Secrets & Lies: Wouter Basson and South Africa's Chemical and Biological Warfare Programme

263 Pages·2012·4.202 MB·English

by  Burger, Marléne

S E C R E T S
L I E S

a n d
Wouter Basson
and South Africa’s
Chemical and Biological
Warfare Programme
Marléne Burger & Chandré Gould
Published by Zebra Press
an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd
Reg. No. 1966/003153/07
Wembley Square, First Floor, Solan Road, Gardens, Cape Town 8001
PO Box 1144, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
www.zebrapress.co.za
First published 2002
This ebook published 2012
Publication © Zebra Press 2002
Text © Marléne Burger and Chandré Gould 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
publisher: Marlene Fryer
managing editor: Robert Plummer
editor: Frances Perryer
text designer: Natascha Adendorff
indexer: Frances Perryer
photo researcher: Carmen Swanepoel
ISBN 978 1 86872 341 6 (print)
ISBN 978 1 77022 248 9 (ePub)
ISBN 978 1 77022 249 6 (PDF)
publisher’s note
This book records, as fairly and accurately as possible, details of South Africa’s chemical and biological warfare
programme, and, specifically, the public face of investigations into alleged abuse of Project Coast. Because
of their involvement in such proceedings, the authors are in a position to both comment on them and share
with readers their personal insights, based on a wealth of information at their disposal. This book is not
intended to be, and should not be read as, the definitive account of any of the events concerned. Views
expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher.
This book is dedicated to those who strive continually
and courageously to rid the world of chemical and biological warfare,
no matter where it is hidden, or by whom – and to all the
victims of military secrets and political lies.

Contents
about the authors ix
foreword xi
preface xiii
abbreviations xv
1 A Tangled Web 1
2 From Genesis to Exodus 13
3 Toxins in Little Bottles 28
4 First, Do No Harm 45
5 The Grim Reapers 56
6 The Drug War 78
7 Follow the Money 90
8 Foreign Affairs 109
9 Living High on the Hog 121
10 Dangerous Liaisons 141
11 Blame the Dead Man 170
12 Stranger Than Fiction 187
sources 220
index 223

About the Authors
chandré gould is a senior researcher in the Crime and Justice Programme of
the Institute for Security Studies. From 1996 to 1999 she worked as an investigator
and evidence analyst for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was one
of the investigators responsible for the TRC’s investigation into Project Coast.
Throughout the Basson trial, she was responsible for compiling weekly reports on
proceedings as part of the Centre for Conflict Resolution’s chemical and biological
warfare research project.
marléne burger was a journalist for more than 30 years and was a news editor
at The Friend, Eastern Province Herald and the Sunday Times before becoming a
freelance writer and editor. From October 1999 to April 2002, she attended the trial
of Dr Wouter Basson on behalf of the Centre for Conflict Resolution.
ix