Professional bodies silent on Project Coast horrors – researcher

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South African visual artist Kathryn Smith recently toured Basson's old laboratory. Smith's photographs of the old Roodepoort Research Laboratories (RRL), like this one, now form the basis of one of her recent audio-visual works entitled, "aka RRL" — South African visual artist Kathryn Smith recently toured Basson’s old laboratory. Smith’s photographs of the old Roodepoort Research Laboratories (RRL), like this one, now form the basis of one of her recent audio-visual works entitled, “aka RRL”

In 2013, the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) found Basson guilty of unethical conduct stemming from his leadership of the infamous programme, dubbed Project Coast. Underway in Pretoria, the HPCSA’s sentencing may bar Basson from practicing medicine in the country.

Basson’s former Roodepoort laboratory has passed into new hands and is now used for agricultural research. The new owners inherited not only dated décor from Project Coast but rows of rusted cages, which once housed the animal subjects – big and small – upon which deadly drugs were tested on.

Veterinary scientist Dr Schalk van Rensburg was one of only two Project Coast men to apply to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for amnesty, according to Gould. To her knowledge, no other professional body besides the HPSCA has acted against a member involved in Project Coast’s horrors. It has not acted against higher ranking doctors who may have signed off on the mass production of mandrax and ecstasy she said.

“(There’s) this kind of silence among professional associations,” said Gould, speaking at a recent Wits University lecture. “The veterinary council has not taken up any action against the veterinarians involved in this programme.”

“Moreover, the veterinary council has not seen it necessary to adjust any codes of conduct,” she told Health-e News.

Basson has repeatedly said publicly that Project Coast mass manufacturing of substances such as anthrax-laced cigarettes, mandrax, ecstasy and weaponised tear gas were for the purposes of “crowd control.”

In a climate of what Gould characterised as increasing secrecy and increasing public unrest, Gould said that citizens must act to check the kind of secrecy that allowed Project Coast to florish.

“It’s every citizen’s duty to be vigilant about what’s happening especially because we are seeing increasing public protests,” she said. “We are seeing a very blunt instrument being used over and over again (t counter protests) – tear gas, stun grenades and sharp point ammunitions.”

“I think we’re seeing a lot of human rights violations,” she added. – Health-e News.

An edited version of this also appeared in 28 November The Star newspaper