Special Report Transcript Episode 40, Section 3, Time 13:32

And then on the 21st of August last year I asked Mr. De Klerk again why he allowed the killings to go on. // What has now come out in court is that that unit [Vlakplaas] continued to murder people… // Which is wrong, which must be absolutely… // Bheki Mlangeni was killed by that unit recently. You did not disband that unit. You say now that you did not have enough evidence. How much more evidence did you need? // I was at no stage aware of any unit carrying out assassinations. The Vlakplaas unit as it was explained to me had a totally different objective, a totally different field of activity. I was never part, as I have said, of any decision to assassinate or murder anybody. I totally distance myself from assassination, even in the fight which we had assassination is wrong and I would never have supported it and if I have any inclination, any indication that there were people committing assassinations and that there was a unit which was used for that I would have acted violently myself. // Did you ignore Dirk Coetzee’s evidence? He was the commander of that unit and he came out in 1989 and said: I was the commander, this is what we did. // When Dirk Coetzee said that he was speaking to a judicial commission of inquiry chaired by an appellant court judge and there was a whole process of investigation taking place. Surely one must await the judge’s report before you then act.

Notes: Max du Preez; Press conference, 21 August 1996; Max du Preez; De Klerk

References: there are no references for this transcript