S African amnesty stirs controversy

The South African Government has released the names of 33 prisoners pardoned by President Thabo Mbeki, amid growing controversy over the move.

Those named, mostly anti-apartheid activists, are reported to include 11 convicts refused amnesty by the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up to heal the wounds left by the apartheid era.

The Commission's former chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, warned in an interview with the Sunday Independent newspaper that such pardons would undermine the work of the TRC, which is due to make its final report next month.

Archbishop Tutu said he'd always opposed a general amnesty, unless it was linked to the issue of reparations for victims.

A justice ministry spokesman confirmed that opposition parties had also been invited to submit requests for release.

The main South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has already expressed outrage over the releases.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service