Amnesty Hearings — Johannesburg — UNKNOWN

UNKNOWN: And on the next couple of pages, untilthe next one titled "Prominent incidences of sabotage".

UNKNOWN: That's correct.
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138 BRIG CRONJE

UNKNOWN: Brigadier, what type of targets were hitby sabotage?

UNKNOWN: Could you please repeat?

UNKNOWN: What type of institutions or targets werenormally aimed at?

UNKNOWN: Soft targets.

UNKNOWN: Yes.  Now can you look at this document. It refers to specific strategic installations such as the Sasoldepot and other fuel depots.

UNKNOWN: That's correct.

UNKNOWN: Could I then refer you to the documententitled "Prominent incidences of landmines".  Brigadiercan I ask you, from your own recollection, can you remember ofcases where landmines were planted and where innocent civilianwere killed?

UNKNOWN: Yes I can.  The evidence was given by, Ithink, Mr van Eck, who testified that his entire family were eliminatedin such an explosion.

UNKNOWN: There were also other occurrences.

UNKNOWN: Yes that's correct.

UNKNOWN: And then I would like to refer you tothe document titled "Acts of terror, persons killed and injured". My Lord my pages are not numbered, I beg your pardon.  Page 206My Lord.  That shows the number of people killed and injured from1986 to 1990 and gives the total as 187 killed and 1554 injured,is that correct?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: And then if you turn the page ...(intervention)

JUDGE WILSON: I take it that those are victims, theydon't include terrorists who may have been killed, just victims?
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139 BRIG CRONJE

UNKNOWN: No, no those are only - yes Mr Chairman,only victims, innocent people.  You will see that it refers to- it makes a distinction between women, children, men and securityforces.  So where it deals with women, children and men, thosewere innocent people. So it has a specific reference to securityforces.  Brigadier the next page the Hans Commission, statisticsfor acts of terror for the year.

UNKNOWN: That's correct.

UNKNOWN: You can confirm that it escalated from1984 to 1989 to a large extent?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: And then the last page is unsolved actsof terror during which people were killed.  Now if we can returnto page 13 you may continue.

UNKNOWN: Apart from the necklace murders, petrolbombing, attacks of houses and buildings, riots, disturbance,unrest, group murders and other actions committed in the nameof the so-called struggle.  In the light of the above it happenedthat from time-to-time general orders were given by commandingofficers to their subordinates to take steps to combat certainsituations. Such orders were general orders which didn't necessarilyinclude a specific authorisation for each and every operationto be undertaken.
 The authority to issue orders was delegated further down thestructure of command and a Brigadier in the position which I foundmyself and other officers were increasingly confronted with generalorders in terms of which action had to be taken on a broader basisthan what would normally be the case.  
 Powers were extended and commanding officers were 
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140 BRIG CRONJE
allowed a greater degree of discretion before authority had tobe obtained.  This was necessitated by virtue of the situationand this was exacerbated during the state of emergency.  Obviouslyauthority could not be specifically granted for each and everyaction of the subordinates.  Sometimes authority was granted beforehand,in other cases commanding officers were only informed of certainactions after they had already taken place.  In such cases thiswas normally caused as a result of a need to act immediately andthe practical impossibility of obtaining authorisation for eachand every instance from commanding officers.

ADV DE JAGER: Could you just stop there for a moment.You say here that the power to grant instructions were thereforedelegated further down the structure of command and a brigadieretc had to carry out orders, was there ever a meeting at whichthis was decided that the powers and functions had to be delegatedfurther down the hierarchy and structure of command and that decisionscould be taken at own discretion or how were these powers extended? Could you elaborate on that please?

UNKNOWN: Chairperson the powers which we receivedfrom Head Office were of such a nature that we assumed that thecommanding officers could exercise their own discretion to issueorders, they could use their own discretion.

ADV DE JAGER: I hear your answer but you said this camefrom headquarters, but it was not the office which issued it,there must have been a specific person which issued these orders?

UNKNOWN: Correct.

ADV DE JAGER: Now could you tell us how these orderswere conveyed down the structure of command?
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141 BRIG CRONJE

UNKNOWN: We deal with this further on in the statementChairperson.

UNKNOWN: Brigadier could you continue please, weare on page 14, second paragraph.