WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2007-12-04 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
[I don’t necessarily trust Kasrils’ opinions. Strangely, despite being an arch communist, he seemed to side with Mbeki instead of Zuma. I have heard it said that Kasrils only plays politics for himself. He may have sided with whom he thought was the stronger side – and maybe he miscalculated. Jan]
A “third force” trying to manipulate the African National Congress’s succession battle is, apparently, among the possibilities considered in an inquiry into the origin of the “sinister” email correspondence obtained by the country’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
In an interview, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils would not rule out completely that there may be political forces behind the emails that he had earlier described as “crude” and reminiscent of apartheid-style, Stratcom-style disinformation, and “obviously not genuine correspondence between the individuals concerned”.
The emails were the latest among a number of bombshells that exploded in the last fortnight around the country’s spy headquarters and that are now the subject of a wider investigation by the Inspector-General of Intelligence, Zolile Ngcakani.
The allegedly illegally obtained emails came to light shortly after the suspension last week of three top spy bosses, including intelligence Director-General, Billy Masethla, in the wake of revelations that businessman and top ANC leader Saki Macozoma, was being monitored without Kasrils’ approval in terms of the law.
| ‘My motives are not political’ |
The emails were reported to have been between senior state and ANC officials and said to be about getting rid of “stumbling blocks”, such as ANC Secretary-General Kgalema Motlanthe and Macozoma, in the succession race and, allegedly, unlawfully intercepted by NIA agents.
This served to entrench perceptions that both the Zuma and Mbeki camps were using state organs to further their party political aims, with intelligence officials employing illegal means in the process.
The issue was likely to be discussed at Monday’s national working committee meeting of the ANC and it is said that the knives are out for a confrontation at the national executive meeting in a fortnight where further measures to contain the Zuma crisis in the ANC alliance was due to be discussed.
Kasrils, the man who had made the tough decision to suspend his top men amid allegations of rifts in the NIA over former deputy president Jacob Zuma was, however, at pains to again explain that his decision had nothing to do with the ANC’s succession battle, in which Macozoma has been named as a compromise succession candidate.
Kasrils rejected in the strongest terms perceptions that the suspensions may be part of a purge of Zuma supporters in state institutions.
“My motives are not political. I am above party politics and I am saying the NIA must be above party politics. They (intelligence officials) serve the government,” Kasrils said in an interview.
Kasrils and others in the government this week played down the significance of the alleged irregular communications interceptions, including the emails, calling it a “hoax”.
In the wake of the email disclosures, the minister warned the public last week to be beware of the “hoax” emails, saying they are “clearly fraudulent and aim to cause confusion”.
But, pressed for an answer on whether they were really “hoax” or could possibly be genuine tools in the succession battle, he said: “Further inquiry might reveal who they are purportedly from and whether they are serving a political agenda.
“They are clearly resonant of apartheid-era type of disinformation, but it is open to inquiry whether (those behind it) are from a ‘third force’. I don’t know. It is so obvious that the inquiry must determine that.”
Kasrils refused to provide or confirm any further details of the emails, but stressed that they were “very dodgy, a clear fabrication”.
“People seeing them (would) need to be very gullible to fall for it as they are just like the Nigerian (911) type scams.
“All I’ve said was that I warned that I have become aware of emails purporting to be from this or that individual, and sounded a warning”, the minister said.
During the week, Kasrils also announced that, in the light of the latest developments, he intended reviewing the intelligence legislation, NIA’s internal regulations and operating procedures “to determine gaps and ambiguities that need tightening up”.
But chief government spokesperson, Joel Netshitenzhe, later played down suggestions that gaps in the legislation could be at fault for the irregularities being investigated.
Kasrils said he was in agreement. “There is not necessarily something wrong with the legislation, but when an issue is affecting the service as it happened, obviously in terms of the outcome of the inquiry, we would be studying closely the possibility of weaknesses in the legislation,” he said.
Asked whether this meant that the three suspended men could have been politically motivated in spying on Macozoma, a confidante of President Thabo Mbeki, the minister would only say, “You can obviously read into that (suspensions and inquiry) that my concern is that we are not above party politics.”
The minister said he had set up an internal review committee which, in addition to parliament’s Standing Committee of Intelligence oversight, would study the inspector-general’s report on the Macozoma and email inquiries.
He said there were no time-frames for either the inquiry or the review.