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Content
A listing of transcripts of the dialogue and narrative of this section.
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Structure
The list provides the transcript, info about the text, and links to references contained in the text.
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Special Report
Transcripts for Section 5 of Episode 74
| Time | Summary | | | 52:50 | Martin Dolinschek stuck to his story until Robert Sims was brought in. // The door opened and Sims walks in and he said to me I told them everything, the game is over. So I told them. | Full Transcript | | 53:08 | It is quite clear that certain people who took part in the invasion here were working for the South African Government. | Full Transcript | | 53:16 | I assure you Mr. Chairperson that the Seychelles coup was neither discussed nor approved by the South African cabinet or the State Security Council. | Full Transcript | | 53:29 | Neither the TRC nor the Special Report has been able to find any cabinet or State Security Council documents relating to this. But what is clear is that to this day neither PW Botha nor the then SADF have told the full story of their involvement in the Seychelles coup attempt. Niel Barnard is now the Director-General of the Western Province Government. The Special Report asked him for an interview but Dr Barnard referred us to his lawyer who said he was not prepared to comment. Charles Lloyd was then in Military Intelligence and while he must have been involved in the planning of the Seychelles operation, when he came to the TRC earlier this year he shared no new light on his or the military’s involvement. According to Dolinschek, while he was imprisoned -naked and in chains, senior members of NIS and the South African Government came to Mahé to negotiate with the Seychellois. Dolenschek expected them to visit him. | Full Transcript | | 54:26 | So I was sort of in anticipation the whole day, they will come and see me, comfort me, give me a cigarette … I’m a smoker, I didn’t smoke for what seems to me like long time and what not. Comes about five o’clock, the same major from Military Intelligence, Chief of Military Intelligence in Seychelles tells me sir I got bad news for you, they don’t want to see you. | Full Transcript | | 54:58 | Dolinschek felt he’d been betrayed by the NIS, so he decided to make contact with the ANC. The Seychellois authorities arranged a meeting. | Full Transcript | | 55:07 | I regarded that interview as a failure. As a matter of fact, even there was this intelligence major sitting in the interview; when comrade Mzwai Philiso left he said that old man was not very nice with you. I said, well that’s how it goes; that beggars can’t be choosers. | Full Transcript | | 55:36 | Dolinschek was tried and sentenced to 20 years, Sims and the three captured mercenaries got death sentences commuted to life. In Durban Mike Hoare and his posse got sentences of between six months and 20 years for the seizure of the Air India aircraft. | Full Transcript | | 55:52 | Nothing, I resigned to my fate. // Then in August 1982 he was presented with an extraordinary opportunity. The Seychellois military stationed at the barracks where Dolinschek, Sims and the others were imprisoned staged a rebellion against President René. Dolinschek broke out of his prison and assisted the troops loyal to René. The rebellion was crushed and he became a local hero. As a reward Dolinschek and the other South Africans were moved to President René’s private island. Meanwhile the Seychellois negotiated with South Africa over compensation for the damages caused by Mike Hoare’s mercenary coup attempt. | Full Transcript | | 56:34 | I used to joke. People pay lots of money to be in that sort of a paradise island and we are complaining. It was perfect, so one morning airplane lands and says everybody go home, so we went home. René , though he didn’t spell it out, but he got his money from South Africa, because that was basically he was saying all the time when I get money you get home. Obviously he got his … as a matter of fact it was confirmed he got his 22.5 million dollars, which was quite a lot in those days and I think he did the right thing. | Full Transcript | | 57:15 | Back in South Africa Dolinschek hid out on a farm for almost a year before deciding to risk all. He headed for Harare where he made contact with the ANC. | Full Transcript | | 57:26 | Comrade Mzwai Philiso, he was the head of the ANC Intelligence and Security he said I know the guy so he sent people from Zambia to debrief me. The brief last about a week in a motel outside Harare. I was asked questions, everything from sexual inclination, from my birth, my schooling, my associations, my ideology, my believes, my work which I think I answered honestly to the best of my ability. There were six people who were interrogating me … debriefing me. They went into conference for about half a day. I was biting my nails, because my fate was in their hands when they come back. And they said from now on you are comrade Paul Smith. It was my MK name. So I was relieved and glad. When the peace talks started I come back to Lusaka where I was second in charge of all logistics and ANC property, that includes farms and training grounds and my chief was George Naicker, glory be to George Naicker. And it was quite nice. And then on the end of ’93 I came back. | Full Transcript |
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