Amnesty Hearings — East London — 1999-04-06

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Yes.  It just underlines what we said earlier, and that is that you have partners in a revolutionary war, and on regional basis we tried then with this resistance movement that we wanted to establish.

MR KNOETZE: 844, paragraph (c) which is part of the security aims.  It is says
"That one of the objectives was to mobilise groups as individuals to protect themselves and then also to act against the revolutionary actions."
So am I correct in saying that we're now referring to the Xhosa resistance movement?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Yes, that is correct.

MR KNOETZE: And then page 847, is part of a document that starts on 845
"Objectives and overarching actions against the revolutionary powers."
At the bottom of the page there is a part that says:
"That on the psychological terrain the aim was to express self-determination for nations."

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Yes, that is correct.  The idea was that there should be self-determination for the Xhosa nation as one nation.

MR KNOETZE: Then on page 854, paragraph 3.1 and 3.2 - sorry Chairperson, paragraph 8.1.
"One of the actions suggested is moderate blacks should be assisted to organise politically for evolutionary development and then also the active combatting of the radicals, and also to prevent this political vacuum to be used by these revolutionaries."

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Was that also one of your intentions?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Yes, that was specifically the plan with Katzen.

MR KNOETZE: The following document is on page 870.  You have already explained that.  871, could you just tell us what type of document this is?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Chairperson, ...(intervention)

CHAIRPERSON: I don't think we - we don't need a lesson in military structures etc., if you can just explain it generally.  Let's not spend too much time on it.

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: 871 and the following pages is an extract from a doctrine for a counter-insurgency war.  Now this is an umbrella document, and I think what we have already referred to is contained here.  We as commanders have had some experience and we then formulated this.  There isn't anything new, it's just a summary.  On page 1 it refers to that there are two, they are trying to get the power.  Now the institution who also controls the power war then wins the war.  	The other aspects we have in fact already discussed.
	On page 874, now this is the recipe to win this and then to concentrate on the development of social welfare.  I think it just underlines what we have already discussed.  It is a summary.  I was the chairperson of this committee who also compiled this part.

MR KNOETZE: You've now sketched the background against which we must see the way you performed your functions at the time.  I'd now like to take you to page 529 of Exhibit C.  Please tell the Committee what document is it that starts on this page?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: On this page and the following pages as far as page 692, Plan Strelitzia is set out.  The plan itself is from 529 to 667, 668 actually.  And from 669 to the end follows the minute of a meeting held in Pretoria after Plan Strelitzia had been announced to the State Security Council.

MR KNOETZE: Alright, let's start with the idea.  What is the idea that is embodied in Plan Strelitzia?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: The basic idea was to establish a counter-revolutionary authority structure for the Eastern Cape, which would then join together the RSA and its allies and act as a counter-power base to the ANC/SACP alliance.

MR KNOETZE: On page 532 there is a foreword.  Did you write the foreword?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Yes.

MR KNOETZE: Would you please read it to the Committee.

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: On page 532
"Plan Strelitzia was born from the Eastern Cape soil.  Against the background of the reigning revolutionary climate, a plan was decided upon, a plan of action to mobilise the entire population of Region D.
	As a point of departure a counter-revolutionary authority structure was used, which could serve as a defusing mechanism to bring about stabilisation on a multi-racial socioeconomic level.  As a mirror for the counter-revolutionary authority structure we find the counter-revolutionary model which can be used as a practical guideline to combat the revolutionary climate in Region D on a psychological level.
	And it is our considered opinion that the onslaught on the power bases within the RSA and specifically Region D, are currently taking place in an indirect way.  We therefore are dealing with a revolutionary strategy which is being applied in an indirect way and where non-military means are chiefly used to enforce the desired outcome.  
	The principles which form the base of Plan Strelitzia is to within existing systems, to establish an authority structure for continuous co-ordinated action at minimal financial outlay.
	Secondly, to achieve total mobilisation of the population by means of the orchestration of existing departments.
	The mobilisation of the private sector or the involvement of the private sector.
	Fourthly, discussions between all the racial groups.
	Fifthly, counter-revolutionary measures at psychological level, with an accompanying decrease of the South African Defence Force profile.  It was too high in our opinion. 
	Sixthly, the four pillars of strategic planning, namely social, economic, constitutional and the security power base.
	Signed on the 11th of June 1985."

MR KNOETZE: That was about a year before Plan Katzen was born?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: That is correct, Chairperson.

MR KNOETZE: Now this is quite a comprehensive document with many complicated structures, and with quite elevated objectives.  Were you assisted by anybody to compile this document?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Yes.  As the Chairperson of the JMC, I established an Advisory Board which consisted mainly of people at the University of Port Elizabeth.  And the idea behind this was to make use of advisory bodies and people outside the sphere of the State, especially on those non-security areas on which the war was being chiefly waged, namely the social and the economic area.  The people that I consulted in the compiling of this Plan Strelitzia were mostly members of this advisory body.  Professor Jacques Cilliers, he later became a member of the President's Council, and there was a Doctor Tertius Delport, he later became a Minister, and Doctor Johan van der Westhuizen, he was attached to the Public Studies Department of UPE.  There was a Doctor White and if I remember correctly, he was a Professor of Economics.  There might have been other people, I can't remember now, but they were the kind of people that we tried to involved in this planning.

MR KNOETZE: Now the principles in terms of which you drafted this, those appear on 535?

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: That's correct..

MR KNOETZE: May I emphasise two, the fourth one says
"The establishment of a counter-revolutionary authority structure for peace and war."
And the 8th one:
"The decreasing of the SADF profile, scaling down of the profile."

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: That's correct.

MR KNOETZE: And then if we can go to page 550.  Once again we have the objective there.
"As part of the counter-revolutionary model for the Eastern Cape, the purpose was the defusing of the revolutionary climate on the physical and the psychological level."

CHRISTOFFEL PIERRE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: That is correct, Chairperson.  With the physical level we here refer to the certain power bases, social, economic, political etc.