Vrye Weekblad
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Vrye Weekblad was a groundbreaking progressive, anti-apartheid Afrikaans national weekly newspaper that was launched in November 1988 and forced to close in February 1994. The paper was driven into bankruptcy by the legal costs of defending its charge that South African police general Lothar Neethling had supplied poison to security police to kill activists. [1]
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[edit] History
Vrye Weekblad (Afrikaans, "The Free Weekly") was started as a result of frustration on the part of Afrikaner journalists who found that the mainstream Afrikaans and English language media lacked the courage to take on the apartheid state.[1] The paper was collectively owned by the founder members, who included editor Max du Preez and journalist Jacques Pauw[2]. The editorial staff for the first edition of February 1989 comprised Karien Norval, Du Preez, Elsabe Wessels, Chris du Plessis, Pauw, Victor Munnik, and Koos Coetzee.[3]
From the outset the state viewed the upstart paper as a threat. The minister of Justice, Kobie Coetzee, raised the cost of registering the newspaper from R10 to R30,000. As the owners could not pay, the first few editions of Vrye Weekblad appeared on the street illegally, and they were taken to court.
In 1990 the newspaper's offices were bombed by right-wing operatives working for the secret Army unit, the so-called Civil Co-operation Bureau.[2]
In 1991 Judge Johan Kriegler ruled in favour of Vrye Weekblad' in the Rand Supreme Court.[3] But the Appeals Court overturned Kriegler's decision and ordered the paper to pay R90,000- and costs. The ensuing legal battle cost both sides R2 million over five years and forced the paper to close.
The African National Congress (ANC) criticized journalist Jacques Pauw's report in the January 17, 1992 issue that Patrick Lekota had offered money to a right-winger to assassinate Glory "September" Sidebe. Sidebe was a former ANC member who worked with Vlakplaas death squads, while Lekota was then a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee.[4]
Just prior to its closure the paper was published out of an old bank building in Newtown, Johannesburg.
[edit] The Vlakplaas revelations
Late in 1989, Vrye Weekblad got hold of Captain Dirk Coetzee, the commander in charge of the South African Police's secret elite unit, Section C1, who were stationed at Vlakplaas, a farm outside of Pretoria. This elite section formed part of President P.W. Botha's so-called Total Strategy, and were supposed to disable opponents to Botha's apartheid regime, whenever the country's courts were unable to do so. Section C1's methods included assasination, kidnapping, poisoning and execution. Coetzee also revealed that General Lothar Neethling had supplied poison to the police, which would drug and eventually kill anti-apartheid activists. Well aware that it could have serious consequences for the newspaper, Vrye Weekblad decided not to withdraw Neethling's name from their reports.
The newspaper organized for Coetzee to be safely taken out of South Africa and he eventually found assylum in The Netherlands. On November 17, 1989, the story about Vlakplaas broke on the front page of Vrye Weekblad. The story was also used by other alternative newspapers in South Africa, although the local mainstream media preferred to ignore the story or deny its truthfulness. Across the world, however, the reports of Vlakplaas received widespread coverage.
The revelations about Section C1 prompted more revelations from other policemen and army officials about the dirty activities at Vlakplaas and other government institutions. In 1994, Colonel Eugene de Kock (who operated Vlakplaas at the time of the revelations), was given two life-sentences and were sentenced to an additional 212 years in prison, on charges of among other things, murder, attempted murder, culpable homicide, kidnapping, assault and corruption.
[edit] Important revelations
According to Du Preez's submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Vrye Weekblad revealed:[5]
- November 1988: Eugene de Kock is the new commanding officer of the Vlakplaas and committed a number of murders, including those of eight people in Piet Retief
- December 1989: Siphiwe Mthimkulu was tortured and poisoned by the Eastern Cape security police and was seen in the company of policemen on April 14, 1982
- January 1990: police tortured prisoners and supported Inkatha vigilantes against United Democratic Front supporters, and murdered activist David Mazwai
- February 1990: a professor was an agent of the National Intelligence Service, leading to a fine of R7,000 in terms of the Protection of Information Act
- May 1990: the secret Civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB) was run by the South African Defence Force. Later CCB member Pieter Botes explained how he bombed Albie Sachs in Maputo in 1988, how the CCB operated against the South West African People's Organisation and assassinated Anton Lubowski
- August 1991: police agent Larry Barnett transferred large amounts of money from the South African Police to Inkatha, and provided Inkatha with weapons
- June 1992: dirty secrets of the State Security Council
[edit] See also
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
[edit] Bibliography
- Du Preez, Max. 2005. Oranje, Blanje, Blues: 'n Nostalgiese Trip - Vrye Weekblad 88-94. Zebra Press.
- Du Preez, Max. 2003. Pale Native: Memories of a Renegade Reporter. Zebra Press.
[edit] References
- ^ Vrye Weekblad en die alternatiewe media: toe en nou (afrikaans) (HTML). Die Vrye Afrikaan. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
- ^ For an Afrikaner Weekly, Success Brings Bombs (english) (HTML). The New York Times. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
- ^ South African Judge Throws Out Police Suit Against 2 Papers (english) (HTML). The New York Times. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
[edit] External links
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