“If the archbishop had sat down with the Minister of Justice (Penuell Maduna) to discuss the issue, he would have had a clearer understanding of the government’s position on the litigation in the United States.”

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) and apartheid victims’ groups have come out in support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s last-minute appeal to an American court to allow apartheid victims’ litigation for compensation against foreign companies to go ahead.

But government chief spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe was dismissive of Tutu’s appeal.

“If the archbishop had sat down with the Minister of Justice (Penuell Maduna) to discuss the issue, he would have had a clearer understanding of the government’s position on the litigation in the United States,” Netshitenzhe said.

“This is that not settling the matter (of apartheid victims) inside South Africa has profound implications for the future of the country, for instance for the assessment of the country risk profile, and for investment and job creation.”

SACC general secretary Molefe Tshele said on Sunday the council supported Tutu’s appeal on behalf of apartheid victims, who have made claims in the US against multinational companies that propped up the apartheid state.

The appeal, on the eve of an expected ruling by US judge John Sprizzo on whether the cases would be allowed to go ahead, followed the government’s rejection of the cases.

Tutu was the chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and has so far been silent on the government’s response and decision to pay out victims of apartheid violence only about one fifth of the recommended compensation.

Tutu made the affidavit on behalf of the Ntsebeza class action suit, one of four victims’ groups that have filed claims in the US since 2002.

Christelle Terreblanche, IOL Independent Online (South Africa), February 2, 2004