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Operation Zero ZeroExplanation Mister Joubert’s position was that had he found out that he was acting bona fide and that the operation was in fact authorized by the police chiefs. // Are you saying to this Commission that all you could do in the circumstances was simply to say this thing should never happen again? // Mister ... The second Maseru is a different operation. It was a Vlakplaas operation; it was led by Eugene de Kock. The operatives were all Vlakplaas operatives, a number of whom have applied for amnesty. The second raid occurred at a time in December of 1985 when the South African government was extremely ... Gentlemen what do you say to the proposition that your statement that you issued on the 16th of February 1989 is part of a STRATCOM operation? // All I can say, for me, that’s a ridiculous proposition. I’ve made the point here that arising out of the events in Soweto I was part of the drafting ... operatives when they supplied faulty hand grenades to COSAS members in the course of 1985. At least eight persons were killed and seven maimed. This operation was authorised and approved by the former Commissioner of Police and the Minister. // Whoever authorized that was guilty of a very gruesome ... ... from the outbuilding one by one for interrogation and this is where the story starts to diverge. Joe Mamasela, an askari who was involved in this operation, sings a completely different song to all the other amnesty applicants. He says the men were removed and over the next two days were ... ... you to eliminate these people? // That is so Your Honour. // You told me that the second sentence here should read. ‘He then suggested that this operation be directed in such a way that the ANC would be blamed for the elimination.’ // That is so Your Honour. // The way it reads at the moment ... I asked for Joe Mamasela to come down to assist in the operation because he was the main operator I would say, with Almond Nofemela of course, but a sober guy. A non-smoker, a non-drinker, had the killer instinct, super fit. Joe Mamasela, self-confessed political serial killer was one of the Vlakplaas askaris who participated in this operation. // It was brutal; it was what in Afrikaans people call ‘broekskeur.’ It was terrible. // Were they tortured? // They were tortured severely. They were savaged; they were ... Beyond the contradictory accounts and the spine chilling facts, both Mbelo and Bellingan gave an insight into the emotional effects and anger they feel now about the operation then. ... He also showed remorse for the murder of two children during the raid on the house of Sam Chand in Botswana. I still have a problem with this operation. I think of the children who were shot and I don’t live comfortably with this ... Phila’s death was not an isolated occurrence. A member of Umkhonto we Sizwe’s special operations unit a man known as Raymond Mkhwanazi, or MK Tekere was kidnapped from Swaziland a month after Phile. His was one of the bodies found this week and a local newspaper investigation claims that the ... Casselton set up his European operation with this man, Major Craig Williamson. The two men rented a luxury flat in North London from where they ran their spy network. ... targeted by the Defence Force, I cannot say how their thoughts went, she could have been an innocent bystander. I cannot say. If I had executed the operation I would also have killed her. // I understood that the two were together and that both were shot. I cannot explain why she was shot but ... ... to attend any complaints in this area, no motor vehicle is allowed to go into this area and I asked them what’s going on. They said it’s an ... In this quest to reclaim the land the amnesty applicants formed an APLA unit in Botshabelo and executed their first and last operation at Wesselsdal farm. // When we arrived there I knocked at the door together with my comrades and a white lady came, that is the wife of Mr. Smith. We asked her ... Cadres were under strict instruction to carry out reconnaissance properly so that military patrols were the primary target of the landmine operations. This arose, Chairperson, out of what the regime was doing at the time when it incorporated areas: white farms and white farmers in the border areas ... ... piece of bone that we know is existing in any part of the length and breadth of this country. But our mandated period, certainly our period of operation as the TRC, may expire before we have done all the work that needs to be done. As I speak, I’ve been told that there are no less than ... ... we know has a long history of helping Vlakplaas cover up their legal problems and Johan van der Merwe was involved in at least one Vlakplaas operation. The head of the ANC’s legal department, Mathews Phosa remarked afterwards that De Klerk sat in Pretoria and knew everything that went on ... It was decided that South Africa would hire mercenaries recruited and led by Hoare to pull off a coup to oust René and put Mancham back in power. At this stage, according to Dolinschek, the operation fell under the control of the National Intelligence Service headed up by Dr Niel Barnard. Mamasela is a self confessed killer. He’s one of the Vlakplaas operatives who took part in the Pebco Three operation. He has not applied for amnesty but will testify before the Truth Commission once all the amnesty applicants have been heard. He has a very different account of the killings. |