[Editor’s notes: The transcript of this document retains its original spellings, with corrections noted only where necessary for clarity.]
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Sharon Amos
Cde. [Comrade Fedor] Timofeyev, 19/7/78 [July 19, 1978], Hue [Fortson] & Sharon
– he said he had been to New York and London as well as 2 months in Moscow/ there was a trial of a US spy in Russia and the man had been sent out of USSR and the US is claiming human rights which Timofeyev said it of course [is] rediculous and people are telling the US to look in their own backyard first
– asked how we were doing in Jonestown/ we talked about the progress, the new housing going up, other developments like bricks etc.
– told him about our project being buzzed by the National Enquirer reporters and how the [they] are pro the anti-castro cubans
– told him about Kathy Hunter and how she had said Guyana was on the road to Peking because they had a picture of Mao in Parliament and how it really was President [Arthur] Chung but she is too racist to tell the difference
– we talked in general about press and the lies and how even if they print a retraction it’s on page 41 or something and he said he has seen that to be true in the US
– he also heard Andrew Young speak in US/ and the first time Young spoke freely his mind but after the censure, he had his face down, wouldn’t even raise his eyes and said he had been misunderstood and tried to qualify everything so it didn’t look like he had spoken out
– he said the Tass reporter Alex [Aleksandro Voropaev] is going to Cuba and another Tass reporter will take his place who might be able to go out to Jonestown (we tried to go by to see Alex but he wasnt home when we called him) – I ran into him at Georgetown hospital and said goodbye
– he said that the Tass article hadn’t been circulated abroad but it was printed in a special Tass report that goes out to the upper and middle echelon of socialist groups so we are well known within these groups/ also it was printed in some local newspapers. They didn’t feel ready to circulate it internationally but this is the policy to first circulate things in the special report
– he said in response to my question of whether the USSR still had any concerns about the press and the lies about us, he said that since Alex made his views clear in the Tass report it is no problem/ he said that Alex even explained that in the past an article had been printed with lies and hadn’t been properly been checked out but that this was corrected when a letter came to the editor.
– he said that now the USSR knows us better it should be easier to make arrangements but he said that in terms of anwers, they need more details and would prefer to talk to JJ
– he didn’t bring up the subject of the answers but I showed him the attached paper (and got it back of course so as not to repeat my prior mistake) and then he said that he is sorry he didn’t come back with answers but some details needed more answers
– such as if the USSR for instance said they could take 100 children, which adults could go with them, would adults be able to go etc. so it is not ready right now to send children without those answers
– he said that also in terms of the money, he thinks it could be arranged but he needs more details
– he said if JJ couldn’t come in to answeer himself, he could continue to deal with us but it isn’t so direct and he’s sure that there are some things that JJ could answer better himself (which we agreed with)
– I said well can’t you go to Jonestown/ he said his Ambassador is ill and may have to fly back to Moscow at any time/ he is pretty badly off as the doctor would be accompanying him back (Karen [likely Layton] said he’s in Mercy hospital right now and thought we should send him a card/ I’ll get one and we can send it to him)
– if the Ambassador goes, and many of the people are on vacation from the Embassy and the Charge De Affairs Katchinka is also going to Moscow, Timofeyev might have to take charge and then he wouldn’t be able to go
– he asked if anything had changed about the case as he wondered if JJ could come to town/ I said no but we’ve heard some hopeful signs and the Chancellor and Chief Justice have been very friendly to us on social terms but that we still have no decision
– he said that he wondered if we had anything in writing saying that it would (over)
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[Typed note added to top of page: “(he said he did talk to Foreign Affairs in Moscow about us but they need more details)”]
be safe for him to travel to Georgetown and I said he didn’t have such a paper
– I asked him what he felt about it/ did he feel it was safe/ he said it was of course up to JJ and he didn’t want anything to happen to JJ and if it was a problem he would continue to deal with us
– I asked if he had any response to JJ traveling to the USSR for medical assistance and he said he hadn’t been aware of the medical request as he was in the USSR at that time and just read it when he got back
– he said there should be no problem with that as far as he sees but it would probably be better to make the trip valuable for other reasons as well in terms of the delegates going and he needs to have more details for that so that the purpose of the trip is laid out concretely
– Hue asked about tropical fish and if there is any information about tropical fish/ Timofeyev started talking about some problem they are having with fishing/ the territorial limit has been extended beyond the prior 3 miles limit and now it’s often 200 miles out in the sea and the fish are usually close to shore where the water is warmer so that is a problem/ USSR is developing faster ways to raise fish or something like that and doesn’t want to share the info with certain countries (like US is implied) that haven’t been that helpful but with “friends” like you (“good friends”) we could give information
– if the USSR ship by the way if [is] found within the 200 mile radius they put a fine of $1 million dollars and just to fish within that area is very costly as you have to pay a large amount to do so
– he brought out materials for a medical formulary, for us to order medicines/ they are with this ship to come out to you, they can’t price the medicines until they know the amount of the order and how quickly we want it as they’d have to know if it would come by boat or plane or what/ he also included a booklet of farm equipment/ they don’t have a mechanic like the GDR [German Democratic Republic] has for repair of equipment
– we talked about trying to develop some industry, lumber-sawmill or chickens told him we are getting an incubator that can incubate 32,000 [eggs] at one time, he thought that was interesting
– by the way he said that when Alex came back from Jonestown, he said, “I should just stay there, the food is good, the water is pure, no blackouts” “it’s just a paradise”
– I asked him if he had seen the slides of Jonestown we gave him and he said that they had seen them at the Embassy and found them very good
– in regards to the statements in the paper about China and Guyana moving closer to China he said he thought it was primarily a diplomatic visit and nothing else (propaganda statement I would say) and we would see
– in regards to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and that going thru, he said that the USSR Embassy is here to help, then if Guyana feels that it needs to take IMF money to move toward socialism, that was ok/ he said it a couple of different ways like if Guyana feels it can take the money and still do what it needed to do it was alright
– I said I heard the rumors that Guyana couldn’re really get any help from Russia and he said that wasn’t true (but he seemed kind of vague)/ I said that I heard that it was only [Guyana opposition leader Cheddi] Jagan or if Jagan was involved that the USSR would help/again he was kind of vague, he said that wasn’t necessarily true that the USSR Embassy was there to help and didn’t dictate the course of Guyana – Guyana had to find its own solutions (this sound like a pat answer and not very spontaneous)
– in regards to our exodus, he said that there was a time when things were more uncertain (possible riots and extreme tension in the society) but he said that it’s not such a problem right now
– I was trying to present the good with the bad and mentioned that the State Dept had written a report that we could show him that people could move around freely in JT etc. and that [US Consul] Dick McCoy had even said that the press was unfair/ he said something about McCoy leaving soon and how he was a nice guy he was in McCoy’s office today when Paula [Adams] and Maria [Katsaris] & Hue went)
– he also said that if we wanted medical instruments to indicate what we want and they’ll send a telex to order them