Amnesty Hearings — Pretoria — 1976-07-19

MR VAN WYK: Yes.  At that stage we didn't see any dynamic rightwing organisation with the vision that we believed we had at that stage to bring about a unification amongst the rightwing forces.  We believed that the only way of achieving our objective was through "popular support" from the people and it was one of our aims as an organisation to serve as an example to others and to be a unifying force in rightwing politics generally.

MR GIMSBEEK: You have also referred to organisations that you liaised with, rightwing organisations, could you just mention some of them?

MR VAN WYK: Yes.  I would just like to add that I wasn't a liaison officer or anything like that in the NSP, du Plessis was more involved in those matters.  He liaised with other organisations, the BBB, with Robert van Tonder's party, the Boerestaat Party, and I think there was also liaison on campus with a number of student groups which at that stage I think was our most fruitful field of recruitment.

MR GIMSBEEK: Could you then go on to paragraph 2.
MR VAN WYK
"The NSP intended to make Afrikaners aware through our propaganda campaign of the Communist takeover which was imminent and which had been put into motion by the National Party. The campaign would concentrate on the unification of the Afrikaner Volk to form a unitary front to prevent the bloodbath which was expected during the Communist takeover, and also to concentrate on the striving for independence of the Afrikaners and for a self-governing Volkstaat, an element which all rightwing organisations have to an extent in common.  And in due course there would be striving for a unitary front amongst rightwing organisations.
		Contact had also been established with international persons who were well-disposed towards the Afrikaner's struggle.  It was feared that international reaction would be negative if the Afrikaners were to establish a Volkstaat and if there was support from Belgium and France, that would help".
	I would like to expand on this, that by saying that at that stage contact was established with people in France.  I know that Olivier Matteu(?) was one of the contact people.  He would have assisted us if we had gone overseas with the fundraising which we were planning to do and he would have accommodated us.  Then there would have been contact with rightwingers in Europe and we would have been introduced to them.

MR GIMSBEEK: At this point I would also like to ask you, you also had a female friend at this stage, Christina Bouzard(?), a French girl?

MR VAN WYK: That's right.

MR GIMSBEEK: Was she also a rightwing person?

MR VAN WYK: Yes.  Let me put it this way, her family was involved in rightwing politics in France.  And the father and Olivier Matteu had contact with rightwingers with the organisations in Europe.

MR GIMSBEEK: As I understand it her father was a high profile person in the rightwing movement in France, could you expand on that?

MR VAN WYK: Yes.  I can't really remember it all precisely.  I do know he was involved in underground rightwing activities there.  I also know that he was murdered and that his murder caused great interest in Europe and great consternation.  I can't remember his name unfortunately.
"In the military area the NSP would prepare the people for protection against the bloodbath which was expected and also for a military onslaught to establish an independent Volkstaat for the Afrikaners.  They would begin assembling weapons on a small scale and to gain members.  Weapons would be stolen chiefly from the SADF but also from other civilian sources.  If a critical leadership in loyality(?) should be achieved then this would be launched so that in that way great quantities of arms and ammunition and logistical necessities would be acquired.  This would be used to establish a training base in Namibia.
		By carefully planned military actions in the Republic the NSP would grasp the imagination of Afrikaners and play a consolidating role between the various rightwing organisations and their supporters.  
		This unitary front would then protect the Afrikaner people under a single banner and in this feared takeover of power which was expected from the freedom movements and the Afrikaners would be able to pursue a military struggle".

MR GIMSBEEK: All these offences, according to you, they fell into this category?

MR VAN WYK: Yes they did.  All our actions were in the light of these things that we wished to achieve.

MR GIMSBEEK: Let's go to Annexure B.  I refer to your form, your amnesty paragraph 10B, the motivation for which these deeds, why these were related to political objectives, and then you referred to Appendix B.
MR VAN WYK
"The NSP consisted of four people, John Pierre du Plessis, the founder member and leader; White, the military advisor..."

BERNARD MAKGABO NGOEPE: I am sorry to interrupt you.  Mr Gimsbeek I see this document forms part of our pages, I am not so sure whether you would like to convince the Chairman that there is a need to read this into the record.  This forms part of an application which has been made on a prescribed form, which has been signed under oath.  It's like pleadings you know, one does not normally read pleadings into a court record. It is one thing which you can do, it is one thing to lead your witness paragraph by paragraph, but it's quite a different thing to read what essentially is like pleadings into the record.

MR GIMSBEEK: Good.  Then I would like to go through certain key aspects of the document.  I won't ask him to read it out, and then I would request the Honourable Committee to accept it as having been read into the record.

CHAIRPERSON: You can ask him to confirm the contents of that as well.

MR GIMSBEEK: Yes.  Mr van Wyk you have read this document that is in front of you?

MR VAN WYK: That is correct.

MR GIMSBEEK: The entire amnesty application together with the annexures, and do you confirm that the contents are true and correct as they relate to you?

MR VAN WYK: (No audible or interpreted reply)!

MR GIMSBEEK: Good.  Now just to return to Annexure B.  You make the statement that the following operations were planned by du Plessis with the advice of White and executed by the NSP and its members.  What can you tell us about that statement?

MR VAN WYK: Du Plessis was the leader of the organisation.  White essentially was the military leader or advisor.  He planned some of the operations and so on, of course subject to the structures planned by du Plessis, the general tactics and so on of the organisation, although all operations carried out had to have the official approval of du Plessis.

MR GIMSBEEK: So not one of these offences for which you are asking amnesty were done without the approval of the organisation, the NSP?

MR VAN WYK: No everything was subject to the control and command structures of the NSP.

MR GIMSBEEK: And now I would like to refer you to paragraph 3, to page 3 of Annexure B towards the bottom, you make the statement,
"Not one of the members of NSP gained any financial advantage of whatever nature from the committing of the offences".
You testified that you gained no financial profit, in fact you have been impoverished?

MR VAN WYK: Yes that how I testified.

MR GIMSBEEK: Then we go to what was found in the vehicle as well as the photographs  ...(tape ends)  Item Z2 there is a photograph of a swastika which was found in White and Grobler's car.  Could you just enlighten us about that, what was the purpose of the swastika?

CHAIRPERSON: Where does this appear?

MR GIMSBEEK: On page 4....

CHAIRPERSON: Of Z2.

MR GIMSBEEK: It's Z2 the photos.

CHAIRPERSON: Page 4.  Yes where in Z2?

SISI KHAMPEPE: Is it not page 13?

JUDGE WILSON: This is on the fifth page of the photograph.

MR GIMSBEEK: Yes.

JUDGE WILSON: Photograph no.13.

MR GIMSBEEK: Photo no.13.