Amnesty Hearings — Johannesburg — UNKNOWN

UNKNOWN: The purpose was, in three parts, (a) intimidation,(b) to influence White voters and (c) the protection of informationand prevention of acts of terror.
(A) - Intimidation.
 Intimidation of activists and terrorists and their supportersnot to continue in these actions and to act preventatively withregard to the elimination of potential activists and terrorists. The supporters and sympathisers of the liberation movements suchas the ANC were discouraged to provide open support and momentumto the freedom struggle.  There was a total feeling of mistrustamongst MK 
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members and supporters with regard to whom they could trust andwho not.  The modus operandi was the same as that of theMossad and that is that all the participants in the struggle againstthe apartheid government had to know that the security policewould strike back immediately after action by activists, theirsupporters and terrorists in a similar way and that this couldlead to the elimination of activists and terrorists.  Such eliminationhappened generally with regard to persons of high profile or veryeffective activists whose arrest could have led to momentum inthe freedom struggle.  Such detentions would have served the freedomstruggle.  The purpose was to demoralise MK and other militarywings of freedom fighters with the result that they were not ableto act as effectively in the struggle and to achieve the purposesof the liberation organisations.
 With regard to the influencing of White voters.  White voterswho had to vote for the government of the day had to trust thesecurity forces and had to believe that they continued to controlthe country.  A disinformation effort with regard to the effectivityof the struggle against communism terrorism had to create theimpression that the security forces could easily win the war sinceactivists disappeared or were killed in mysterious ways withoutany way of finding the guilty parties. 
 With regard to the zero handgrenade acts the impression had tobe created that terrorists blew themselves up because they werepoorly trained.  The public thought that the security police werebusy with the elimination of terrorists and activists and therewas a false impression with regard to effectivity with regardto the destruction and 
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elimination of terrorists and the Red threat.
 There had to be trust in the apartheid government to convinceWhite people to vote for them.  Actions against activists andterrorists created the impression that South Africa was involvedin a struggle for life and death. Our actions maintained the trustof White voters in the apartheid government and convinced themto vote for this government.
 With regard to the detection of information and the preventionof acts of terror it was necessary to eliminate activists in orderto protect the information gained under interrogation.  As soonas it was known that a particular activist had been arrested andthat information was obtained it would have made the interrogationprocess useless in the sense that this information would haveserved - Let me state this differently, if this information cameout then the persons who dealt with this person would have changedtheir plans terrorists in safe houses would have escaped and wewould have had no opportunity to find them. 
 The identity of informants and sources of security police hadto be protected.  A person would immediately have known who hadbetrayed him to the security police and that person's life wouldthen have been worth nothing.  
 Where activists in training within or outside the country wherethey intended to go for training they had to be eliminated toprevent them from destabilising the country through acts of terrorismsuch as bombing attacks on security forces as well as soft targets. As soon as an activist had been trained he was in a differentclass to normal activists and his knowledge and skills were thenequal to that of the security police and he would have been 
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far more effective in military operations.  
 All of these, therefore, led to the continued government by theNational Party and the successful combatting of communism.

UNKNOWN: Thank you Brigadier, only up to there. Would I be correct Brigadier if I were to say that the securitypolice acted preventatively with regard to acts of terror?

UNKNOWN: That is correct Chair.

UNKNOWN: Would it be correct to say that your approachhad been that a person who was going to commit an act of terrorshould rather have been eliminated prior to the act of terror?
 Mr Chairman just for clarity sake we divided the actions intothree different categories.

CHAIRPERSON: I understand that the Interpreter did not hearthe answer given by the witness.

UNKNOWN: I am sorry.  Brigadier would it be correctto say that the security forces acted preventatively with regardto terrorists and the elimination of terrorists and activists?

UNKNOWN: That is correct Chair.

UNKNOWN: Would I be correct if I were to say Brigadierthat the approach had been that activists and terrorists who weregoing to commit acts of terror should rather be eliminated beforein a preventative way, that they had to be stopped from actingin such a way by means of elimination rather than allowing themto commit acts of terror?

UNKNOWN: Yes Chair.

UNKNOWN: Mr Chairman I just want to make this clear
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for purposes of the applications.  We divided the actions intothree different categories which we tried to motivate every timein the same fashion.  The first one deals with eliminations. The second one deals with interrogations.  The third one dealswith bomb explosions.  In respect of those three categories wedrafted a general motivation which Brigadier Cronje, the one thathe gave now is an example of, those general motivations we includedin each instance of each applicant where there was an eliminationor where there was a bomb explosion or where there was an interrogation. So you will find this explanation of Brigadier Cronje also hasa part of the explanation pertaining to the political motive inCaptain Hechter's application, in Warrant Officer van Vuuren'sapplication and the other applications.  It does not mean thatthat is the only motivation.  In each incident there will be aspecific further motivation pertaining to the specific facts ofthat incident.  But we deemed it necessary to include a generalmotivation in respect of these three different categories of actions. That is why I deem it important to lead the evidence now andto ask you to regard this evidence then in respect of each suchincident in respect of the other applicants.  I will indicateevery time when we deal with the specific action what motivationwas included without letting the witness read it.  I hope youfollow me.  Thank you.

UNKNOWN: Brigadier Cronje would you therefore onpage 79 continue, also with regard to the general motivation andapproach with regard to interrogations and why interrogationshad political purposes.  You may start in the middle of the page.