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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knew about SADF secret <strong>program</strong>s, including Project Coast, and took an<br />
assertive hand in running <strong>the</strong>m. Gen. (ret.) Liebenberg signed for Project Coast<br />
activities and so did Surgeon General Knobel.<br />
De Klerk become aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> scale, sophistication, and <strong>of</strong>fensive uses<br />
<strong>of</strong> Project Coast at <strong>the</strong> start <strong>of</strong> 1993. Upon receiving Steyn’s report, de Klerk<br />
finally ordered <strong>the</strong> destruction <strong>of</strong> all lethal and incapacitating CBW agents, as<br />
well as research and operations and <strong>the</strong> retirement <strong>of</strong> Basson at <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong><br />
March 1993. In January 1993, <strong>the</strong> Minister <strong>of</strong> Defense, Kobie Coetzee, acting<br />
on de Klerk’s order, authorized all CBW research and development stopped<br />
and Project Coast documents containing formulas and experiments transferred<br />
to CD-ROMs. According to Kobus Bothma, in testimony at <strong>the</strong> Basson trial,<br />
an <strong>of</strong>fice secretary scanned <strong>the</strong> documents from Project Coast onto CD-ROMs.<br />
Philip Mijburgh transferred <strong>the</strong> CD-ROMs to <strong>the</strong> Ministry <strong>of</strong> Defense, where<br />
<strong>the</strong>y were placed in <strong>the</strong> vaults, and President de Klerk was given a key to <strong>the</strong><br />
contents, so that only <strong>the</strong> State President could open it, along with <strong>the</strong> Surgeon<br />
General, and Head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> NIA, Niel Barnard. Although it seemed that Project<br />
Coast had been rolled back, Mijburgh issued destruction documents that were<br />
inconclusive. While <strong>the</strong> South African government believed that it had rolled<br />
back Project Coast, four years later, in January 1997, police investigators<br />
found that Basson had taken copies <strong>of</strong> Project Coast documents home and<br />
hidden <strong>the</strong>m in trunks.<br />
Whe<strong>the</strong>r all CBW agents were destroyed at <strong>the</strong> beginning or end <strong>of</strong> 1993<br />
remains a matter <strong>of</strong> opinion. Also, large quantities <strong>of</strong> drugs were unaccounted<br />
for and were ei<strong>the</strong>r in possession <strong>of</strong> Basson or were secreted elsewhere.<br />
According to General (ret.) Meiring, all agents were dumped out to sea at <strong>the</strong><br />
end <strong>of</strong> 1993. The Forensic Branch <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> SAP, headed by SAP General Lothar<br />
Neethling, placed all agents destroyed on a schedule. The agents were dumped<br />
200 nautical miles <strong>south</strong> <strong>of</strong> Cape Argulhas. While lethal CBW agents were<br />
destroyed, <strong>the</strong> irritants, including NGT (CR) gas were kept. 154 According to<br />
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