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South Africa: Basson Likely to File Lawsuit for Military Reinstatement By Mike Nartker Basson, who has been dubbed “Dr. Death” by the media for his involvement in Project Coast, was discharged from the South African National Defense Force, along with more than 20 other senior officials, during a 1992 purge, according to the book Secrets and Lies: Wouter Basson and South Africa’s Chemical and Biological Warfare Program. In October 1999, Basson became a defendant in what would become one of the longest and most expensive trials in South Africa’s history on 46 charges stemming from his involvement in Project Coast, including charges of murder and attempted murder. Last year, Basson was found not guilty on all counts (see GSN, April 11, 2002). While prosecutors sought a retrial, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal earlier this month refused their request. Soon after the prosecutors’ request for a retrial was rejected, Basson began making public statements indicating his desire to be reinstated into the military, according to South African media reports. He is currently employed as a cardiologist at a private Cape Town hospital. In an interview last week with South Africa’s e tv network, Basson strongly indicated that he would file a lawsuit seeking reinstatement, according to Chandre Gould, a researcher with the Center for Conflict Resolution at the University of Cape Town. During the interview, according to Gould, Basson said he had affidavits from former military commanders that said he would have been promoted to the position of military surgeon general if he had not been discharged. Basson also said that if he had remained in the military, by now he would have been its highest-ranking officer, and therefore would be eligible for the position of head of the defense force. Gould argued against this, however, saying the head of the Army was usually chosen to be the overall commander of the military. When asked by the interviewer why he did not gracefully retire, Basson replied that he had “unfinished business,” Gould said. Basson was quoted by News24 earlier this month as saying he would accept a military posting “anywhere, as long as I can achieve my seniority.” Basson was also quoted as saying that he had likely “outgrown” the military medical service, where he previously served. The South African National Defense Force did not reply to requests for comment on Basson’s possible reinstatement. Gould said she suspected that Basson was attempting to seek financial compensation from the defense force on the basis that his 1992 discharge was unfair. She added that she did not believe the military was likely to either reinstate Basson or pay him because of concerns that the more than 60 other people who were dismissed at the same time would file similar claims. Psychological motivations could also be behind Basson’s desire for reinstatement, said Jeffrey Bale, a senior research associate at the Monterey Institute of International Studies Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Basson probably views reinstatement as an opportunity for vindication after his criminal trial, as well as a sign that his career and reputation is fully restored, Bale said. “I’m convinced that the psychological symbolism of it is more important to him … since he will then be in a position to laugh at the expense [of] his former adversaries,” Bale said.
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