Special Report Transcript Episode 47, Section 1, Time 00:14

South Africa became a militarist state when PW Botha became Prime Minister and appointed Magnus Malan his Defence Minister in 1980. These two men spearheaded the total counterrevolutionary strategy that dominated South Africa in the 1980s. It was a brutal strategy of attacks across our country’s borders, clandestine operations, dirty tricks, death squads and the sinister third force. It was therefore with special interest that we attended the Truth Commission session this week where General Malan gave his voluntary testimony. The Truth Commission Special Report does not merely report on the Truth Commission process; we have a duty to contextualize events and to assess everything related to the Truth Commission critically and that is what we will do tonight with Malan’s testimony, tested for openness and truthfulness. And I’m afraid the General does not come out of it smelling of roses. We also take you to the amnesty hearings in Nelspruit with a tale of naked racism mixed with alcohol abuse that led to the gruesome death of an innocent man. And we bring you the story of the savage attack on a student leader. But let’s go to Cape Town first for General Magnus Malan’s testimony. Malan was the first former cabinet minister or former general who asked to appear before the Truth Commission to give his analysis of what happened in the past. Malan was the Chief of the Defence Force between 1976 and 1980 and Minister of Defence between 1980 and 1991.

Notes: Max du Preez

References: there are no references for this transcript