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Special Report Transcript Episode 70, Section 1, Time 00:18Hello. Our main focus tonight is on the four cabinet ministers who appeared before the Truth Commission this past week. But we also have a report on the role that Intelezi, some people call it muti, plays in a conflict in KwaZulu-Natal. Let me introduce you to the four actors who starred in this week”s drama. Pik Botha, Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1977 and 1994. // ”En ek gee nie vanaand om of Oliver Tambo deur Reagan ontmoet word en of hy deur Gorbachev ontmoet word nie en of hy deur Kohl ontmoet word nie en of hy deur Margaret Thatcher ontmoet word nie, of die koningin van Brittanje ontmoet word nie, hierdie regering onderhandel nie met wreedaards en terroriste oor die toekoms van Suid Afrika nie.” [I don’t care whether Oliver Tambo is met by Reagan, Gorbachev or Kohl; if he’s met by Margaret Thatcher or the Queen of Britain, this government will not negotiate with brutes and terrorists over the future of South Africa] // Adriaan Vlok, Deputy Minister of Defence between 1984 and 1986 and Minister of Law and Order between 1986 and 1991. // Roelf Meyer, Deputy Minister of Law and Order between 1986 and 1988 and Minister of Defence between August 1991 and May 1992. // We”ve achieved tremendous success for the last year in that regard. I must say that I think the spirit of resistance is still there; it”s true and for that reason we believe that we have to maintain the state of emergency. // Leon Wessels, Deputy Minister of Law and Order in 1988. // ”Ek wil waarsku dat die regering en die Suid Afrikaanse polisie geen radikale optrede sal duld nie.” [I’m warning that the government and the SAP will not tolerate radical actions] // The former ministers were called to the Truth Commission because they were members of the State Security Council. Former State President, PW Botha, former Defence Minister Magnus Malan, and National Intelligence boss Niel Barnard will be called before the Commission in George next month. The Truth Commission focused on the State Security Council because that was the body, rather than the cabinet of the white Parliament, that determined policy and strategy in the turbulent 1980s, almost a government inside a government. The council effectively took over government under the reign of PW Botha because of his belief that there was a total communist onslaught against the country that made a total strategy of counterrevolutionary measures necessary. PW Botha was the head of the State Security Council. He was joined by the Ministers of Defence, Law & Order, Foreign Affairs and Justice, and occasionally other cabinet ministers were also co-opted. The chief of the Defence Force, the commissioner of the police, the head of the National Intelligence and the secretaries of Foreign Affairs and Justice, nowadays called Directors-General, were also permanent members. The council had a full time administrative office called the secretariat, dominated by the military. The next step down was the 11 joint management centres or JMC”s, subdivided into sub JMC”s and mini JMC”s They were responsible for coordinating state departments on regional and local level who had to implement State Security Council policies. The question has been asked many many times by the Truth Commission the last few months. Did the State Security Council order the gross violations of human rights by policemen and soldiers like assassinations, torture and massacres? And, did they know of these violations committed by the security police and units such as Vlakplaas and the CCB? So far, politicians and generals, including former state president FW de Klerk have said they never ordered anything illegal and they only heard of the abuses when it became known during Truth Commission hearings. Fortunately, many Security Council documents still exist and from these documents ordinary people like me understand very easily that the council did order murders and assassinations. Like this one of 24 January 1987. It states clearly: ”Identify and eliminate the revolutionary leaders and especially those with charisma.” // Then of course, we hear from generals and politicians that ”eliminate” did not mean kill. But let”s look at this State Security document of 18 February 1980. ”The council agrees to continually consider the implications of the elimination of Rhodesian politicians.” Then it explains what this means. It is pointed out that the failed attempts to kill Mugabe are turning him into a martyr. So, in this case, elimination did mean kill. But let”s go to this week”s hearing to find out