Q891 Transcript

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Announcer: –Guyana, in South America. They say they’ve been cut off from their children, and that the leader, the Reverend Jim Jones of Peoples Temple, has turned Jonestown into a concentration camp. Temple members say that simply isn’t true, they’re vicious lies.

Steven Katsaris: (unintelligible intro) –people have relatives in Guyana, all of us here have relatives, children or family down there, they’ve been isolated and estranged from us, and we’re concerned about their safety and their welfare.

Temple member: But the charges that have been made against our organization uh, is really just an effort to spread vicious lies to discredit Reverend Jones and– and the church.

Announcer: The parents have sent a petition to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. They want him to look into the matter. Still to come, a little town is growing up–

Tape cuts off, silence for several seconds

Phone rings

Recording: – The (unintelligible word) you have reached is not in service at this time, and there is no new number.

Sandy Bradshaw: –In front of the federal building here–

Unknown reporter: Mmm.

Bradshaw: Which they did. They had a handful of people. We had found out about it and uh, but had– only had time to let some people know, but we still had close to– well, I guess we had about a hundred and fifty, over a hundred and fifty people there, uh, not only relatives but– that are members of the church, but also relatives who are not members came.

Reporter: Um-hmm [Yes].

Bradshaw: What they did was they had this gate uh, you know, this big fence with barbed wire at the top, and they put a– a picture of Prime Minister [Forbes] Burnham behind it, uh, and it was actually a ridicule situation that they were implying– well, they were s– calling our project a concentration camp. And uh, they were carrying signs saying “Wake Up, Guyana,” and uh, saying our relatives are being kept prisoners there, but they had this picture, the big poster of uh, Prime Minister Burnham behind this fence, and then they had put a couple of uh, children, who– who should’ve been in school, behind the fence, implying that– that Burnham was directly uh, you know, involved with their– this alleged concentration camp situation.

Reporter: Did anything come out in the paper or anything?

Bradshaw: No. No.

Reporter: You have any pictures of it?

Bradshaw: It– We have pictures of that, yes.

Reporter: Well, I’d like (unintelligible)

Bradshaw: Yeah. Uh, it– You know, this really upset us and uh– It wa– It was ironic because at the very same time this demonstration, this little piddly demonstration of theirs was happening, uh, Cyrus Vance was on the project.

Reporter: On–

Bradshaw: On, uh, Jones– in Jonestown.

Reporter: Is that right?

Bradshaw: Yeah. (Laughs) And uh, Jim met with him personally, and uh, Mr. Vance agrees that there is a concerted effort to discredit uh, the organization–

Reporter: Umm-hmm.

Bradshaw: –and cast a negative reflection on Guyana. And he was concerned about it, and uh, he was there and very impressed, so uh– plus, at the same time the State Department had issued uh, a paper which we can also forward to you, saying that they have been down there, they have talked with the people in question, and no one is being held against their will, and if anyone has any further questions, they– they periodically go out to the project and that, [if] they have any further questions, to contact the State Department, and they can follow up and talk with the individual in question privately, which is what they have already done, and said it is– you know, people are healthy and they’re doing what they want to do. So (clears throat) we’ll probably have uh, this announced uh– We’re getting it out to the press here, but, you know, we have had much luck in getting the press to print our point of view–

Reporter: Side of it, umm-hmm.

Bradshaw: Uh, like, well, Channel 5 did cover it up here.

Reporter: Umm.

Bradshaw: The TV station did cover it, but what they said, they showed Steve Katsaris talking, saying every one of the people here have relatives over there, which was a blatant lie. Uh, there were maybe 20 people there on their side, and out of those 20, I’d say maybe– (more emphatic) maybe four or five had relatives there. If that. The rest were ex-members, uh, who have nobody on the project and whose only reason to demonstrate is to add support to the attempt to discredit. So he stood right there and lied, this educator stood right there and lied right out, saying every one of the people here has relatives in Jonestown, which was a lie. But the– the news media did not cover when we said every one of those hundred and fifty plus people have relatives on the project. They did not cover that. It was noticeable– noticeably biased against a predominantly black group, a black socialist group, uh, it was biased in favor of the little group of mainly light-complected people walking around. We had to walk right next to one another (laughs) in front of the federal building. But it was noticeably biased against us. And then the man just right out lied.

Reporter: I’d like to get a picture of that thing, though, uh–

Bradshaw: Yeah. We can– We can uh, get it down to you. Also, we have a number of people who have signed in support, you know, in contrast to their little piddly petition, in which they had to sign over and over to even fill up several pages. You got a copy of that, right?

Reporter: Um-hmm.

Bradshaw: That’s what they delivered to you.

Reporter: Um-hmm.

Bradshaw: Yeah, we can forward the stuff in writing and– and this to you, but I did want to let you know that this is what’s happening.

Reporter: Okay, well, I appreciate knowing.

Bradshaw: Found it very upsetting, to say the least, uh–

Reporter: Whatever you’ve got, you know, I’d appreciate getting a copy of it.

Bradshaw: Okay. Sure. We’ll do that, and we’ll forward it on to you. How are you doing otherwise? I’m sorry to keep bothering you with–

Reporter: No, no, doing all right.

Bradshaw: But– (laughs)

Reporter: I haven’t been bothered by– by uh– I haven’t heard from him in uh, just a couple of– I don’t know, a week or a couple of weeks.

Bradshaw: Uh-huh. I don’t think he got the support that he thought he was going to get in L.A. Uh, I think he tried to have a meeting with some of the people down there, and there’s was just nobody interested. I mean, as– as far as some of the people who have relatives over there, there was just nobody interested.

Reporter: Mm.

Bradshaw: Uh, so– (Pause) Hope that that just dies out, but the fact that uh, Secretary of State Vance was there this week, (Laughs) you know, kind of blows the– the– the whole thing– his whole propaganda thing. I mean, he– he– they passed out leaflets saying – which I’ll send you one of them, too – passed out a little thing saying, there were barbed wire fences. But you tell me how you can put barbed wire fences around a jungle. (Laughs) I mean, barbed wire fences, armed guards– I mean, it’s just ridiculous. Uh, plus the overall threat and the mercenary thing that we’ve been concerned about all along. But uh, we’ll– we’ll pass it on to you, but I do want to let you know that– that that’s what happened this week–

Reporter: Okay–

Bradshaw: –up here, and we’re getting the rest of the facts out in our own way. Even if the press won’t pick it up, we’re still gonna be sending it out.

Reporter: Okay.

Bradshaw: Okay, well, take care, and I’ll get back if I hear anything else.

Reporter: Okay. Ok– Okay, Sandy, thank you.

Bradshaw: Okay. Good-bye.

Reporter: Mmm-mm. Bye.

End of tape

Tape originally posted March 2017.