Amnesty Hearings — Boksburg — 1998-09-15

MR MALAN: But that wasn't the question. The question was why you didn't inform your people. You said you would have done it but the question is did you do it?

MR PRINSLOO: I did tell certain people such as among others Mr de Wet that it had been successful. But what I mean is that I didn't call everybody together and announce to them: "Well, well done."

MR MALAN: Well why not because that is Mr Bracher's question.

MR PRINSLOO: That simply wasn't my style of operation.

MR BRACHER: The next question is this;  ...(indistinct) step is not taken to announce it publicly and to claim responsibility that it is part of your strategy to get a Volkstaat, why then do you proceed with the Germiston bomb when the plan is simply not being put into operation by Mr Terreblanche?

MR PRINSLOO: It was not my duty at that stage to make such a statement.

MR BRACHER: But couldn't you get into the car as you seem to have done on a few occasions and gone to head-office and say: "What has gone wrong with our plan? We have killed 7 people and nobody has claimed responsibility." Why do you bomb more innocent people when the plan is not working?

MR PRINSLOO: That was the instructions from the Generals in staff that we must continue. At that stage I believed that they will still do it.

CHAIRPERSON: Then I think you did not understand the question. The question was why didn't you accept responsibility?

MR PRINSLOO: They were supposed to accept responsibility.

CHAIRPERSON: Why didn't you do it?

MR PRINSLOO: It was not my duty.

CHAIRPERSON: Was it discussed at the Generals in staff who must take responsibility?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes. The AWB had to take responsibility but as I testified earlier on at that stage they had to know that there would be problems later on. There would be arrests and so on. At least a possibility of it. It seemed to me that they decided to take another direction.

CHAIRPERSON: In this whole operation did you at least or you had at least three generals visiting you?

MR PRINSLOO: That is correct, yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you not discuss this with them and tell them or say to them: "When will the AWB make this announcement? This is part of a plan. How else must the government know why this bomb was detonated?"

MR PRINSLOO: We did discuss this at one stage. Somebody will have to make a press release. That was during the visit of the three generals at the game farm. They would have discussed this with Mr Terreblanche and other commanders. I did not receive any feedback from them again concerning this. They did not pertinently tell me who will do this.

CHAIRPERSON: Let me ask another question. The purpose of the whole operation was to prevent people from voting.

MR PRINSLOO: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: How would the ordinary person on grassroots level know this? That they must get away from the voting polls.

MR PRINSLOO: Through the media.

CHAIRPERSON: Is that true? Why weren't the people then told? This is fair play, give them a warning.

MR PRINSLOO: Those bombings had to serve as a warning for the rest of the country.

CHAIRPERSON: How must they know then?

MR PRINSLOO: Through the media. Everybody knew it was the right-wing who did it. Or we assumed that everybody knew that it was the right-wing who planted this bomb.

CHAIRPERSON: The first thing that was written about the bombs and the right-wing the AWB denied it.

MR PRINSLOO: I understand now that it was Mr Rundel who denied this.

ADV BOSMAN: Where was Mr Terreblanche when this meeting was held at Fyndoorings where they talked about the bombs? Mr Eugene Terreblanche, where was he?

MR PRINSLOO: He was also there at Fyndoorings.

ADV BOSMAN: You did not mention his name on the question on who was there. If I can remember it correctly. I may make a mistake. You said now for the first time that he was there.

MR PRINSLOO: But he was not part of the Generals of staff, he was not a general.

ADV BOSMAN: Did he not attend this meeting?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, he did.

ADV BOSMAN: But at this stage when you decided or you said I am confused, you said that you could not remember who took the chair but you said that Mr Terreblanche as leader sometimes would take the chair.

MR PRINSLOO: In some circumstances yes.

ADV BOSMAN: Can you remember if he was present when the decision was made concerning the bombs?

MR PRINSLOO: He was always present if a decision had to be made concerning the bombs.

ADV BOSMAN: Could you therefore say that he was present when the bombings were discussed at Fyndoorings and he knew about it, he was well informed about this?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes.

ADV BOSMAN: Another thing that confuses me while we are there. This Generals in staff they came from all over the country. Is this impression right?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, that is.

ADV BOSMAN: So where did General Roodt come from?

MR PRINSLOO: Roodt was from the Free State.

ADV BOSMAN: Cruywagen?

MR PRINSLOO: Eastern Transvaal.

ADV BOSMAN: And Prinsloo?

MR PRINSLOO: That is myself.

ADV BOSMAN: I am sorry. Oelofse?

MR PRINSLOO: Witwatersrand.

ADV BOSMAN: Dirk Ackerman?

MR PRINSLOO: He was from the Free State.

ADV BOSMAN: And the other Ackerman?

MR PRINSLOO: Also from the Free State.

ADV BOSMAN: And Terreblanche, Andries Terreblanche?

MR PRINSLOO: He was from the Western Transvaal.

ADV BOSMAN: How often did you come together?

MR PRINSLOO: Sometimes once a week but on a regular basis.

ADV BOSMAN: And at that stage when you sent a message that you communication lines were down and the Generals in staff must come and see you, where were all these generals? Were they in Ventersdorp? Because only 4 came to see you.

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, at that stage - I was not in Ventersdorp myself when I met the people.

ADV BOSMAN: But you sent the message. Where did you think they were?

MR PRINSLOO: The map that was compiled of Western Transvaal or of this area that would be announced, every general received an area on this map that he had to protect.

ADV BOSMAN: In the Western Transvaal?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes. So all these people were gathered together in the Western Transvaal.

ADV BOSMAN: So at that stage no incidents occurred then in the Free State, Natal and the other areas?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, they did.

ADV BOSMAN: Under whose command did this happen?

MR PRINSLOO: It was under the commander who fell under the general.

ADV BOSMAN: But who did the coordination then?

MR PRINSLOO: It was through communication.

ADV BOSMAN: Certainly there had to or General Ackerman was the Free State's general, he certainly commanded what was going on there or was in charge of what was going on there but now he is in the Western Transvaal.

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, that is correct but his commandos would serve there and then there were also members under his command from the Free State who for example Welkom who would serve here in the Western Transvaal.

ADV BOSMAN: According to you in expectation all the generals were in the Western Transvaal when you asked them to come and see you. What exactly did you want to discuss with them, because you now received your instructions and your discretion in to work out the finer details yourself.

MR PRINSLOO: Amongst others the communication. They had to provide me with a system in which I could communicate.

ADV BOSMAN: So you didn't want to discuss the matter of the bombs?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, amongst others I would definitely have discussed it with them. But I just notified Ventersdorp that I wanted to see them.

ADV BOSMAN: What was your primary problem? The communication?

MR PRINSLOO: Yes, the communication was my primary problem.

ADV BOSMAN: Did you at that stage identify any specific problems concerning the bombs that you wanted to discuss with them?

MR PRINSLOO: No.

ADV BOSMAN: So the bombs was an extra matter?

MR PRINSLOO: No I did not have any problems with them. I did not think that there would be any problems in sending out the bombs.