State Security Council
Encyclopedia
The State Security Council (SSC
) presided over the National Security Management System (NSMS) of president P W Botha's apartheid regime
in South Africa
. Its function was to advise the government on formulating and executing national security policy. Botha himself chaired the SSC, which was served by a secretariat of 100 full-time staff seconded from other government departments. The SSC had four divisions:
Below the SSC was a network of regional, district and local committees or Joint Management Committees (JMCs) which reported on the activities and location of political activists so as to form an overall security profile, thus enabling decisions on security action to be taken.
Such action included assassination of people opposed to the apartheid government's policies, and the widespread use of abduction, arson, sabotage and torture. The SSC put pressure on the security forces to "engage robustly" against persons and organisations opposed to the government.
The TRC also found that the SSC had contributed to the prevailing culture of impunity by failing to recommend that action be taken against those members of the security forces who were involved in gross human rights violations.
of Mozambique
was killed. The investigation did not conclusively prove an allegation that South Africa was behind the Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster
, but the TRC stated in its report:
In 2006, it was announced that a new inquiry is to be held into Samora Machel's death.
, said:
In August 2007, de Klerk was challenged to say what he knew about the atrocities carried out at the behest of the SSC. The Guardian
quoted de Klerk as replying that although he was a member of the SSC cabinet it was not briefed "on clandestine operations involving murders, assassinations or the like – all of which were evidently carried out strictly on a 'need to know' basis". The same newspaper report alleged that, in his last months as president in 1994, de Klerk ordered the wholesale shredding and incineration of tons of documents, microfilm and computer tapes that dealt with matters such as the chain of command in covert operations.
SSC
-In arts and entertainment:* Singapore Symphony Chorus* Saïan Supa Crew, a French rap group* So Solid Crew, a UK garage group-Businesses:* Seoul Semiconductor Company, a Korean manufacturer of LEDs...
) presided over the National Security Management System (NSMS) of president P W Botha's apartheid regime
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Its function was to advise the government on formulating and executing national security policy. Botha himself chaired the SSC, which was served by a secretariat of 100 full-time staff seconded from other government departments. The SSC had four divisions:
- strategy
- strategic communications
- national intelligence interpretation, and
- administration
Below the SSC was a network of regional, district and local committees or Joint Management Committees (JMCs) which reported on the activities and location of political activists so as to form an overall security profile, thus enabling decisions on security action to be taken.
Such action included assassination of people opposed to the apartheid government's policies, and the widespread use of abduction, arson, sabotage and torture. The SSC put pressure on the security forces to "engage robustly" against persons and organisations opposed to the government.
Castigated by the TRC
In a 1998 report on the former South African government and its security forces, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) castigated South Africa's last hardline apartheid president P W Botha and held him responsible for gross human rights violations, including all violence sanctioned by the State Security Council.- "By virtue of his position as head of state and chairperson of the State Security Council (SSC), Botha contributed to and facilitated a climate in which...gross violations of human rights did occur, and as such is accountable for such violations," the report said.
The TRC also found that the SSC had contributed to the prevailing culture of impunity by failing to recommend that action be taken against those members of the security forces who were involved in gross human rights violations.
SSC and Samora Machel
In 1996, the TRC conducted a special investigation into the 1986 aircrash in which president Samora MachelSamora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
of Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
was killed. The investigation did not conclusively prove an allegation that South Africa was behind the Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster
Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster
The Mozambican presidential Tupolev Tu-134A-3 aircraft crashed just inside South African territory on October 19, 1986. The aircraft was carrying Mozambican president Samora Machel and 43 other occupants on a flight from Mbala in Zambia to the Mozambican capital Maputo when it crashed 35 nm west...
, but the TRC stated in its report:
- "South Africa's State Security Council (SSC) minutes from January 1984 indicate that the Mozambican working groupWorking groupA working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
, including General Jac Buchner and Major Craig WilliamsonCraig WilliamsonCraig Michael Williamson , a former South African police major, was exposed as a spy in 1980, and was involved in a series of state-sponsored overseas bombings, burglaries, kidnappings, assassinations and propaganda during the apartheid era.-Infiltration:In the late 1970s, Craig Williamson had...
, discussed how to help RENAMO overthrow the FRELIMO government of Mozambique.
In 2006, it was announced that a new inquiry is to be held into Samora Machel's death.
De Klerk was SSC member
In a statement on the death of former president P W Botha in 2006, his successor, F W de KlerkFrederik Willem de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk , often known as F. W. de Klerk, is the former seventh and last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994...
, said:
- "Personally, my relationship with P W Botha was often strained. I did not like his overbearing leadership style and was opposed to the intrusion of the State Security Council system into virtually every facet of government. After I became leader of the National Party in February 1989 I did my best to ensure that P W Botha would be able to end his term as president with full dignity and decorum. Unfortunately, this was not to be."
In August 2007, de Klerk was challenged to say what he knew about the atrocities carried out at the behest of the SSC. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
quoted de Klerk as replying that although he was a member of the SSC cabinet it was not briefed "on clandestine operations involving murders, assassinations or the like – all of which were evidently carried out strictly on a 'need to know' basis". The same newspaper report alleged that, in his last months as president in 1994, de Klerk ordered the wholesale shredding and incineration of tons of documents, microfilm and computer tapes that dealt with matters such as the chain of command in covert operations.
See also
- B.O.S.S.
- Civil Cooperation BureauCivil Cooperation BureauThe South African Civil Cooperation Bureau was a government-sponsored hit squad during the apartheid era that operated under the authority of Defence Minister General Magnus Malan...
- State-sponsored terrorism