CONSIDER YOUR VERDICT Brig HB Heymans As a proud, former professional, SAP Special Branch officer, intelligence operative, and seconded official to the former Secretariat of the State Security Council, I look back on 20 years’ service in the SAP-SB environment. My first Divisional Commander, in Durban – Lt-Col FMA Steenkamp – was an intelligent and far-sighted officer. I served at various Security Branch offices and came into contact with the following commanders of the SB at Head Office: Generals “Tiny” Venter, Christi Zietsman, Mike Geldenhuys, Johann Coetzee, Frans Steenkamp and Johan van der Merwe. Most were deeply religious and principled officers, as were the vast majority of my colleagues. They were loyal servants of the State and nation, under authority of the constitutional government of the day. We were policemen and not politicians; we swore an oath to uphold the law! I can, therefore, introduce this special edition of Nongqai (which is dedicated to the SAP-SB) from the perspective of someone with extensive first-hand knowledge of its statutory functions and goals, operational doctrines, the context in which the SAP-SB performed its functions, and the character of the officers who were proud to be part of this elite unit. The purpose of this special edition of the Nongqai is fourfold: • to help our readers understand the motivations and operational doctrines of the opposing parties in South Africa’s erstwhile internal conflict; • to shine a light on the complex question of who had “just cause” and how and why the armed struggle came about (letting ANC-aligned researchers speak, instead of presenting just our views); • to look at the “scoreboard” of comparative data, thereby to place the SAP-SB in its global context, so that you as reader can decide whether the “single story” about us is truly justified; and • why we are now, after many years, again being vilified and threatened with proosecution. We explain why (at who’s instigation and on who’s behalf) there was an armed conflict from 16th of December 1961. We, as Peace Officers, were drawn into what the other side called a war, against our will, in an armed struggle they often waged with singular brutality, mostly impacting the civilian population. Our first legal duty (as would be the case for policemen anywhere, under similar circumstances) was to combat the armed onslaught so that the Rule of Law could be maintained and politics be conducted non-violently. This is our story, and we try to explain WHY the police got involved in this armed conflict. Not to promote ‘white supremacy”, but to fulfil our constitutional function and legal duty. To protect the peace, against a “people’s war” that was unilaterally declared, with the aim to establish a Marxist, one-party “people’s republic” in our country by revolutionary force of arms – remember we were fired on by Soviet made firearms like the AK 47 and Tokarev pistols. We had to face communist made explosives – Why?
11 Nongqai Vol 12 No 12B : SAP-SB / ANC-MK
