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Operation Zero ZeroExplanation ... the reconciliation at the end. So all of that kind of financial bookkeeping. Then there was logistical work. There would every month be a resupply operation, supplying arms and various other things to RENAMO. It would happen monthly by drop, actually drop into Mozambique. I was responsible for ... Firstly, he was in charge of the operation and then secondly, when the Goniwe Four were taken, Van Zyl took Goniwe, in other words physically during the kidnapping. If I have to explain the language used, I would be pleased. He was surprised because of the resistance offered by Goniwe. // Is that ... But for those instances where civilians were hit, Mbeki expressed the ANC’s deep regret. He named a list of operations that did not go strictly according to ANC rules. The first was an operation that was never intended to be. ... for those seniors who today are saying there was nothing wrong, they did not know me. Today I accept full responsibility for this whole ... ... extensively patrolled by the South African Defence Force and also by the Area Protection Units known by the term ‘commandoes.’ Most of those operations, landmine operations, were in the border areas, the areas that were patrolled very, very effectively. I think it is common knowledge to ... I think you probably get damaged and you probably start becoming a devious person intrinsically and I won’t recommend it. But I was effectively in operation for only just over a year and that still took me some recovering from, because I was hiding my true nature from my Defence Force employers ... 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 ... 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 ... ... 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 ... Then you went back to Vlakplaas where you gave orders to Martinus Ras, Snyman and Vermeulen to prepare for the operation. What precisely did you tell them? // I can’t give you specific details, but the gist of it was that people would be killed and specifically that policemen would be killed. // ... ... 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 ... The operation was the brainchild of General Johan van der Merwe and approved at the highest level of the then National Party government. // General van der Merwe gave the express instruction to use the hand grenades and to make these available to activists in order to eliminate them. It was a ... 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. appear that you in fact succeeded in doing so. What do you say about that? // After we set up the original ambush for them we then withdrew from the operation. Thereafter they shot at us first, they attacked us and we must have been a lot more successful in actually countering this attack. ... 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 ... One of the reasons why the operation went smoothly was because there was no popular support. There was no spontaneous reaction from the population. I suspect that everything is calm by now. And the decision was in the conduct of war it is not possible to avoid civilian losses. // After the few incidences where civilians were caught, the president called us in and asked us to put a stop to this method of operation. I gave the instructions to all our forces to stop using the landmine. ... 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 ... ... 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 ... 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. |
