[Editor’s note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 1593 of the FBI’s RYMUR release.
[The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1979GEORGE00065_e.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]
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GEORGE 00065 091139Z
ACTION ARA-15
INFO OCT-01 ISO-00 FBIE-00 USSS-00 JUSE-00 CA-01 SCS-06 L-03 H-01 /027 W
——————104625 091141Z /21
P 091016Z JAN 79
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8666
C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 0065
E.O. 12065: GDS 1/8/84 (DWYER, RICHARD A.) OR-M
TAGS: CASC, GY
SUBJ: FBI INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE’S TEMPLE MEMBERS STILL IN GUYANA
REF: STATE 01310
1. (LOU) EMBASSY AND LEGATT HAVE NO DIFFICULTY WITH PROCEDURES SUGGESTED REFTEL AS LONG AS GOVERNMENT OF GUYANA CONCURS.
2. (LOU) AS DEPARTMENT WILL RECALL, PERMISSION FOR FBI TECHNICAL TEAM TO VISIT GUYANA WAS GIVEN WITH CLEAR UNDERSTANDING THAT THEIR ACTIVITIES IN GUYANA WOULD BE RESTRICTED TO EXAMINING EVIDENCE IN THE POSSESSION OF GOG AND THE CONSULATE AND THAT THEY WOULD NOT CONDUCT A SEPARATE INVESTIGATION. EMBASSY AND LEGATT BELIEVE THAT EXCELLENT COOPERATION THUS FAR BETWEEN FBI REPRESENTATIVES AND GOG AUTHORITIES SHOULD NOT BE JEOPARDIZED BY UNILATERAL DECISION TO OVERLOOK THIS UNDERSTANDING. EMBASSY THEREFORE WILL INFORM GOG THAT UNLESS THERE IS OBJECTION THOSE TEMPLE MEMBERS REMAINING IN GUYANA OF THEIR OWN VOLITION WILL BE INVITED FOR INTERVIEWS WITH LEGATT AT EMBASSY. WOULD ALSO LIKE CONFIRMATION OF SUGGESTION IN PARA 1 REFTEL THAT SUCH INTERVIEWS WOULD RENDER UNNECESSARY INTERROGATIONS BY SECRET SERVICE AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
3. (CONFIDENTIAL) SPECIAL BRANCH OF GUYANA POLICE HAS RENEWED
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ASSURANCES TO EMBASSY THAT EMBASSY WILL BE INFORMED DIRECTLY OR VIA IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES OF TEMPLE MEMBERS LEAVING THE COUNTRY. THIS HAS WORKED WELL FOR RECENT DEPARTEES, ALTHOUGH GOG AUTHORITIES NOTE THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE TO FIX PRECISE DEPARTURE DATE UNTIL DEPARTEE ACTUALLY APPEARS AT IMMIGRATION AND AS A CONSEQUENCE LEAD TIMES MAY BE SHORT.
BURKE [John Burke, American ambassador to Guyana]
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