Human Rights Violation Hearings — Johannesburg — 1996-04-29

RUSSELL ALLY: Mr Beck I don't want you to take the question that I am going to ask as any indication of any insensitivity to what you have experienced.  I am sure that everybody here round the table is moved by what actually happened to you and sympathises.  But I would like to know what your opinions are on the - it is well-known that during the period that you are speaking about the police and the army and all other such structures were seen as an extension of the apartheid state which was oppressing people, and
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therefore as legitimate targets, how do you feel about that position and in the context of what actually happened to you?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Okay.  Before 1990 I can say that we as ordinary policeman didn't know much about these covert operations.  We didn't know anything about it.  It was mostly the specialist policemen, the Security Police, Murder and Robbery and all those kind of guys who knew about these type of operations, and as we are now in the transparent and new South Africa more of these incidents are now revealed.  Now it becomes more clear to me what was really going on and the balance between the State at that time and the liberation movements, and I can see the viewpoint of the liberation movement as well, which they hold, or which they held to bring about what we are experiencing in this new South Africa of ours, and that cost us all to be liberated, so therefore I don't bear any grudges against anybody for what happened, although I was a victim of it, but I understand now.  Before I didn't, no.  And if these things were not revealed maybe I would have held a different opinion.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you for that honest answer.  In the light of that what is it then that you are expecting the Commission to do in your specific instant and more generally with policemen who were either killed or maimed during that period?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Well I don't know how relevant my opinion will be, but I'd like to say that for the - I'd like all perpetrators to come forward to testify at the Commission and disclose what atrocities they partook in, and I feel that the perpetrators are not coming out voluntarily.  So what I feel must happen is that after the terms the
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Commission has served they have to be given a further extension of about six months to come forward and if they still refuse to come forward then the law must take its course and then they forfeit all rights to come to this Commission, and that they must be prosecuted criminally.

RUSSELL ALLY: And just more specifically in terms of a reparation policy in regard to policemen, what are your views?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Well I know that the Commissioner of Police is trying his utmost to instill into every policeman the new idea of the new South Africa, to be community orientated, and to build up a good and firm and better image towards every South African, and I feel that a policeman in today's time, after hearing all these stories of the various atrocities, is still not prepared to abide with the new South Africa, and with the new transparency that we have, and democracy, then he must be kicked out of the police service.  He is of no use to the police service as such.  Then everybody else's hard work to bring about a democracy will be futile, if we still have strong elements like that around us in the police.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Dr Magwaza?

DR MAGWAZA: Mr Beck it is obvious that your life changed after the attack, I would like to ask in what way did your life change in your relationship with other people or relationship with liberations movements?  How did your life change in relation to your work?  And how did your life change generally because something did change?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Yes more than likely.  If all these things didn't come to the fore of what happened, then maybe I would still
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bear a grudge.  The reason why my life changed is that I've now learnt from all the stories I've learned from and the example that our State President has brought us for forgiving after he went through all these atrocities as well, and he can forgive, and I became more tolerant now and more understanding, which before I wasn't.  I can understand now from both sides, and people's problems daily in my job as well.

YASMINE SOOKA: Mr Beck did the police take care of you during the time when you were injured?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: They just visited me a few times in the hospital.  After that when I was discharged, well they took care of the bill, the medical costs because that was very much.  And after that I recuperated on my own at home.

YASMINE SOOKA: Did you receive any kind of compensation for your injuries because you were on duty when this took place?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Yes.  Unfortunately all my efforts for compensation were futile because it was just a lot of red tape.  I have never received any compensation, just a lot of red tape and letters from one office to the other, up to now and they just stopped writing letters and I am still where I am.

YASMINE SOOKA: Tell me was there any investigation after the attack?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: No it was just an attempted murder docket opened and nothing, the docket is still as what it was.

PROF MEIRING: No thank you.

DR RANDERA: Mr Beck if I can just ask you two questions please.  In your statement, and please this doesn't take away what you have told of pain and suffering that you have experienced, and still suffer, in your statement you say
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that amongst police circles it was thought that this was a liberation movement attack.  Did any liberation movement ever take responsibility for this attack?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: No, no liberation movement claimed responsibility, but ...(intervention)

DR RANDERA: Apologies.  You were also told that your photograph should not be taken and you were going to appeal on television and that was cancelled too.  Again the explanation for that, because having lived through that period myself often it was a responsibility on the State when this sort of thing happened, when this sort of incident happened that this would be publicised rather than de-publicised.

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Yes it was publicised but without a photograph.

DR RANDERA: My last question is, and again this is a personal comment on your part, you've heard, we have heard many times in the testimonies that we have been given how it almost appeared as if institutions, and I include the police institution within this question as well went out of the way to make people's lives difficult, you were in that - you were there at the time and I just wondered whether you want to actually share some of those perceptions with us.

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: As I said earlier I don't know of any specific atrocities or any specific policeman that partook in any of these activities, because those atrocities were done mainly by the security branch and the security branch had full reign of anything that they wanted to do.  And you know they excluded the rest of the police force out of what they have done.  They were like a law unto themselves.

MS SEROKE: Mr Beck you mentioned earlier that you tried to get compensation but your attempts were futile, would you
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like the Commission to pursue those attempts on your behalf?

GREGORY EDMUND BECK: Yes please because the attempts from the police force was through the Workmen's Compensation and correspondence just stalled in 1994.  Because of a lot of red tape as I said and that is one of my requests from the Commission because I do have letters in my possession where compensation and where references were made to Workmen's Compensation.  I have it with me at home.