SOUTH AFRICA . . . PARDONING PRETORIA'S STRONG ARM

Tuesday, June 07, 1994
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South Africa said it will grant amnesty to those who committed political crimes, including foes and friends of the new government, but with a string attached: they'll have to face a "truth commission" first. Since President Mandela has already pardoned 13,000 A.N.C. members, the move will mostly affect those who worked for or in the former white-dominated government, including South Africa's police force. Despite some resentment among blacks, says TIME Johannesburg correspondent Scott MacLeod, Mandela and other senior politicians are set on putting the country's past behind them. But the policy will be sorely tested by upcoming, high-profile cases like the one against black activist Chris Hani's assassins. They are currently on death row.