The "Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Resolving Past History" has selected 388 cases inquiry and begun its activities. It chose this first round of cases out of the 5,000 citizen requests it has received since December. The commission's voyage has finally begun.
Even before the commission was established, people who served Japanese colonial interests, benefited from the dictatorships, or are otherwise members of the old establishment tried too keep it from getting off the ground with claims that "being obsessed with the past keeps you from moving forward," "people are trying to use the past politically," or "people are trying to divide our society." However, you cannot expect there to be healing or forgiveness and reconciliation unless there is clarification of the truth. Social integration is impossible without reconciliation, and you cannot promote the development of community when there is disunion. You might say the commission has been given the mission of releasing our society from the curse of the past and allowing us to move into the future.
The road ahead will be treacherous for the commission. The National Assembly denied it the right to force people to comply with its inquiries. It does have the authority to order people to appear and the right to demand access to records and documentation, but all it can do if people refuse to cooperate is to issue fines. There will be no hearings. It had 30 percent of its proposed budget cut and subsequently was only able to hire 120 persons, only half of the investigation staff that had been planned for.
Despite the situation the commission cannot be the slightest bit negligent, because there are many people out there who would like to make it run aground. The limits set on it in terms of investigative authority, budget, and personnel should be overcome by having the Ministry of National Defense, the police, and other institutions cooperate closely with the currently operating "Committee on Past History." There must be no confusion on the results of their respective inquiries or conflict. Its must not shrink from its responsibilities in the area of investigative activity because of the possibility the results could be used politically, but it still needs to work hard to keep that from happening.
The Hankyoreh, 27 April 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] The Truth & Reconciliation Commission's Limited Staff |
