[Editor’s notes: The transcript of this document retains its original spellings, with corrections noted only where necessary for clarity.]
G-1-g-23
May 15,
Meeting with the Soviets
Terry C. [Carter] Terry B. [Buford] Maria [Katsaris] Debbie [Touchette]
We were told we were going to meet the charge d’affairs because of what happened on Saturday we missed our appt. We met with the 1st and 2nd secretaries, they said the Ambassador was back in town and when he is[,] the charge d’affairs does not hold those responsibilities. He said the Ambassador would be busy for at least a month since he just got back in to town.
They told us they had read the letter we sent them, but they must not have read it carefully because they were not familiar with your name as being the leader and to discuss Mendleson we had to go all the way back and start with John [Victor Stoen] and the whole conspiracy. We did most of the talking we explained it sketchly and we were not prepared for having to go into the whole background anyway I did not feel they understood the total context or the seriousness. They at first thought it was a personal vendetta of Tim S. [Stoen] against you then we started to explain the conspiracy and they wanted more specifics. Maria mentioned Interpol as one of them. We should have had articles and PR materials with us, which we had none. Finally they asked us what we wanted them to do as the Embassy, that they were here in Guyana dealing with primarily Guyanese[.] He said the subject we were discussing should be discussed with higher levels. They said they would send a request for a delegation to travel to Russia.
We told them about the situation of the mercenaries, and that there was no question that we were under great danger.
We mentioned taht we were concerned that the country is going to go to the right. The second secretary asked that we give examples. Deb T. told him that we were aware of right-wing elements in the govt. Some who were pro-US even and perfered the IMF [International Monetary Fund] loan or any loans from the US as opposed to other socialist countries. He [said] you are talking in a very dim manner. If you go to the Soviet Union, there are no secrets. Deb T. told him that we had written them earlier and given all background materials pertaining to us and our situation now. Not until then did the second secretary admit that they were not really familiar with our background and had not read the materials and letters pertaining to us.
I might add that this was a bad presentation, it was totally unexpected. Deb & Terri J. [Carter Jones] felt we should go on under the circumstances – they claimed that they had read our letters and the Ambassador had instructed them to speak in his place. Terri B. & Maria did not know what to do in that they had never met the people before, and did not know how much had been said to them.
Deb T. begain the conversation by asking if they knew the background of the conspiracy towards PT. They said they did, but to go on. I began talking about Tim Stoen and Grace when they first came, how Tim’s wife Grace threatened to leave because her husband Tim was found to be a transvestite ect. That the situation had been brought before the entire councel by Marceline & Cde. [Comrade] Jones and the whole councel including Marceline had asked him to form a relationship on the grounds that she would try to distroy the cause of socialism in that she was not pro-socialist.
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– Maria gave more background about Grace having the child and not wanting him, treating him badly, rejecting him and then left, leaving him with Jim and Marceline, saying she didn’t want the child.
– Deb explained that the child had even become suicidal after he spoke to the mother because of tramatic experinces.
– The first Secertary asked how our internal affairs had anything to do with them? (It by then was becomming apparent that they knew nothing.)
– Terri Beuford told about [Joe] Mazor and his record, and the fact that over one million dollars had been put into a PR agency to distroy the PT
– Deb T. told of a few parents who had come to PT and left and along with Stoen had started this movement to free their children when in fact the children had led unhappy lives, some had cigrette butts put out on them when they were young.
– Second Secretary asked how all these children came to PT in Guy?
– Maria explained that they were not children that were under age, for example herself, her father was one of those people involved and she was twenty-five, that this whole thing was ridiculous. she had spoken to her father along with the Vice Councel and told him she was happy here ect.
– Terri J. told of others, like the Olivers who were of age
– Second sec, said, “Oh you mean they are using these parents to get to you through the conspiracy?
– Maria agreed that they were and explained how Stoen had come to Guyana and just two months after he had left and written good articles about PT and Guy’s project, he turned completely against this and became involved in the conspiracy.
– We told a little more of the mercenert [mercenary] situation and that we wanted a place for our children to grow under socialism, that we would even go to Cuba if they talked, or would like to go to Russia to them, and iven [even] Minister Mingo [Minister of Home Affairs Vibert Mingo] had said that the borders of this country could not be safe-guarded and that they could establish them selves in Venequla and come across to Guyana without it being known.
– We told him we knew of a situation where someone had left our group to join in the conspiracy and had left the conspiracy when they were made aware of a plan to send them down to Guyana to act as one of our members and then kidnap John and carry him to Venezula where they would be met by an army official.
– The first sec. told us in the matters pertaining to this would have to go through the US Embassy, in that all documents had to be in order, and that they could do nothing on their own, that they would have to follow procedures.
– Maria said she understood they had to get their orders from Moscow and the essity [necessity] of following procedure.
– She told him we would check and see if we could go through the embassy that way, she wasn’t sure.
– Deb T. said that if we did that we would be defeating our purpose in that we had been told that there was a person even here in the Guyana Embassy who was part of the CIA, and all we would be doing was waiving [waving] a flag, and they would step up the conspiracy.
– The second sec. kept wanting me to name officials ect. and got rather upset, even mad that I would not reveal my sources, (It’s pretty understandable though) I didn’t know how much we could trust them or not, so I wouldn’t elaborate.
– There was a lall [lull], as the two sec consulted each other in Russian,
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and we used that as an opportunity to do likewise, in taht we were all a bit disturbed in the way the meeting was going.
– The first sec. said they both thought this was a matter for International Affairs, said that we should draw an opinion from other international organizations.
– Terri J. asked what other organizations, who should we see?
– They said that was a difficult question in that there were at least five thousand organizations to draw from.
– Deb T. I think it would be a good idea if Paula Adams or Sharon Amos/Mike Prokes any one of them could write up a compact step by step procedure of explaining the conspiracy as a format for all of us in Georgetown. I have explained it to people before, certainly with a little better organization than today, but never with polish, as Maria K. said it needs, and it does. So all of us in town who deal with people on the street should know a basic format to go by.
– Maria thought that this meeting was insignificant in terms of any realistic arrangements with the USSR, I tend to think she is right, I just hope it wasn’t a hinderence in any way.
– Terri Beuford thought we sounded very amature [immature] and somewhat insecure about what we were saying, although she didn’t think we should reveal our sources without clearing it when we are not familure with the people we were talking to.
Report by;
Terri Jones
Deborah Touchette