DR BORAINE
Mr President in the absence of our Chairperson who is very humbly sitting down below there for a moment I just want to say that the person who you see sitting in front of you, Mr Gerald Thebe, was actually a colleague of yours for about five years on Robben Island.  I am not sure if you met then.  He was a very young man.  But he has come to tell the story about some very bad assault and beatings in jail before he was actually tried and sentenced and sent to Robben Island and we were just concluding that.  But now we would very much like to hear from you.  Thank you.
PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA ADDRESSES THE AUDIENCE
 It is an honour for me to be given the opportunity to say a word or two on this occasion.  We appointed this Commission because we want the victims of the brutal persecution and suppression of those who were demanding equality and justice in their own country, who were victimised.
 In setting up this Committee we took particular precautions that this Commission will be as impartial as possible.  I called all the political parties in this country and I asked them to nominate a representative to a selection committee.  That selection committee then elected about 40 names which they presented to me.  I had to appoint JOHANNESBURG HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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17 people from that list of 40.
 I also decided that I was going to make this committee representative.  It would represent all the political parties that were there.  It would also include prominent personalities who were not aligned to any political party.  I did not appoint it as a commission of any organisation, least of all of the African National Congress.  It is a commission for the entire country, but I made sure that its members were eminent South Africans who would enjoy the confidence and the support of the entire population.
 You are aware that some people protested against the inclusion of certain personalities here.  I totally rejected that.  To say that I considered these names very carefully and although some of them may not belong to the liberation movement, indeed they may belong to parties which were our enemies, nevertheless in this task we want all South Africans to be able to sit together to address these injustices.
 I thought I should come myself and see how the proceedings are getting on, and my coming here is merely to confirm what now is a matter of common knowledge, that in this Commission we have got men and women of outstanding integrity and honesty and who are doing their duty without favour and fear
 It is a source of great comfort to me that we have been able to bring together these men and women who are doing such a marvellous job, because until we know what offences, what crimes were committed against innocent people, there will never be reconciliation in the proper sense of the word.  To forgive and to forget means that you should know what actually happened.  The relatives of the victims are 
JOHANNESBURG HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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keen to know what happened to their beloved and those who were tortured but are still alive they would like the criminals to be brought to book.   I am confident...(tape ends)...  a vital service to the community.  
 In these words I thank you.
APPLAUSE