugural episode covers the very first hearings of the TRC's Human Rights Violation (HRV) Committee, held in East London between April the 15th and 19th.. Segments include testimonies by widows of the Pebco Three and Cradock Four (activists who were abducted and murdered by security forces in the mid 1980s), including an introductory profile of former Vlakplaas askari Joe Mamasela. Former Eastern Cape policeman Gideon Niewoudt's name is linked to the killing of the Pebco Three, Cradock Four and torture of youth activist Siphiwo Mtimkulu. Other segments cover attacks by the PAC's military wing, APLA on the Highgate Hotel and King Williamstown golf club, incidents of torture in the region, and an overview of the structures of the TRC and the role of counselors. The episode also provides some background to one of the most well known cases of torture and killing in the Eastern Cape, that of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko. // Welcome to the first Special Report on the Truth Commission. The Commission's first hearings were held here: in the East London Town Hall and it's been a week of raw emotion.

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