Violence and Social Repair: Rethinking the Contribution of Justice to Reconciliation

Abstract

Close relatives and friends are dead or missing. Homes lie in ruins. Property has been destroyed. With everybody experiencing trouble, severe privations and physical suffering, it is still something altogether different whether one retains a home and household goods or has been ruined by bombs; whether he sustained his suffering and losses in combat at the front, at home, or in a concentration camp; whether he was a hunted.., victim or one of those who, even though in fear, profited by the regime .... Men have come to the limits of humanity and returned home, unable to forget what really was .... The suffering differs in kind, and most people have sense only for their

Political Forgiveness’ Transformative Potentials

“…In contrast, other writers negatively assess forgiveness' ability to offer justice as they see the absence of punishment as an obstacle to justice and claim that forgiveness, by the foregoing of punishment, creates 'a vacuum that can easily be filled with potentially expulsive emotions of anger, bitterness and resentment with detrimental effects for both victims and society at large' (Leyster 2000:187). In this perspective, criminal trials are seen to be essential to restore the victims' honor, to facilitate their healing and provide them with closure (Fletcher and Weinstein 2002).…”

Reconciliation and Transitional Justice: The Contribution of Forgiveness Towards Healing and Restoration

“…However, considerations of religion and culture for the process of forgiveness and reconciliation are crucial to our understanding of these mechanisms and should not be underestimated (Fletcher andWeinstein 2002: 637, Hartwell 2006). While important to avoid generalisations, it is valuable for social scientists to examine the long-standing and diverse religious conceptualisations of forgiveness rather than understanding forgiveness as a set construct.…”

“…Fletcher and Weinstein (2002) make a convincing argument for expanding the discourse by asking crucial questions pertaining to whether it is possible at all to find a single answer to the meaning of justice, and if justice is the best way to address feelings of loss and helplessness in any society.…”

Reaching Beyond the State: Judicial Independence, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and Accountability in Guatemala

“…13 As Fletcher and Weinstein argue, "Accountability provides a direct, moral, and ethical response to victims on behalf of society that demonstrates that the state is validating their innocence and their lack of culpability in the deeds." 14 By punishing those responsible, the state recognizes the suffering of the victims and issues a moral condemnation of the actions committed. 15 As Jamie Mayerfeld writes, punishment "communicates society"s condemnation of [the] violation, and helps actual and potential aggressors to absorb the lesson that such violation is morally wrong."…”