the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program

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knew about SADF secret programs, including Project Coast, and took an assertive hand in running them. Gen. (ret.) Liebenberg signed for Project Coast activities and so did Surgeon General Knobel. De Klerk become aware of the scale, sophistication, and offensive uses of Project Coast at the start of 1993. Upon receiving Steyn’s report, de Klerk finally ordered the destruction of all lethal and incapacitating CBW agents, as well as research and operations and the retirement of Basson at the end of March 1993. In January 1993, the Minister of Defense, Kobie Coetzee, acting on de Klerk’s order, authorized all CBW research and development stopped and Project Coast documents containing formulas and experiments transferred to CD-ROMs. According to Kobus Bothma, in testimony at the Basson trial, an office secretary scanned the documents from Project Coast onto CD-ROMs. Philip Mijburgh transferred the CD-ROMs to the Ministry of Defense, where they were placed in the vaults, and President de Klerk was given a key to the contents, so that only the State President could open it, along with the Surgeon General, and Head of the NIA, Niel Barnard. Although it seemed that Project Coast had been rolled back, Mijburgh issued destruction documents that were inconclusive. While the South African government believed that it had rolled back Project Coast, four years later, in January 1997, police investigators found that Basson had taken copies of Project Coast documents home and hidden them in trunks. Whether all CBW agents were destroyed at the beginning or end of 1993 remains a matter of opinion. Also, large quantities of drugs were unaccounted for and were either in possession of Basson or were secreted elsewhere. According to General (ret.) Meiring, all agents were dumped out to sea at the end of 1993. The Forensic Branch of the SAP, headed by SAP General Lothar Neethling, placed all agents destroyed on a schedule. The agents were dumped 200 nautical miles south of Cape Argulhas. While lethal CBW agents were destroyed, the irritants, including NGT (CR) gas were kept. 154 According to 58
Knobel’s testimony to the TRC, SADF Counterintelligence destroyed all agents in January 1993. The methaqualone purchased in Croatia was allegedly destroyed then, after the order was received that work on all incapacitants should cease. On 7 January 1993, Knobel advised his superiors that South Africa “should conceal” NGT (CR) gas from the Chemical Weapons Convention. On 14 January 1993, South Africa acceded to the CWC. However, work on the dispersion of NGT (CR) gas continued. 155 By March 1993, South Africa completed the process of dismantling its six nuclear weapons. By the end of 1993, the South African missile program was rolled back. The order to terminate Project Coast led to the immediate transfer of ownership of RRL and Delta G to Project Coast managers, including Basson and Mijburgh. The way had been open to massive financial improprieties. The 10 shareholders in the Roodeplaat Research Laboratories became millionaires overnight when the SADF closed down Project Coast at the beginning of 1993. Later, the SADF paid the debtors, who were the shareholders, a total of R18 million ($18 million in 1993). However, the details of this multi-million-rand scam only emerged in 1996 in Parliament. This was almost a year after the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) had written off Project Coast’s debts of almost R22 million. 156 According to Gen. (ret.) Meiring, the process of rolling back the CBW Program took almost three years of commercializing the front companies and phasing out the scientists. 157 In 1993, a forensic audit was conducted to determine the whereabouts of all moneys and the availability of CW and BW agents. The only problem that was detected was the Croatian swindle, and a South African agent was arrested by the Swiss government. Also in 1993, the Office of Serious Economic Offenses (OSEO) was investigating reports of financial misdealings, and General Meiring and Surgeon General Knobel appeared and gave testimony. They also briefed President de Klerk. 59
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THE ROLLBACK OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BI
Page 5 and 6:
TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword vii Exec
Page 7 and 8:
FOREWORD We are pleased to publish
Page 9 and 10:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The profile of So
Page 11 and 12:
The Rollback of the South African B
Page 13 and 14:
During WWII, South African Prime Mi
Page 15 and 16:
dollars) estimate to build a CBW pr
Page 17 and 18: learn first-hand how the Portuguese
Page 19 and 20: use of chemical and biological agen
Page 21 and 22: incidents underscored the variable
Page 23 and 24: Convention (BWC). According to form
Page 25 and 26: Project Coast, which would countera
Page 27 and 28: internal suppression of political d
Page 29 and 30: Malan, and the Minister of Finance,
Page 31 and 32: The chain of command demonstrates t
Page 33 and 34: omb could be used to wipe out or in
Page 35 and 36: tear gas and to incapacitate withou
Page 37 and 38: In the aftermath of Cuito Cuanavale
Page 39 and 40: confirmed, there is evidence that s
Page 41 and 42: the SSC. At this time, the security
Page 43 and 44: Given the breadth and depth of coop
Page 45 and 46: instruct scientists working with a
Page 47 and 48: the South African President’s off
Page 49 and 50: Mandrax and Ecstasy that were produ
Page 51 and 52: overseas business deals. 114 In Aug
Page 53 and 54: South Africa negotiated the withdra
Page 55 and 56: political party or organization. Pr
Page 57 and 58: nuclear weapons program and Project
Page 59 and 60: TRC, the men who tried to kill Chik
Page 61 and 62: In 1991, Basson began to build Mert
Page 63 and 64: Military personnel from several cou
Page 65 and 66: Meyer, the Acting Defense Secretary
Page 67: leave the SADF at the end of March
Page 71 and 72: objected to the South African CBM a
Page 73 and 74: Basson and his trips to Libya were
Page 75 and 76: experiences for the military leader
Page 77 and 78: was submitted in 1994). This time U
Page 79 and 80: as the U.S., Great Britain, and oth
Page 81 and 82: investigation phase ended. Initiall
Page 83 and 84: June 1998. However, several weeks b
Page 85 and 86: penalties did finally force him to
Page 87 and 88: public. The State was operating on
Page 89 and 90: The limited news coverage of the Ba
Page 91 and 92: South African court for crimes comm
Page 93 and 94: ulings excluding evidence, his timi
Page 95 and 96: had asked him to set up a facility
Page 97 and 98: cover illegal personal gains from t
Page 99 and 100: who had detailed knowledge of many
Page 101 and 102: 9. What specifically and when did t
Page 103 and 104: e delivered through food and water,
Page 105 and 106: Reconciliation Commission of South
Page 107 and 108: 41 Interview with Dr. G. Scharf, fo
Page 109 and 110: 56 Mangold, Plague Wars, 243. 57 In
Page 111 and 112: weaponization took place. Donald Ma
Page 113 and 114: home of Jerry Nilsson, who was ques
Page 115 and 116: he still need to raise cash in Sout
Page 117 and 118: military bases and was familiar to
Page 119 and 120:
162 According to Dr. Ian Phillips,
Page 121 and 122:
Basson’s arrest was the result of
Page 123 and 124:
200 By the seventh week of the tria
Page 125:
115
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