BB-10-c-4
[Letterhead of State Department]
April 17, 1978
Dear Rev. Young:
Thank you very much for your undated letter concerning one Timothy Stoen, which I received today. I very much appreciate your thoughtfulness in writing to me about this matter.
For the record, I have never, to my knowledge or memory, met Mr. Stoen or had any dealings or correspondence with him concerning this case. Nor do I, as Director of the Office of East Coast Affairs in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, have any responsibility for relations with Guyana. This office concerns itself with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Moreover, it would be completely improper for an officer in my position to become involved in a custody case which is being tried in a Guyanese court of law.
There are one or two other Robert Zimmermans in the Foreign Service and there may be a confusion of identity, but so far as I am aware, they are not presently stationed in Washington and have had no connection with Guyana.
Sincerely,
/s/ Robert W. Zimmermann
Robert W. Zimmermann
Reverend Guy B. Young,
Master of Divinity,
Peoples Temple,
P.O. Box 15023
San Francisco, California.