De Klerk gets go-ahead on SA amnesty bill

Cape Town (AP) - An advisory body to President F W de Klerk yesterday approved his controversial plan to grant amnesty for political crimes under apartheid, allowing the measure to become law.

But the President's Council, dominated by the ruling National Party, recommended changing the bill to require the disclosure of crimes committed by people who receive amnesty. Parliament defeated the bill last week, but approval by the President's Council permits Mr de Klerk to sign it into law. The government is not obliged to make the recommended changes, but a council member said the Justice Minister, Kobie Coetsee, had guaranteed the legislation would be changed.