Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1994-1998 (Accumulation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.4 linear metres (4 archival boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Jane Argall Collection comprises documents that reflect the research work that Argall had done for the KwaZulu-Natal/Free State regional office of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in her capacity as a researcher in the Research Department of the Durban TRC regional office.
Argall produced, but also co-authored the documents that make up the collection.
The office operated across the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, whereby KwaZulu-Natal was treated as two separate regional entries.
The records accumulations can be divided into three parts. The three areas are the Free State region, the KwaZulu and Natal regions and miscellaneous research documents.
Foci of the research of KwaZulu-Natal include the widespread political violence in that Province. The research interrogated the collaboration between two police forces, namely the South African Police and the KwaZulu Police with the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
Historical overviews of clashing political activity and the ensuing state and parastatal repression (chiefly through the agency of the IFP) in the region are provided as well as analyses of civil conflict resulting from the release of former President Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) - the so-called 'Seven Day War'.
In the case of the Free State region enquiry into violations of human rights focused on the fact that the Apartheid state had established two 'homelands' in that region resulting in resistance to Apartheid being directed at 'homeland' authorities and institutions.
Another point of focus was the phenomenon that the Free State was the closest neighbour to the sovereign state of Lesotho, a fact which facilitated South Africans entering Lesotho to join the ANC and/or its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) there.
This in turn led to the cross-border political persecution of refugees and exiles living in Lesotho by the Apartheid security establishment.
An important point of investigation into human rights abuses in the Free State was located in a special hearing on the plight of children resulting from the political activities and harassment, such as torture and deaths in custody, of their parents. Revolutionary and counter-revolutionary violence were also investigated.
A third accumulation of documents deals with discrete research issues such as state-orchestrated violence, the integration of Amnesty and HRV data and the Self-Defence Units (SDUs).
The research conducted by Argall was additionally used in the chapter of the Final Report dealing with the Findings and Conclusion of the Commission.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Some access conditions apply to portions of the collection.
Materials collected from TRC Archival Audit.
The TRC Archival Audit
Between 2003 and 2006, SAHA and Historical Papers, University of Witwatersrand embarked on a project to locate, retrieve and make available records relating to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC). The project entailed conducting an archival audit of all existing TRC records in order to identify and locate documentation in danger of being lost.
In the process of conducting the archival audit, SAHA and HP located many collections from individuals and organizations that participated in the TRC process, including this collection. Selections from these materials as well as TRC related material found in the freedom of Information Collection and other pre-existing SAHA and HP collections, were digitized and can be accessed online at http://truth.wwl.wits.ac.za/
A guide to archival resources relating to South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission can also be found at http://www.saha.org.za/pdf/trc_directory.pdf
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Some access conditions apply to portions of the collection
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
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Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
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Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
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Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
20090623