BB-3-a-146
Peoples Temple Agricultural Project
121 Third Street
Alberttown, Georgetown
6 April, 1977
Dr. The Hon. Franklin Eleazer Hope, MP
Minister of Finance
Main and Urquart Streets
Georgetown, Guyana
Re: Foreign Accounts held by Individual Members of Peoples Temple
Dear Cde. Minister:
Bishop Jones and all the members of Peoples Temple are most appreciative of your assistance in authorizing our organization to hold monies in a US dollar amount in Guyana. We are now requesting your authorization for our individual immigrant members who have individual bank accounts in the United States and other nations to continue to maintain said accounts upon the express condition that no monies which are earned in Guyana maybe removed to such foreign account.
As you know we are undertaking an extensive mass movement of several hundreds of people to Guyana from the United States. More people will be coming in gradually after the initial mass moves after they get their personal business settled. Naturally if there were some immediate threat of fascism, a larger number of these people would want to come sooner. All of the groups are very good people and none has come before a court of law. In fact, even a very conservative supervisor acknowledged that we are a very law-abiding group, which is mentioned in the attached article from the Bay Guardian entitled “Peoples Temple: Where activist politics meets old-fashioned charity”. All of these people intend to become permanent residents of Guyana. Many, however, have mortgages and other financial obligations they must continue to honor after they have arrived in Guyana. In addition, some of the people have made financial commitments to support certain causes in the United States such as the Chilean refugees and the American Indian Movement.
Specifically, therefore, we are asking that you supply us with a letter from yourself as Minister of Finance authorizing Peoples Temple members, while residents of Guyana to hold bank accounts outside Guyana provided that no such person shall remove any monies or valuables from Guyana to any such account.
Again, let me express our big appreciation for your expeditious and gracious help thus far. We are very much impressed by the high efficiency and quality of your Ministry.
Cooperatively yours,
/s/ Timothy O. Stoen
Timothy O. Stoen
Secretary, Peoples Temple Agricultural Project