National Assembly Cape Town: 21 November 2007  

The IFP has mixed feelings about the President's announcements. 

On the one hand we are of course delighted. 

But we deplore the fact that it took the Minister of Justice SEVEN years to devise a framework to consider pardons for politically motivated crimes. 

The Ministry admitted as far back as 2000 that it is not in a position to establish whether offences were committed with a political motive. 

Why then do prisoners have to languish in jail waiting for some seven years or more before the Minister finally devised a framework? 

The excuse offered, is that there is no current framework. 

But this is not true and is misleading. 

Because the Justice Department explained on 19 May 2002 why 33 prisoners, of whom many were ANC supporters, received presidential pardons. They the admitted that a procedure was in fact in place. 

Dr Boesak, another ANC supporter, also received a pardon - in 2003. 

So, what did we have already FIVE to SEVEN years ago?  

We had a framework in place in terms whereof ANC supporters received presidential pardons for politically motivated crimes! 

That means for ANC supporters there was a framework in place and they were given presidential pardons. 

But for IFP supporters there is no framework in place and there has not even been any consideration of their applications for FOUR long years! 

In addition, the Human Rights Commission - yes, Mr de Lange -- the FULL Human Rights Commission, has already found that the human rights of the IFP prisoners were violated. 

In further addition, a High Court case is pending against the President and the Minister of Justice which will be heard on 30 January. 

I am confident that if we had not brought that High Court action, there would not have been this announcement today. 

Madame Speaker, 

The painful matter is that the buck unfortunately stops with the honourable President, who has been seriously let down by his Justice Ministry. 

Therefore, Mr President, it is unfortunately YOU who has been humiliated for not doing your work; it is YOU who have egg on your face; YOU are responsible for violation of human rights of prisoners; YOU are the one who is seen as discriminating against IFP prisoners. 

And there is only one way the President can cleanse himself of this scandal, and that is to make the real guilty parties pay. 

Heads must roll, Mr President. 

The Minister of Justice and some of her senior officials, who caused this scandal, must GO.

I thank you.