The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission Home Page includes transcripts of hearings and text of amnesty petitions
 The South African Broadcasting Corporation, producers of the series
 
 
 
 
Definitions of Abbreviations Used

 

ANC

African National Congress

APLA

Azanian People’s Liberation Army, military wing of the PAC [1]

AWB

Afrikaner Weerstands Beweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement)

CCB

Civil Cooperation Bureau, covert security branch unit which also acted as a hit squad

CODESA

Convention for a Democratic South Africa, first convened in December 1991 to discuss power sharing between the National Party government, the ANC and other political parties [2]

COSAS

Congress of South African Students

COSATU

Congress of South African Trade Unions [3]

DRC

Dutch Reformed Church also known as NGK (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk) [4]

FABCOS

Foundation of African Business & Consumer Services [5]

HRV

Human Rights Violations hearings at the TRC

IFP

Inkatha Freedom Party

MCC

Mandela Crisis Committee, formed by UDF in response to the activities of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the Mandela United Football Club [6]

MK

Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”) military wing of ANC [7]

MP

Member of Parliament

PAC

Pan Africanist Congress

Pebco

Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation

PFP

Progressive Federal Party originally the United Party, official parliamentary opposition during Apartheid

RENAMO

Mozambique political party and resistance movement opposed to FRELIMO [8]

SABC

South African Broadcasting Company; television and radio

SACC

South African Council of Churches

SACP

South Africa Communist Party

SADF

South African Defense Force

SASRIA

South African Special Risks Insurance Association; originally established in the wake of the 1976 Soweto Uprising to cover potential calamities such as civil disturbances which normal insurers would not consider; funds demanded by some to help fulfill TRC reparations mandate [9]

SDU

Self Defense Unit; ANC aligned structure

SPU

Self Protection Unit; IFP aligned structure

SWAPO

South West Africa People's Organization active prior to Namibia’s independence [10]

UDF

United Democratic Front, umbrella anti-apartheid movement operating inside South Africa from early 1980s; generally seen to be aligned with the ANC [11]

UNITA

Angolan political party and resistance movement [12]


Definitions of Names, Places, Practices:

 

Askari

ex-MK members who became state operatives[13]

Individuals who became collaborators with the state security forces, often after being captured and/or tortured

Kiswahili word for soldier [14]

Comrades

Young political activists affiliated to the ANC

Death farms

Rural areas (literally farms) where apartheid third force/covert security force operatives killed and/or buried many anti-apartheid activists. [15] The TRC helped identify these areas and performed exhumations on behalf of the families of the deceased. See also hit squads such as Vlakplaas and CCB.

Dominee

Title: Reverend in the Afrikaans church.

Hostels

Accommodation for migrant workers in the urban areas; dormitory style, single sex, and overcrowded; often a place from which violence erupted between hostel dwellers and residents of informal settlements and/or townships [16]

Kitskonstabels

Special Constables [17]

“The emergency period of the 1980s had seen the state appoint a large number of inadequately trained municipal policemen or “kitskonstabels” literally “instant constables” in a bid to crack down on political opponents. The municipal police, or “green beans” (named after the colour of their uniform), were notorious for their brutality and were more often vigilante groups than anything resembling a policing agency.” [18]

Necklacing

The burning to death of selected individuals, with the aid of inflammable liquid and/or motor tyres [19]

“Many of those killed [were] brutally executed by fire, a practice commonly referred to as necklacing, in which a tire filled with gasoline is placed around the victim's neck and set aflame. This vicious form of public execution is usually reserved for those black South Africans who are accused of collaborating with the government or refuse to cooperate fully with the activities of the terrorists.” [20]

Quatro Camp

ANC military detention camp in Angola, also known as Morris Sea