Jonestown Audiotape Primary Project : Transcripts
Transcript prepared by Fielding M. McGehee, III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.

Tape Number : Q 135

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General hubbub. Takes place on a boat, with sounds of water periodically, and motor.

Jones: (Angry) —have a seat. The rivers are blocked to the rest of my people. So, my God, if they won’t let us all go, then none of us go.

Cheers. Barking dog.

Voices: Yes, Father.

Jones: We have to stand here night and day to (unintelligible word) on them, goddamn them. They offered me protection, they offered me a way out. But I cannot go without you. And there’s no way we can get you out, because the rivers are blocked.

Voices: Thank you, Father.

Voices: We wouldn’t go without you, anyway.

Voices: That’s right.

Voice: We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, Father.

Jones: It’s me they (tape edit), not you. They’ll let me get out. (Pause) They think I’m— They don’t understand what a socialist is made of, that I would go any place without you.

Voices: Thank you, Father. (tape edit)

Jones: But not you. And obviously I don’t take that kind of offer.

Voices: No, no.

Jones: (tape edit) —a frame-up. They want a set-up. Already there’s a whole host up— It’s like opening a dike. We couldn’t afford to let them take 20 or 30 of our people.

Voices: No.

Jones: The next time they come back for 60.

Voices: That’s right.

Jones: The next time, it’ll be all 700, or a thousand.

Voices: That’s right.

Jones: They offered me a way out, but I say no. Said I can go and get out, and get to Cuba, but they won’t let us all out. All of us can’t get into Cuba. They must have known that’s true. (unintelligible sentences)

Man: He don’t want anyone going unless everybody going.

General noise for few minutes

Jones: My family and a few others. But I say, if we can’t all be— get allowed into Cuba, then we— I will die here.

Voices: Right. Thank you, Father.

Jones: If any of you live, if you are unfortunate enough to think of your miserable life to ask, you ask Charles Garry if that’s not the truth.

Voices: We believe you.

Jones: You ask him if that’s not the truth. And Dr. Kahn, a delegate from the Soviet Union, the peace counsel. We— They let me and my family get to Cuba, and a few leaders, but no one else. And the rivers are blocked for the rest of us. The oceans are blocked to the rest of us. But our goddamned land — we fought to build it, so we’ll fight to die for it.

Cheers.

Jones: And you’re out there, sonabitches, start the first goddamn shot.

Cheers.

(Pause) (Tape cuts off and on)

Jones: Cuba, my family, and my (unintelligible word) leaders, but the rest of you can’t go, I said to hell with it.

Voices: Thank you, Father.

Jones: I’m not going without all of you.

Voices: Thank you, Father.

Jones: Some of you are protesting that. I appreciate that, (unintelligible phrase) that I should go, but I wouldn’t be a leader worth to take a shit if I did that. (Pause) (Unintelligible phrase) if I can’t live for all of you. So no one— (tape edit) —myself and anybody I wanted to save, my family, their wives and their children, and uh, all my leaders that I wanted to. But they wouldn’t let me save all of you. That’s the last—

(People talk over him)

Voices: Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father.

Jones: —Charles Garry. They make that offer with Dr. Kahn. (Tape edit) goddamn radio, make a phone patch to the United States. (Unintelligible word) I said, if they can’t take all of us, they’ll take none of us.

Voices: Thank you, Father.

Jones: — we have no place but to stand here, and I don’t want to go back to the fucking, sucking United States.

Voices: Right.

Jones: We’d only go back to our death anyway, from—

Voices: No, no no.

Jones: —see that nobody moves (unintelligible phrase— sounds like "replace you") because they won’t let us all go.

Voices: That’s right. Thank you, Father.

Jones: —there’s only one Communist survive, by God, and I’ll die one.

Voices: Right.

Jones: Miserable sonabitches afraid to stand up to the United States. You have any doubt about it, and you survive (tape edit) Mr. Charles Garry said a few of— myself and a few of my trusted people, and my family, my children, my children and their wives, could go to Cuba. But all of you couldn’t go. And I said, no, thank you. Any leader that’s worth anything stands with his people and dies with all of his people.

