the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program
the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program
the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program
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hinoceroses for <strong>the</strong> horns in Chiwore game reserve and that <strong>the</strong>y were illdisciplined,<br />
bored, and poorly trained. The first SAP contingents were relieved<br />
after three months. South Africa attempted to solve <strong>the</strong> problem by sending<br />
better-trained and more English speakers to Rhodesia. Tensions developed<br />
again as Rhodesians increasingly had to rely on South African manpower and<br />
military hardware in <strong>the</strong> early 1970s. Many Rhodesian troops resented South<br />
African efforts to tell <strong>the</strong>m how to conduct <strong>the</strong>ir counter-insurgency<br />
campaigns. These tensions were one reason why <strong>the</strong> South African police<br />
presence was reduced during <strong>the</strong> 1970s [Interview, Defense Intelligence<br />
Agency (DIA) <strong>of</strong>ficials, Washington, D.C., 13 September 2000]. See also<br />
Ellert, The Rhodesian Front War and Ron Reid-Daly, with Peter Stiff, Selous<br />
Scouts: Top Secret War (Alberton, South Africa: Galago, 1983) for detailed<br />
accounts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se tensions.<br />
17 Reid-Daly, Selous Scouts.<br />
18 Ellert, The Rhodesian Front War. He claims that <strong>the</strong> Selous Scouts<br />
experimented with throwing cholera viruses in rivers but could not detect any<br />
adverse effects associated with this experiment. He reports that in 1976, a<br />
group <strong>of</strong> Scouts moved into <strong>the</strong> Ruya wildlife area near Mozambique and<br />
introduced measured quantities <strong>of</strong> bacteriological cultures into <strong>the</strong> water at<br />
several points along <strong>the</strong> Ruya river. Although <strong>the</strong> Scouts never knew if any<br />
fatalities resulted from <strong>the</strong>se experiments, Ellert notes that <strong>the</strong>se experiments<br />
corresponded in time with reports <strong>of</strong> deaths among people living on <strong>the</strong> banks<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ruya River in Mozambique. These deaths were <strong>of</strong>ficially attributed to<br />
cholera (12).<br />
19 Mangold, Plague Wars, 214-218.<br />
20 Interview with Jakkie Cilliers, Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Institute for Security Studies<br />
(ISS), Pretoria, 12 June 2000. The South African State in <strong>the</strong> Basson trial is<br />
planning to use information ga<strong>the</strong>red by journalists to support charges against<br />
Basson related to <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> CBW in Rhodesia. However, <strong>the</strong> prosecution was<br />
unable to discuss this evidence while <strong>the</strong> trial is ongoing. Interview, Pretoria,<br />
July 2000).<br />
21<br />
Ellert, The Rhodesian Front War, 90-3; Interview with Peter Stiff, 12 July<br />
2000.<br />
22 From 1978 until independence <strong>the</strong> South African intelligence service<br />
stepped up <strong>the</strong>ir efforts to recruit experienced Rhodesian Special Forces,<br />
Ellert, 90.<br />
23 Jacques Pauw, Into <strong>the</strong> Heart <strong>of</strong> Darkness (Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball,<br />
1997). South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth and<br />
94