tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049208109612299827.post7539410315188198596..comments2023-12-06T23:58:59.189+00:00Comments on ffranc sais: Bizarre and gratuitous slaughter - the Johannesburg station bomb 50 years onFrank Littlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12447989626809704972noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049208109612299827.post-51744084689640427982014-07-25T10:08:38.023+01:002014-07-25T10:08:38.023+01:00The UK abolished the death penalty about a year be...The UK abolished the death penalty about a year before Harris was hanged, but it could be pointed out that he would have suffered the same fate in England when capital punishment was still in place. It was a straightforward case of murder. He would not even have qualified for amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation committee -- they would have required full disclosure and proof that he was acting on instructions of a political organisation. He acted on his own and betrayed not only the Liberal Party which was in principle opposed not only to violence, but in fact to any unlawful act, but he even betrayed the ARM which was opposed to endangering human life. The fact that individual Liberals gave moral support to him and his devastated family was less a matter of principal than an expression of EM Forster's dictum "“If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country”.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com