Voices: Right.

Jones: So their offer has been declined. If I’m the only socialist alive, then I’ll die a socialist.

Cheers.

Jones: I hardly think that’s true, that I’m the only one, but I know one thing. I’ve not found any better one.

Cheers.

Jones: No, no, not one. I got a (unintelligible word— sounds like "girl") coming with something big enough that we can all go together.

Cheers.

Jones: They’ve offered me and my family and just my in-laws and outlaws and a few leaders safer in Cuba, if I would go, and leave the rest of you here. Do you hear what I’m saying?

Voices: Yes, Dad.

Jones: That’s how treacherous the goddamn infamous bastards are. There doesn’t seem to be much true socialism— everybody’s bowing to the United States imperialism, but by God, we won’t.

Cheer. (Tape edit)

Jones: —Uganda, if Idi Amin will take us. I’m asking if Libya will take us. But they’ve got to come here and we’ve got to all go out together, because I wouldn’t trust them taking us 15 people at a time, they would do some of us in, they’ve got to— we’ve got to all go out here together or we don’t go.

Voices: Don’t go.

Jones: Made an appeal. I’m doing everything short of dying. I’ve made an appeal, that if they’ll take us to Libya who— that stood up to America, if they— I’m sending an appeal now, they’ll take us to Libya or to Uganda or someplace and give us freedom, then we will go. But we have to all go together.

Cheers.

Jones: They won’t c— come in parts, they’ve got to have a ship down there and put us all on that ship, and they got to have a ship out in the ocean, and all of us have got to be on that ship, because I don’t trust these people anymore.

Cheers. Thank you Father. (Tape edit)

Jones: —to die for Guyana. We would have given our blood. No one would have crossed the borders, because we considered this to be a socialist country. And somehow it seems that many are more interested of the approval of the special interest of the ruling class in United States than they are standing up for socialism. So if that’s the case, then we will die for what at least we have built here in this country.

Right.

Jones: What?

Voice: Oh, forget it. Go on. Continue.

Jones: Trying to take the child from the legal father who has the legal rights. (unintelligible sentences) we got another 17,500.

Voice: Mmm-hmm.

Jones: (unintelligible) the district attorney that knows that in a Guyana court, then we got another 10,000. (unintelligible) minimum, 37,000 dollars. (Pause) Get whoever they send out here, maybe try to kidnap the child?

(Unintelligible exchange)

Jones: — promise, that this, this would not happen, that no one would be taken, that we would have complete sanctuary here. We were also given the promise of Dr. [Ptolemy] Reid [Deputy Prime Minister of Guyana]. I cannot imagine him, that they have gone back on their word, but I also don’t understand why they did not call you. Do you copy?

Static Reply unintelligible

Jones: You understand how this country works, or any socialist country works, this would not have happened. The Minister of Justice [Shahabadeen, Mohammed] can stop this from happening.

Jones: And I can be arrested any moment.

Jones: And if you— if you don’t get control of your emotions, you can destroy the greatest decision in history. We are asking for asylum for all of you people and our people. We want asylum in any country that will give us the right to build in peace. Do you copy?

Static (Tape edit)

Jones: Nothing more, nothing less. That’s all. We’re just saying that we will not allow any of our people to be taken, and of course, we cannot wait here endlessly, endlessly, because we have only so much food and so much resources. Do you copy?

Static (Tape edit)

Jones: We are not insane people. We’re people who live by pacifism, obviously wi— that’s the way we chose it when we turn people away from our gates. We could have taken hostages, we could have done any number of things. But we do have the right to die, and everyone made that decision. Anyone that wanted not to was given permit— permission to leave. But we will die unless we are given freedom from harassment, and given asylum, somewhere. Tanzania, Libya, even Uganda. That chap seems to have enough strength to stand up for what he believes. We want someplace where we can live in peace. That’s all we’ve asked. We don’t want any — be a political pressure, we don’t want political power, we’ve been building this community, as I look out over it, it’s the most fantastic thing, and everyone that visits it say it’s a— we’ve made this part of the country, we’ve enriched it by everything that’s growing and all these beautiful buildings, and our medical clinic, and our lovely homes. But if we cannot have this peace here, we want it somewhere, and we want it very soon.

