[Editor’s Note: This document retains its original spellings.]
BB-1-eee-1
Paula’s Conversations w/ Bonnie Mann
Deborah Touchette
July 12, 1978
– ref. to Debbie Blakey, he calls her Debbie Layton, you brought the subject up.
– You need an outlet for people, intergrate in the socity
– BM [Bonnie Mann] told PA [Paula Adams] about the soundwaves comming to [Handwritten end of sentence] our house. He sd [illegible]
– he said he should rotate people comming into town, they should absorb the culture and get to know Guynese
– PA told him that Debbie was in town for three months before she dicided to leave and could have left any time
– He didn’t know Debbie was in G/Town when she left
– he said that shot this theory to hell, he thought she was in Jonestown when she left
– PA told of Debbie’s background and drugs and being sent to London as incorrigible. She said Debbie had been steeling for some time, a little at a time, until she got a good amount and then left, what a better excuse than to use the conspiracy as a smokescreen.
– He asked what makes people suddenly change?
– he said by looking at the full size photo of Debbie B. she probably wants to fuck around and felt guilty about it so got the hell out of it
– he said you have to probe people, and find out where they are at and deal with their situation (Paula said she didn’t know if you got that from Sharon [Amos] or not, she has never heard him use the word probe, thats sharons word)
– PA told him we have a lot of open discussions with people and stay up for hours listining to the decenting opinion
– he compared our situation to the Guy. Govt., everyone so afraid to have a decenting opinion and it is consirdered treason to disagree
– He noted at the Heads of Mission Conference for and eg. to disagree is tantamount to treason, you, you hace to encourage a decenting opinion and not make them feel like they are trators if they do.
– PA said with PT thats not true, people are allowed to have other opinions
– He used Guy and PT in comparisson a lot
– His final analysis of Deb is that she just wanted to fuck around and just needed an excuse to do it.
– PA said she would do a report in the middle of the night and someone can come the next morning and pick it up.
– He hasn’t made any blanket statments about PT yet
– Hes been researching the referendum, but hes very guarded about it, discussing it.
– PA said she was glad that the Govt. won the ref. in enlightened self interest for our own sake (her ref. to Peoples Temple)
– He kept asking what I did on referemdum day?
– PA kept telling him it was low-key
– PA invited him to Jonestown
– He said you know the African Tribes have a custom, the people take you to your hut and wait for you to come out the next morning and serve breakfast to you, you know to constammat the union.
BB-1-eee-2
-2-
that’s how he felt things would be when he went to Jonestown he said hes embarrassed.
– PA said she thinks hes afraid to give any credience to there unity, but he says hes embarrassed.
– he asked her to go with him to Barbados
– PA said she wouldn’t go because of her health, couldn’t take it right now.
– He asked how Marceline was?
– she told him much better
– He asked about Joyce [Touchette] and Christine [Lucientes]
– PA said you should come to Jonestown
– She asked him if he had met anyone he didn’t like? J/town
– he said No.
– she showed that as the type of people there are at Jonestown saying there was nothing strange about the people
– he said he had met Charles Geary [Garry] and Jim Macravine [McElvane]
– he said he thought Jim Mac. was fucking all the wemon in Peoples Temple along with Charles Geary
– Rudy Collins met Karen Layton at his office when we went in to see him once, so he keeps asking about Rudy Collins girl
– Rudy is one of the Triumph [triumvirate] that had Fred Wills removed – Ruby, Bonnie & [Rashleigh] Jackson”
– He’s met with the PM twice
– by the way Rachlee [Rashleigh] Jacksons back in town
– He asked about Gene Chaikin, he thinks Gene is funny. Gene called him one time and made a statment about Jim Cobb. Gene said PT was not puritantical, but when a man is married to one woman and is going with anothe woman, and leaves with another, thats a little much, hes always thought that was funny and remembered him for it.
– he was very impressed by the SF church
[Starred line] – PA said he feel were all weeklings [feels we’re all weaklings] (members in general) and couldn’t make it without JJ dictating
– PA said some come because they needed something and some because they wanted to contribute.
[Starred line] – he mentioned the new PS to Foreign Affairs, a man by the name of Harry Diet, owned a mercedies-Benz, had it several years
– PA said that was flamboyant for a developing country
– He didn’t disagree
– Paula said she didn’t think he had changed any, but she thought he was mellowing out.
[Starred line] – Desmond Hoyte made a statement that we needed socialized medicine something to the effect of “I am tired of Doctors and Lawyers bleeding poor people” the implication was they were going to socialize the med and legal professions.
– the medical people are scared and the lawyers insensed.
– He said thousands are leaving Guyana.
– PA said yes I know Dick McCoy tells us from time to time I think he does it to smoothe his wounded feathers about so many of us leaving the US
– she said he just laughed
– PA would like guidelines on what to say, what subjects would you like her to approach, wants to know if it’s o.k. to ask about Tim Stoen, she said she could broach any subject, but has been staying away from all wothout guidelines
can Bunnie see the results of Deb T. and Marie’s test [Handwritten answer: “yes”]
BB-1-eee-3
-3-
[Starred line] – Dr. Skinner and his wife Peggy left the country, went to Trinidad
– Bonnie was very upset by this, it’s bothering him a lot, he mentioned it several times (evidently they left after Hoyte’s statments)
[2 words struck through] Paula writes
BB-1-eee-4
[handwritten addendum]
Paula writes
- He came to bring the overseas vote from the US
- He is not sure how long he is staying. Depends on what the Prime Minister says.
- He has played poker two nights in a row, [illegible word] on the first night ? the second
- He asked if we had talked to or had any contact with the PPP. He wanted to know who we hadn’t been attacked by anyone besides [Guyana political activist] Brindley Benn. [several illegible words] Angela Davis, socialism in the US friendly to [Cheddi] Jagan, and our friendship with the Soveits in the US
- I told him about the Tass article. He said, “oh yes” with a mild degree of interest. When I said it praises Guyana, he said “Oh, yes,” with a[illegible word] amount of interest. (It was, or sounds like, in a positive sense.
- [Words crossed out]
- He was concerned that we not take too much of a high key participation in the referendum. He said for 2 reasons: the opposition will attack us and will attack the govt. because of us.
- [Blank entry]