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
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
home <strong>of</strong> Jerry Nilsson, who was questioned and released, The Orange County<br />
Register, April 2, 2000 and Tony Saavedra "Surgeon says he doesn't know<br />
why he was subjected to a search” The Orange County Register, April 5, 2000<br />
101 There were also allegations that Ford may have tested his birth control<br />
product on prostitutes in South Africa. Julian Rademeyer “Illegal tests on SA<br />
prostitutes?” Pretoria News, 22 July 2000 (http://home.global.co.za/~jrad/<br />
ptabio.htm) and Arthur Allen, “Mad Scientist,” Salon.com (http://<br />
salonmag.com/ health/feature/2000/06/26/bi<strong>of</strong>em), 26 June 2000 (accessed<br />
August 9, 2000). See also articles in Los Angeles Times and o<strong>the</strong>r newspapers<br />
in Mad Scientist archive on Project Coast on <strong>the</strong> Mad Scientist web page<br />
(http://www.madsci.org).<br />
102 Interview with South African prosecutor in <strong>the</strong> Basson case, July 2000.<br />
103 Interview with Dr. Villa-Vicencia, former TRC investigator, 20 July, 2000.<br />
In addition to scientific literature, papers from scientific conferences, and<br />
government documents marked top secret, investigators found financial<br />
records, canceled checks, bags <strong>of</strong> foreign coins, memorabilia (e.g., a cartoon <strong>of</strong><br />
Basson carrying a violin case), and several small bottles <strong>of</strong> scotch and beer<br />
cans, which <strong>the</strong>y did not taste. The contents in <strong>the</strong>se trunks were really a<br />
“mixed bag” <strong>of</strong> personal effects and top-secret documents.<br />
104 Interview with Dr. Villa-Vicencia, 20 July, 2000.<br />
105 Mangold, Plague Wars, 277-8.<br />
106 Dr. Daan Goosen, former managing direct <strong>of</strong> RRL, claimed that Project<br />
Coast never conducted research on HIV as a weapon. However, he<br />
acknowledged that Project Coast scientists were planning to do some work that<br />
he termed “legitimate work” for a European pharmaceutical company.<br />
Interview Transcript from television show<br />
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plague/sa/ (accessed 15 June<br />
2000)<br />
107 Interview with South African reporters who covered <strong>the</strong> TRC hearings, July<br />
2000. Despite <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> evidence linking Project Coast research with <strong>the</strong><br />
intentional use <strong>of</strong> AIDS, allegations that <strong>the</strong> policies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> former South<br />
African government were motivated by AIDS considerations are likely to be<br />
raised in <strong>the</strong> future, as <strong>the</strong> HIV epidemic peaks in South Africa. For example,<br />
one researcher at <strong>the</strong> International AIDS conference held in Durban in July<br />
2000 suggested in a paper that projections <strong>of</strong> huge losses in <strong>the</strong> black<br />
population through AIDS was <strong>the</strong> real reason why de Klerk had started<br />
transition process.<br />
108 As Daan Goosen noted, “<strong>biological</strong> weapons was a new field, and it was<br />
103