Static (Tape edit)

Jones: Get [San Francisco Chronicle columnist] Herb Caen, he’s at least been more honest than some (laughs), get Dr. [Carlton] Goodlett [publisher of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter], get people that have got some character, that you know, there are people on the Chronicle, you ask for who you want. (Tape edit) Where’s [Mike] Prokes, where’s— (Tape edit) We— we— we— we— certain people. I wish to see— I want Steve Gavin and I want—

Woman: Bob Levaree—

Jones: Bob Levaree, and I want that nice chap that said he would try to get the truth out, and I saved his family when they were persecuted many many years ago, he was just a youngster, I can’t think of his name.

Woman: Dean Galbreath. (name repeated several times)

Jones: Ben—

Woman: Dean Galbreath.

Jones: Dean Cal— Galbreath. And we want Katy Butler from the Examiner (tape edit) the chap that I know is the (tape edit) Rauol Ramirez. Rauol Ramirez. Do you copy? (tape edit) And Fleming of course. And there’s— that, that chap that did print the right side of what we were doing for young people. I don’t mind if he comes. (tape edit) — right. Do you copy? (tape edit) And Skimmerhorn. Skimmerhorn.

Prokes: Some of these names are listed in my book.

Jones: Some of them are listed in Mike—

Prokes: Green metal book

Jones: — Prokes’ green metal book. Art Silverman. Do you copy? (tape edit) — the networks and everyone. Because I will answer every charge, every one of their abominable charges, the only reason I didn’t do it was because of what the attorney advised, because he felt they wouldn’t do it justice. (tape edit)— was just a promise. We were informed that they could come any time to be arresting me.

Static (tape edit)

Jones: We will attempt it. We will attempt it. We are peaceful people, but we do not know how they will come in. They came in, in the most obnoxious fashion yesterday, but I was not here. Do you copy? (tape edit) They used a, a Guyana Defense Force plane, they’re giving great dignity to these people who’ve spoken so evil of Guyana (tape edit) socialism, and cooperated— this counselor that’s cooperated with that criminal, Mrs. Grace Stoen. Believe me, I also offered to be arrested, but the people voted unanimously not to let me go.

People in radio room: Right.

Jones: I’m glad to go.

People in radio room: Right.

Jones: I’m glad to go.

People in radio room: No.

Jones: No problem about it, Marceline. I’m glad to be arrested.

People in radio room: No.

Jones: Life has no meaning other than principle, and I could not let this child go to her. She, by his own testimony, but his own testimony from his heart — when I asked him if he wanted to go back with her, it would be all right with me, I wanted him happy, he told me some of the most horrible things she did that you could ever imagine, that she did to him and said to him.

Jones: Well, I don’t want to believe it either. But you should have been called. You— They should have honored your call. When I was— The order for arrest came today with an improper hearing. I was not served. I wasn’t even here when they served papers. The whole process of habeas corpus was illegal—

Woman: According to Lionel Luckhoo.

Jones: —according to the most eminent authority here, who’s been very kind and has given us free counsel, Lionel Luckhoo, a very eminent jurist attorney here. This was totally illegal, and even our regular counsel for business affairs, Mr. Clark, has said the same, that this is an illegal thing. And, I don’t want to name names for harassment, but some, as I said, powerful influences have to be behind this, or bribery. (tape edit) I will— I have never had more calm, I want peace for my children, I want them to live, I want them to have a future. They’re wanting to die too quickly, some of them. I am the one that’s holding back. Here is your son. (tape edit)

Woman: Are you sure?

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