Issued by: Government Communications
STATEMENT TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON THE MATTER OF MR ROBERT MCBRIDE
Over the recent past, there has been a great deal of feverish speculation about the circumstances relating to the arrest in Mozambique of an employee of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Robert McBride.
In this context reference has been made to such diverse organisations as the African National Congress, the Inkatha Freedom Party, Sinn Fein and the IRA as well as the Fretilin of East Timor.
During this period, various spokespersons of our Government have made public pronouncements as the need arose and as information became available.
The Government has explained that, at the time of his arrest, Mr McBride was on leave and therefore visited Mozambique as a private citizen. We take this opportunity to reiterate this statement.
Further, as already explained, we would like to confirm that, in terms of long-existing regulations, Mr McBride was entitled to use his diplomatic passport during his private visit to Mozambique.
We would also like to repeat that Mr McBride did not engage in any activities in Mozambique which were authorised or carried out at the behest of any structure of the South African Government, including the intelligence services.
Further, we would like to emphasise the point that the investigations into the activities of Mr Mcbride in Mozambique have been and are being carried out by the relevant Mozambican authorities.
Our Government unequivocally respects the sovereignty of the Republic of Mozambique. Accordingly, we accept the decisions of the Government of Mozambique on how it should conduct its investigations into the McBride affair.
More generally, we recognise and will continue to uphold the right of the Mozambican government to conduct investigations into offences which may have been committed on its territory, on its own and as it may deem fit.
We would also like to restate that we are ready fully to cooperate with the Mozambican authorities to facilitate their investigations, in whose outcome we are naturally interested. This derives from our common commitment to the eradication of the scourge of organised crime.
Accordingly, the Government will only make further statements on the McBride affair to the extent that new information becomes available, consistent with the objective of ensuring that such statements do not compromise the investigations being carried out by the Mozambican authorities.
In this regard, we firmly reject the insinuations that the Government has not made available information which it has and which it could legitimately release to the general public.
Such information has been made public.
Indeed, we believe that Mr McBride has not been charged because the relevant Mozambican authorities are still investigating the various matters relating to his presence and activities in that country.
As such any statements made by Government officials which impact on the merits of the allegations against McBride are misguided and should be discouraged.
Yesterday, one newspaper linked Mr McBride to an alleged plot, described as a planned "violent uprising against the government".
It is clear to the Government that this information which has neither been properly processed nor subjected to the due process of verification was communicated to this particular newspaper by people working within the state security forces.
These elements have been spreading such rumours with the intention of undermining the peace and stability towards which the overwhelming majority of our people aspire with great passion, concern and interest.
In this regard, the Government would also like to make this point that it is perfectly familiar with disinformation techniques used in the past to prepare for and to legitimise destabilisation programmes.
Inter alia, the success of such techniques depend on the mobilisation of the media, politicians and other actors, both within our country and internationally, to propagate the messages of the architects of the destabilisation programmes.
More generally, we recognise and will continue to uphold the right of the Mozambican government to conduct investigations into offences which may have been committed on its territory, on its own and as it may deem fit.
We would also like to restate that we are ready fully to co-operation with the Mozambican authorities to facilitate their investigations, in whose outcome we are naturally interested. This derives from our common commitment to the eradication of the scourge of organised crime.
Accordingly, the Government will only make further statements on the McBride affair to the extent that new information becomes available, consistent with the objective of ensuring that such statements do not compromise the investigations being carried out by the Mozambican authorities.
In this regard, we firmly reject the insinuations that the Government has not made available information which it has and which it could legitimately release to the general public.
Such information has been made public.
Indeed, we believe that Mr McBride has not been charged because the relevant Mozambican authorities are still investigating the various matters relating to his presence and activities in that country.
As such any statements made by Government officials which impact on the merits of the allegations against McBride are misguided and should be discouraged.
Yesterday, one newspaper linked Mr McBride to an alleged plot, described as a planned "violent uprising against the government."
It is clear tot he Government that this information which has neither been properly processed nor subjected to the due process of verification was communicated to this particular newspaper by people working within the state security forces.
These elements have been spreading such rumours with the intention of undermining the peace and stability towards which the overwhelming majority of our people aspire with great passion, concern and interest.
In this regard, the Government would also like to make this point that it is perfectly familiar with disinformation techniques used in the past to prepare for and to legitimise destabilisation programmes.
Inter alia, the success of such techniques depend on the mobilisation of the media, politicians and other actors, both within our country and internationally, to propagate the messages of the architects of the destabilisation programmes.
In the event that democratic South Africa is confronted by such machinations, the Government is convinced that it will succeed to defend the Constitution and the democratic order, with the support of the majority of our people, both black and white, and with the support of te overwhelming majority of the members of all the state security organs.
In conclusion, we must make it clear that the government will not in any way do anything to feed the current and ill-intentioned frenzy and offensive, which clearly seeks to construct a sensational story and arrive at bizarre conclusions based on the public manipulation of the McBride affairs.
Minister Sydney Mufamadi on behalf of the South African Government
Cape Town, 18 March 1998