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Special Report
Transcripts for Section 4 of Episode 69

TimeSummary
24:21The South African Police force has now been renamed the police service and as citizens we should all hope that this name change will continue to signify a complete change in approach. The days spent listening to the former Defence Force generals was probably the most frustrating. Very little new came out and we still don’t know much about clandestine units such as the Civil Cooperation Bureau or the Directorate Covert Collection, but we did learn a few significant facts about the period in the mid eighties when the South African Defence Force started working more closely with the police in an attempt to quell increasing internal unrest. Senior army officers this week explained to the Truth Commission how they became involved in the war inside South Africa’s townships. They also started assassinating activists and ANC supporters inside the country.Full Transcript and References
25:12In 1985 the then State President PW Botha declared the state of emergency in response to the growing internal unrest inside the country. In 1986 the second State of Emergency followed. For the first time in its history the South African Defence Force was deployed on a massive scale inside the country.Full Transcript and References
25:38Here we found the war overnight or within a couple of months completely transformed. The protection was our responsibilities. We could not send our troops in uniform into the townships because if you send a man in uniform there they are immediately seen. So we had to find some other ways of operating in the townships but not being seen in the townships. // There was an increasing requirement for clandestine and covert operations of a new kind in 1986, a small group known as D40 was originally organised for this purpose. D40 developed into Barnacle, which later was transformed into the CCB. The CCB was a covert, military organisation managed by a managing director under supervision of a senior officer, special forces. The functions were, and that’s very important: infiltration, in other words deep infiltration within the enemy itself; and penetration of the enemy, penetration also in the areas, the deep areas where the enemy operated. But I must say, it was difficult; we were ...moreFull Transcript
27:04But troops were not only patrolling the townships. Within the Defence Force a decision was taken to use unconventional and covert methods to fight the liberation forces inside the country. The Defence Force however saw their role internally as one of support for the South African Police. A special plan was devised to bring the army and the police closer together. Major Joep Joubert was the man tasked to work out a plan that would see his special forces unit work in close collaboration with particularly the security police.Full Transcript
27:38Who did you receive that instruction from? // As I mentioned in my application at that stage it was the then head of the Defence Force General Geldenhuys, he asked me to draw up this plan. // And that would have been a plan as you indicate in your amnesty application to be of support to the SAP in the sense that special forces would engage also in unconventional and revolutionary methods in order to combat the revolutionary onslaught against South Africa. Is that correct? // That is correct. // Could you briefly outline to the Commission what the key elements of your plan was that you devised then for special forces. // We decided that I, in cooperation with the commanding officers of those commandos and the head of the security police for that area would meet and would determine what the targets would be, the important targets which were important in regaining control. From special forces, a team was sent out to the Security Police in Northern Transvaal and one was sent to the ...moreFull Transcript
30:44Were there cases in which special forces cooperated with the police in eliminating people i.e. killing people in accordance with the plan that you testified to before lunch. // That is correct. // And are those the matters in respect of which you have applied for amnesty? // That is correct. // And could you tell us how many people special forces acting together with the South African Police eliminated, and when I say eliminated I mean killed? // Mister Chairman as it stands in my application quite clearly, I haven’t looked at it, but it must be around 12 persons.Full Transcript
31:37‘After the break: // Special forces and the murder of the Ribeiro couple // What does ‘eliminate’ mean? // Umkhonto we Sizwe.’Full Transcript
 
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