what the former cabinet members say they ordered and what they knew. Notes: Max du Preez; Pik Botha 31 January 1987; Adriaan Vlok; Botswana/Zimbabwe Border 1988; Roelf Meyer on the 1987 state of emergency; Leon Wessels, 30 November 1988; Graphic, illustrating SSC structure Operation Plathond 67 Operation Plathond, a joint BOSS and SADF operation, involved the training of a surrogate force of Zambians for operations against the government of President Kaunda, the ANC’s most important backer in Africa. Under the command of the head of South Africa’s first ... External violations 10 While few statements were been received from deponents and victims outside South Africa, it has been argued that the majority of victims of gross violations of human rights were in fact residing outside the country’s borders at the time the violations were committed. One ... 442 In an amnesty application, a member of the Soweto Security Branch, Colonel Lodewyk de Jager, said that his unit was invited to an information-sharing and planning meeting for the raid at Special Forces headquarters. He stated that his unit had in the past attended similar sessions on ... The State Security Council and Angola 49 With the accession to power of Mr PW Botha in September 1978, the war against Angola became a government priority. In March 1979, the State Security Council (SSC) adopted two strategy documents pertaining to Angola. One was a total national strategy ... Contra-mobilisation Support to surrogate and opposition groups 551 Other chapters of this report deal with the former state’s use of surrogate forces and covert support to opposition groups outside South Africa. Major Craig Williamson told the Commission that this strategy was adopted and ... Glen Mgoduka, Amos Faku, Desmond Mapipa and Charles Jack 444 Three black security police and an informer died when a bomb placed in their vehicle was detonated by radio control outside Port Elizabeth on 14 December 1989. They were were Mr Glen Mgoduka [EC2631/97PLZ], Mr Amos Faku, Mr Daliwonga ... 47 Security Forces also used ‘ambush’ tactics against civilian protesters in the Western and Eastern Cape. These, like the ‘Trojan Horse shootings’ in Cape Town, resulted in fatalities and injuries. 48 In this period of crisis, arguments for a new approach to the policing of gatherings ... Knowledge or condonation of torture 214 The SAP and the former government have conceded that torture occurred, but have claimed that it represented the actions of a few renegade policemen. Thus, for example, in his submission to the Commission, the former leader of the National Party (NP) and ... APPENDIX State Security Forces:Directory of Organisations and Structures ■ JOINT SECURITY STRUCTURES State Security Council and related structures 1 The State Security Council (SSC) was established by the Security Intelligence and State Security Act, No 64 of 1972. Its functions were ... 138 On 2 June 1986, Chief Lent Maqoma, a one-time ally of Lennox Sebe, launched his Ciskei People’s Rights Protection Party; this was followed a few months later by the launch by the rebel group in Transkei of the ‘armed wing’ of this party, Iliso Lomzi. It seems that both were launched ... The Umlazi cinema massacre in August 1985 230 On 1 August 1985, Victoria Mxenge, an UDF executive member, was murdered at her home in Umlazi, Durban. A memorial service was held in her honour in the Umlazi Cinema building on 8 August 1985. Whilst the service was in progress, hundreds of Inkatha ... 35 The flight sergeant testified that such a beacon could have been used to divert and bring down a plane. The Commission was given the name of the person who built the beacon and the person who gave the orders for it to be built. 36 Two pilots flying in the area that night have said the Maputo ... Raids 78 On 8 October 1993, five sleeping youths including two twelve-year-old children were shot dead in a SADF raid on an alleged APLA base at the Mpendulo residence in the Northcrest suburb of Umtata. A press statement released by the then Minister of Defence HJ ‘Kobie’ Coetsee a week ... ■ THE ‘THIRD FORCE’ 497 This section focuses on the notion that a ‘third force’ or ‘third force’ elements were involved in perpetrating the violence of the early 1990s. The Commission wishes to restrict the understanding of this phenomenon to the post-1990 period and specifically ... Surrogate forces 522 Evidence has shown that, through contra-mobilisation, the notion of ‘strategic communication’ (STRATCOM) or ‘communications operations’ (COMOPS) was extended to include the establishment or covert support of groups opposed to the mass movements and the ANC. The ... |
