Amnesty Hearings — Pretoria — 1976-07-19

MR VAN WYK: At that time I basically saw dimensions in the struggle.  Firstly, the struggle at home, here at the southernmost point of Africa, to protect the interests of Afrikaners, basically to inform people, to support them with the expected ANC takeover for which there was such tremendous fear.
	Perhaps I should go back to the propaganda.  For example some of the video material that I saw, for example video material from Africa Adios, deals with the Belgian Congo and the Black on White violence which happened there.  After seeing videos like that I was filled with such revulsion, I felt quite certain that this was precisely what would happen in South Africa and that we couldn't allow that.  We couldn't allow the Whites here at the southernmost point of Africa to disappear.  Africa would then lapse into its dark years, the light would disappear.  
	So at that stage the view was also that we should inform people about the bloodbath, that we were 100% sure of would follow the ANC takeover, that every White man would be murdered here, and then we should call for a Volkstaat, a place of safety for the Afrikaner, and apart from that, on a more international level, we wanted to become involved in the overall struggle on behalf of the Whites that the struggle for Whites in South Africa would serve as an example of that struggle.

MR GIMSBEEK: At that stage it was certainly a dramatic period in our politics there were important announcements, did these have any effect on you?

MR VAN WYK: Certainly there was an influence and effect on me.  At school, in discussions with Mr du Plessis he began to predict all these things about how the ANC would take power.  I saw these things happening in front of my eyes.  I saw Mr Mandela being freed, the ANC being unbanned.  I also felt great pity for my people, for my people who would have to go and serve on the border, who had served on the border, they died there for a reason which had basically been cancelled out, and the country had been surrendered, the struggle was for nothing.  All those years of sweating and struggling to protect our interests were all for nothing and everything would be thrown overboard, down the drain.  I clearly saw this coming.  People in the 1994 election armed themselves, equipped themselves with water and provisions and so on, that's what we were expecting, we thought an absolute bloodbath would take place.

MR GIMSBEEK: When did you complete your matric?

MR VAN WYK: In 1988.

MR GIMSBEEK: In 1989 you went to the University of Pretoria?

MR VAN WYK: That's right.

MR GIMSBEEK: And you studied there just for a short while.  For the rest of the time what did you do?

MR VAN WYK: Well for the rest of the time I did a computer course.  I went to do my defence force training.  After that I was in contact with Mr du Plessis in December 1990.  It is then that we began to talk, we convened the meeting about the establishment of a possible organisation.

MR GIMSBEEK: In your amnesty application certain aims and objectives, or rather let me interrupt myself - when did you establish this organisation?

MR VAN WYK: Well I wasn't involved in the foundation of the organisation myself.  In the organisation of the first organisation SARU things didn't go terribly well and we decided not to continue.  Then in July 1991 I was approached by Mr du Plessis to become a part of the NSP.

MR GIMSBEEK: Senior or junior?

MR VAN WYK: Junior.

MR GIMSBEEK: You said the first organisation SARU, can you please indicate what it stood for?

MR VAN WYK: South African Republican Organisation.

MR GIMSBEEK: And why didn't that get off the ground?

MR VAN WYK: I don't know.  At that stage I didn't feel positive about the arrangements of the organisation.

MR GIMSBEEK: So in June 1991 when you were approached by Mr du Plessis (Jnr) to become involved in the organisation can you give us a little of the background there?

MR VAN WYK: Yes.  I saw that Mr du Plessis was involved in establishing an organisation.  A lot of the basic groundwork was done by him.  I wasn't involved in that but I certainly wasn't ignorant of it.  I also made myself available to become involved in the propaganda wing of the organisation in due course and also be involved in the basic fundraising for the organisation.
	In July 1990 I was approached by Mr du Plessis (Jnr) to become an active member of the underground wing of the organisation as a result of the fact that one of the members that he had recruited at that stage had pulled out and he'd planned an operation and there was very little time left, it had already been planned and he needed me and that's really when I joined the organisation.

MR GIMSBEEK: Had the organisation already been founded when you joined it?

MR VAN WYK: That's right.

MR GIMSBEEK: Did you know who the members were?

MR VAN WYK: Yes at that stage there were three members of whom I knew, namely myself, du Plessis and Matthew White.  Only after a day did I become aware of Grobler the fourth member.

MR GIMSBEEK: Were the objectives of the organisation made known to you, what it stood for and so on?

MR VAN WYK: I was already aware of the overall objectives of the organisation at that stage.  I wasn't aware of the finer planning of the organisation.  I wasn't aware of their basic tactics.  That was kept quite secret from me and only at the inauguration did I become aware of those things, not everything but to a certain extent.

MR GIMSBEEK: So then what did you become aware of about what would be expected of you?

MR VAN WYK: Well I would be expected to give up my life for the organisation, to be prepared to die for my people, for my volk, for the Whites in South Africa and join the struggle.  We realised that the chances of success were not great but we felt at that stage and it was also the feeling in the group that even if we only tried, even if we only served as an example to others, perhaps others would be able to follow that example with success.

MR GIMSBEEK: The name of the organisation, what was that?

MR VAN WYK: NSP, National Socialist Partisans.

MR GIMSBEEK: How was the name decided on?

MR VAN WYK: It was Mr du Plessis who originally gave the organisation its name.  I think perhaps it also comes from the ideas of the Church of the Creator which were apparent, national socialism and then the ideas of Hitler and so on.  Perhaps those made a certain impression.  And then perhaps also in addition the fact that there was an absolute fear for the Jewish financial powers.  We also felt that that was one of our greatest target, to make people aware of that.

MR GIMSBEEK: And the Black onslaught, as you also testified, were you concerned about that?  And was it to an extent the aim of the organisation to become involved there?

MR VAN WYK: Yes it was.  As I said at that stage there was a total fear in me, and I was 100% certain that the onslaught would come and it would be a cruel onslaught.  And if I can perhaps bring in the Turner Diaries, there's a description there of how people are taken unawares when Black violence breaks out in America, and when this violence breaks out they really just collapse and are not prepared to do anything about it and that's exactly how I felt.  And I was quite positive in my mind that this onslaught would come and that every White in this country would be blotted out.
	Then it was also one of the organisation's objectives to inform people so that they wouldn't be taken unawares, to train them, to establish structures that would ensure that if the onslaught did come there would be some level of resistance.  We realised that time was short for reactionary actions before that moment had actually happened, that time would catch up with us, but we felt that with the resistance that we could offer that we could act in a reactionary fashion to establish a Volkstaat.