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Moments with Madiba / Jacques Moreillon Le document, jusqu'aux chapitres sept et huit, est public, car il traite de faits contenus dans les archives publiques du CICR (1863-1975). Les chapitres 7 et 8 ont été supprimés car ils traitaient de faits postérieurs à 1975. L'auteur a souhaité que la table des matières et la pagination soient conservées telles quelles, pour justement indiquer que l'étude n'était pas complète. Internal study Moments with Madiba By Jacques Moreillon, LL.M., Ph.D May 2005 These pages tell the personal story of the author's fourteen conversations with Nelson Mandela: six when he visited Mandela in prison on Robben Island (1973–1975) in his capacity as Delegate-General for Africa of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and eight after Mandela’s release (between 1990 and 2004) in various capacities, as representative of the ICRC or of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), and in his private capacity. This book is also the account of the ICRC’s first visits to convicted political prisoners on Robben Island and an encouragement to today's South African authorities to open their archives to researchers seeking to know more about political detention in South Africa during the apartheid era, in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation process and of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Commemoration Project. As it focuses on Nelson Mandela as a convicted political prisoner in the years during which the author visited him on Robben Island (1973 to 1975), this work also deals with ICRC visits to the Island previous to that period, and in considerable details, with the conditions of detention there until 1975. However it only marginally deals with ICRC (vain) efforts to visit political detainees under interrogation and does not deal with ICRC visits to other convicted political prisoners (whites in Pretoria local prison and women in other prisons). It also barely deals with ICRC prison visits after 1975. This text is the sole responsibility of its author, who expresses his sincere appreciation to those who helped him in producing it, particularly Mrs Catherine Debraz. The ICRC is the exclusively humanitarian (independent, impartial, neutral and all Swiss) founding body of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the originator of the Geneva Conventions. Based on these treaties it provides protection and assistance to victims of international and non international conflicts and (based on its traditional right of initiative recognized by the States and by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement) of internal disturbances, violences and tensions, usually called "political" or "security" prisoners. To facilitate its access to such victims, its archives are not accessible to the public for a period of 40 years after the events. TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD: “HAVE YOU SEEN MADIBA?” ...................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION: AN INCOMPLETE PICTURE .................................................................................... 7 1 A COMBINATION OF MANY FACTORS................................................................................................. 7 2 LIMITS TO PRISONERS' PERCEPTION .............................................................................................. 10 3 WHAT ROLE DID THE ICRC PLAY? ................................................................................................. 13 CHAPTER ONE: ICRC PRISON VISITS 1964-1971 ............................................................................ 19 1 THE FORMAT OF ICRC PRISON VISITS AND REPORTS ..................................................................... 19 2 VISIT TO ROBERT SOBUKWE (1963).............................................................................................. 20 3 THE FIRST SERIES OF VISITS TO PLACES OF DETENTION IN SOUTH AFRICA (1964) ........................... 22 3.1 The visits by Georg Hoffmann ........................................................................................... 22 3.2 Hoffmann's reports and his and the ICRC’s suggestions .................................................. 23 3.3 As the prisoners saw it ...................................................................................................... 25 3.4 Publication of Hoffmann's report by South Africa (1966–1967) ........................................ 28 4 SECOND SERIES OF VISITS TO PLACES OF DETENTION IN SOUTH AFRICA (1967) .............................. 30 4.1 The visits by Geoffrey Senn .............................................................................................. 30 4.2 Senn's first interview with Mandela ................................................................................... 32 4.3 Senn's remarks about conditions on Robben Island ......................................................... 35 4.4 Further visits by Senn to Robben Island (August and October 1967) ............................... 37 4.5 Follow-up from Geneva ..................................................................................................... 38 5 THE CONTINUATION OF ICRC VISITS (1969) .................................................................................. 39 5.1 Visits by Zuger, Senn and Dr Vuillet to convicted political prisoners ................................ 39 5.2 Conditions of detention ...................................................................................................... 39 5.3 The ICRC’s arguments ...................................................................................................... 40 5.4 Follow-up ........................................................................................................................... 41 6 TERRORISM ACT AND ICRC PRISON VISITS IN 1970 AND 1971 ....................................................... 41 6.1 Convicted prisoners versus prisoners under interrogation ................................................ 41 6.2 Zuger's 1970 visit ............................................................................................................... 42 6.3 Zuger's 1971 visit ............................................................................................................... 49 6.4 Where to go from here? ..................................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER TWO: MY FIRST MEETINGS WITH MADIBA ................................................................... 55 1 MY OWN PERCEPTION OF NELSON MANDELA THROUGH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL .......................... 55 2 MY FIRST MEETINGS WITH MADIBA: 7 AND 10 MAY 1973 ................................................................ 57 3 AS THE PRISONERS SAW IT ........................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER THREE: 1973, 1974, 1975 VISITS TO ROBBEN ISLAND AND CHANGES IN CONDITIONS OF DETENTION ............................................................................................................ 65 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 65 2 SUMMARY OF ICRC 1973, 1974 AND 1975 VISITS ......................................................................... 66 2.1 1973 visits .......................................................................................................................... 66 2.2 1974 visits .......................................................................................................................... 67 2.3 1975 visits .......................................................................................................................... 67 3 A PROCESS OF REPETITION AND INSISTENCE ................................................................................. 68 3.1 Access to news .................................................................................................................. 68 3.2 Food ................................................................................................................................... 70 3.3 Studies ............................................................................................................................... 73 3.4 Work .................................................................................................................................. 77 3.5 Grading .............................................................................................................................. 79 3.6 Medical assistance ............................................................................................................ 82 3.7 Warder-prisoner relationship ............................................................................................. 87 3.8 Equipment and hygiene ..................................................................................................... 89 3.9 Leisure and sports ............................................................................................................. 90 CHAPTER FOUR: SECOND MEETINGS WITH MADIBA: 29 MAY AND 1ST JUNE 1974 ............... 92 CHAPTER FIVE: ICRC EFFORTS TO GAIN ACCESS TO NON-CONVICTED PRISONERS ........... 99 CHAPTER SIX: THIRD MEETINGS WITH MADIBA: 21 AND 25 APRIL 1975 ................................ 106 CHAPTER SEVEN: ICRC VISITS TO POLITICAL PRISONERS IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1976 TO 1992 .........................................................................................................................
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