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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tim Kelsall
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This article uses an ethnographic description of a provincial public hearing in Sierra Leone to explore the paradoxical fact that in truth commissions, the truth is seldom told. It argues that the truth was not told for a variety of reasons, some of which are related to the special circumstances of the District, some to the problematic relationship of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the Special Court, some to organizational infirmities of the TRC itself, and some to the fact that public truth-telling lacks deep roots in the local cultures of Sierra Leone. By contrast, a staged ceremony of repentance and forgiveness on the final day struck resonant chords with the participants and succeeded in forging a reconciliatory moment. The implication, argues the article, is that in certain circumstances ritual may be more important to reconciliation than truth. © 2005 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Author(s): Kelsall T
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Human Rights Quarterly
Year: 2005
Volume: 27
Issue: 2
Pages: 361-391
ISSN (print): 0275-0392
ISSN (electronic): 1085-794X
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2005.0020
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2005.0020
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