amntrans AMNESTY HEARINGS 1999-09-29 PRETORIA 3 WILLHELM RIAAN BELLINGAN https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=53716&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/amntrans/1999/9909271005_pre_990929pt.htm MR BOOYENS Mr Chairman, I call as my next witness, Riaan Bellingan, he an Afrikaans Bellingan. MR SIBANYONI Full names, Mr Bellingan. WILLHELM RIAAN BELLINGAN (sworn states) MR SIBANYONI Sworn in. EXAMINATION BY MR BOOYENS Mr Bellingan, you have before you your amnesty application which starts on page 255, is that correct? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Do you confirm the correctness of the section from pages 255 to 271? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And on page 272 you deal with the death of these persons. MR BELLINGAN That's correct. MR BOOYENS You have heard the evidence of Col de Kock with regard to the instructions which he conveyed to you and the motivation which he gave for the operation, do you agree with it? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Were you, because of what Mr de Kock had said, under the impression that these persons were busy with terrorist activities in South Africa and you associated yourself with the instruction? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Were you further satisfied from Col de Kock's conveyance to you, that the instruction came from an intelligence network and you refer to Trevits? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Nobody spoke of Trevits yet, tell us what it is. MR BELLINGAN Trevits was a body at head office where all the intelligence services threw intelligence together and evaluated it, and I believed that the intelligence would have gone through there as well, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS If you speak of all the intelligence services, that is services like a Military Section as well as Civil Section of National Intelligence? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Mr Bellingan, after you received the instruction, were you the driver of a kombi with false panels that transported AK47 with silencers to get them into Swaziland? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. CHAIRPERSON Can I interrupt you for a moment. Was this a Vlakplaas vehicle? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And this vehicle was specifically modified beforehand for this purpose? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson, it had false panels and one would not say it is a police vehicle. If one would pull us off the road it was not visible that this was a police vehicle. MR BOOYENS And one had to look carefully to see that there were false panels in which things were smuggled in? MR BELLINGAN Yes, Chairperson, it was very well hidden panels. MR BOOYENS And was were accompanied by Mr Larry Hanton, is that correct? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And the two of you crossed the border with false identities? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And on the other side of the Swaziland border, you have heard Col de Kock's evidence as to what took place there. MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson, that's 100% correct. MR BOOYENS Was your function to drive the people in to the point where the ambush was set up? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And you dropped them off and they took their weapons, you then moved out from that point? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. CHAIRPERSON Had they travelled into Swaziland with their separate vehicles? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. CHAIRPERSON I think we heard from Mr de Kock they didn't want vehicles to be seen in the plantation, so you took them there? MR BELLINGAN I drove them from the place where we stayed, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And then you moved out with the vehicle back onto the main road and you returned to pick up the people afterwards? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Mr Bellingan, the Chairperson has asked one of your colleagues, Mr Baker, this type of operation was it typical of the type of offensive operations which took place? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS So it was not a unique operation in that sense? MR BELLINGAN That's correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS You have also in your application mentioned the name of Mr Willie Nortje. MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And you have already heard that his legal representative said he was not there, is it possible that you may be mistaken in that sense? MR BELLINGAN That is correct, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS And do you confirm the balance of your application? MR BELLINGAN Yes, I do, Chairperson. MR BOOYENS Thank you, Chairperson, no further questions. NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR BOOYENS MR HATTINGH Hattingh, Mr Chairman, I have no questions, thank you. MR CORNELIUS Cornelius, Mr Chairman, I have no questions, thank you. NO QUESTIONS BY MR CORNELIUS MR NEL Thank you, Mr Chairman, Nel, I have no questions. NO QUESTIONS BY MR NEL MR ROSSOUW Thank you, Mr Chairman, I have no questions, but may I take this opportunity, Mr Chairman, to hand to you the affidavit by Mr Nortje that I've referred to. I beg leave to hand it up to the Committee. I've already provided my colleagues with copies thereof. NO QUESTIONS BY MR ROSSOUW CHAIRPERSON Will that be Exhibit J? As Mr Visser says, we jump the I. MR ROSSOUW Thank you, Mr Chairman. MR BOTHA Botha, Mr Chairman, I have no questions. NO QUESTIONS BY MR BOTHA MR VISSER Visser, Mr Chairman, I have no questions thank you. NO QUESTIONS BY MR VISSER MR VAN HEERDEN Van Heerden, Mr Chairman, no questions. NO QUESTIONS BY MR VAN HEERDEN ADV STEENKAMP No questions. NO QUESTIONS BY ADV STEENKAMP MR SIBANYONI I've got no question, Mr Chairperson. ADV SANDI No questions. CHAIRPERSON Did Mr de Kock accompany you to Swaziland? MR BELLINGAN No, Chairperson, Mr Hanton was with me in the minibus. CHAIRPERSON So your application is wrong in that regard. Page 272, paragraph 8(a)(iv). MR BELLINGAN I agree, Chairperson. Mr de Kock was in another vehicle. MACHINE SWITCHED OFF MR BELLINGAN Chairperson, it was not a hotel, it was some holiday resort, there were triangular houses, the name was Smoky Valley Inn and that's where we lived. It was separate triangular houses in some valley. CHAIRPERSON And when did you arrive there? MR BELLINGAN Chairperson, that minibus was quite slow, so I would have arrived there sometime during the day. Because when one drives into Swaziland the roads are not so good, so one cannot drive that fast, so I must have arrived there during the day. CHAIRPERSON And you intended to leave that night? MR BELLINGAN Yes, we would have left after the operation, but it didn't happen as such and we only left the following morning. CHAIRPERSON Thank you. Re-examination? MR BOOYENS No re-examination, thank you, Mr Chairman. CHAIRPERSON ...(indistinct - no microphone) WITNESS EXCUSED MR BOOYENS Yes, Mr Chairman. Mr Chairman, that concludes the evidence of the applicants I intend calling.