DEFENCE CHECKING IF BASSON HAS MADE CONTACT.
The Defence Ministry is trying to establish if apartheid-era chemical and biological warfare expert Wouter Basson has been in contact with anyone in the SA National Defence Force in connection with his reinstatement.
"We are trying to establish if he has had any contact or meetings with anyone in the defence force," ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi told Sapa on Friday.
Asked if he knew how long this process would take, Mkhwanazi said he was not sure as the defence force was a large body.
Basson told the National Press Club, Pretoria, on Thursday that he was seeking reinstatement. The first overtures in this regard were made on his behalf on earlier in the day, he said.
A reinstatement would make him the most experienced and academically qualified general in the SANDF, Basson said.
He is currently employed as a cardiologist at a private hospital in Cape Town.
Basson and 23 other generals were discharged from the former SA Defence Force in 1992.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein refused the State's request that Basson be-retried. The Pretoria High Court acquitted Basson on 46 criminal charges last year, including charges of murder, drug trafficking, fraud and theft.
Basson said the defence force owed him a reinstatement since he was dismissed without reason or a chance to defend himself.
He thought he would be suited for a senior command post.
He would accept a posting in any field, "anywhere, as long as I can achieve my seniority". He had most likely "outgrown" the military medical service.
Basson would not discuss details of the talks with the SANDF, saying they were confidential.
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06 Juin 2003 à 10:17 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
