Restorative Justice: Forgiveness is the Best Punishment

The Rwandan government also hopes that perpetrators will recognize their crime and provide a story of the massive atrocities committed to judging the truth about genocide crime (Clark, 2008, p .299). Because the victim wants to know the fate of his relatives, it is important to reveal the truth (Clark, 2008, p. 316). Furthermore, in order to prevent further violence, it is necessary to understand the fundamental cause of violence. Only by understanding the motives of perpetrators it is possible to avoid future atrocities (Rotberg, 2000, Clark Citation, 2010, p. 34).

A restorative approach that claims to provide "another kind of justice" - not only punishment but also restorative justice focusing on remedying imbalances and recovering broken relationships - Figure 2000). The TRC explicitly uses the words of Christian forgiveness and reconciliation, but widely criticized about the prospects policy for that amnesty. In the field of criminal justice in Africa, several restorative initiatives are taken and there are elements to try to use traditional practice, in particular Bowd 2008, the rest of this volume.

Restorative justice regards crime as harm, not illegality, treats justice as handling rather than punishment. Forgiveness will never be a condition of RJ, but when two or two groups listen to "strangers", it is often the result because the fixed perspective begins to change. Transformation means that the viewpoint of the person and the view of the world have changed significantly. Through this change people came to appreciate, ask for and obtain "forgiveness". This attitude change is considered a "humanization process" that requires psychological and conceptual changes. In other words, people are required to remove emotional and mental separation and become a conscious and critical reflection. In the process, people abandoned the notion of being "victims", reassessed themselves as "criminals" and acknowledged the "crouching effect" of their behavior.

In connection with this misunderstanding, the restorative judicial process relates to the victims who forgive those who commit crimes. Forgiveness is a fine goal, but it can also be a burden for some victims, it is not the focus of restorative justice. If they are not pleased, the victims should not be forced to forgive the criminals. The purpose of restorative justice is to recognize the victim as part of the justice system and to help criminals learn from their behavior. It will not fail even if the victim does not allow the criminal