Ghosts from the past: why the Wouter Basson case is still important
A short film will be followed by a discussion about Project Coast, chemical weapons and why the Basson case should not be forgotten.
Date: 2014-11-26
Time: 17:00 to 19:30
Venue: Public Health Auditorium
, School of Public Health Building
, Parktown Education Campus
, Wits University
RSVP: Kurium Govender
Phone: +27 11 717 2190
Email: [email protected]
On 26 November the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) will begin the sentencing hearing of Dr Wouter Basson, former head of the apartheid chemical and biological weapons programme (code-named Project Coast). In December 2013 the HPCSA found Basson guilty of unethical conduct following a lengthy hearing.
The Steve Biko School of Bioethics, the South African Medical Association, the Wits Students Bioethics society and the Institute for Security Studies invite you to a screening of a short film inspired by a recent visit to Roodeplaat Research Laboratories.
It was here that, during apartheid, scientists undertook animal experiments to, among other things, find toxins and chemicals that could be used to kill without leaving a trace, and where work was done to find an anti-fertility vaccine that could be administered to black women without their knowledge.
The film will be followed by a discussion about Project Coast, and reflections on the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and why it remains important today.
Chair: Professor Tawana Kupe, Deputy Vice Chancellor: Finance, University of the Witwatersrand
Speakers:
- Kathryn Smith, University of Stellenbosch: short introduction before the screening of ‘aka RRL’
- Dr Chandre Gould, senior researcher, ISS and Prof Brian Rappert, University of Exeter: Project Coast then and now
- Verne Harris, Nelson Mandela Foundation: Ghosts of the past: the importance of remembering
