D-2-P-19
Sharon Amos phone call with Vibert Mingo, April 8, 1978
MINGO Telephone call by Sharon Amos 8/4/78
– told him about the info about some investigating us/ Sandiford
– he said that Sandiford is at a conference, Guyana Assembly of Youth
– Minister of state Corbin is responsible for youth and is with Sandiford
– The conference ends this week
(Wills said that actually Corbin (and perhaps Sandiford too??) are going out to muster overseas votes for PNC – In Canada)
– I asked Mingo if he had talked to Reid/ he told Reid that he had met with a delegation of us and some of our fears but he said Reid said there was no need of fears
– Reid said we were welcome and there was nothing against our organization
– Mingo said that the PM checked on us long ago and he checked on us thru a special branch and we passed the test
– Mingo wonders if this is not part of the whole conspiracy and that this Oliver thing is part of that
– he feels that he can’t do much about checking on Sandiford until he returns
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D-2-P-9A
Mike Prokes meeting with Vibert Mingo, April 17, 1978
Monday, April 17th
Meeting with Mingo (Debbie T. & Mike P.): Gave him information on who is behind the hiring of mercenaries and the fact that Bunnie Mann is planning on meeting with them. I handed him a list of “Matters Requiring Attention” that have been asked of him in our last few meetings but which I wanted him to have all together for easy reference. He thanked me. I pointed to one of the items having to do with our applications for guns. Since it didn’t say what the applications were for I reminded him that this particular request was important in light of the business about mercenaries being hired. He said he would see what he could do.
As we were leaving I turned around, as if an afterthought and told him I had been thinking about that confidential matter he raised with us in our last meeting. I told him –speaking for myself though no doubt others feel the same – that there would be no problem in doing it. But I said if anything went wrong it could cause problems or tensions for us with both the U.S. and Guyana. I said we didn’t mind having the PNC’s destiny whether it turned out good or bad, but I thought we couldn’t face more than one such front at a time and thus it would be good if the custody case and medical situation could be favorably resolved first. His response was simply, “O.K., alright.” He was saying, in other words, that he understood. I think he knew was I was leading to before I finished because a faint smile came across his face.
Nettie (April 17th): (Mike P., Debbie T., Tim Carter): Daniel Salas met with us. He has met us before and had always been cautious. He always emphasize that the opinions he gives are strictly his own. He rarely goes out on a limb. He said he had a personal reservation to the political approach of P.T. He said he didn’t think one should engage itself in such close proximity to the political environment. I explained why we had to make contacts – due to the various problems that arise. I went into some detail how it was valuable also in protecting us from some wayward elements that otherwise would have tried to hurt us. He said he admired that we are close to the government but for clarification he said, “You seem to worry to much about yourselves and not about things around you.” We quickly jumped to the defense on that one and went into all the things we do and have done and how much more we plan to do after we get our own problems worked out and become self-sufficient, etc. Then we went into the problems and ran down the entire conspiracy to him. We showed him letters, articles, handouts, mailers, etc. to back up what we were saying. I think he was convinced that what we were saying was legitimate. His tone seemed to change. Not that he was hostile to begin with. He wasn’t. He just wondered about us.
Prior to us telling him about the conspiracy, he compared us to Thomas Murrow [More] on his Utopia Island. He said he respected him but proved not to be the way to change. I think his point was that groups shouldn’t isolate themselves.
The answers we got to tough questions were not at all definitive. For example: How would an IMF loan here affect us? “I don’t think it would bring any immediate reaction. I hope you wouldn’t be considered priority. I think any problems from it would be off in the future would tie others (such as Guyana itself) into it.”
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D-2-P-9B
Nettie (cont.): Why do you think Burnham went to Russia – to get aid? “This trip had been planned quite some time ago and a date set that had to be canceled. So he is going now.” If we went to Cuba, would we be able to function as a group? “I don’t know. There’s no precedent for it.”
Salas said he didn’t think social security checks are transferable to Cuba. I asked him if he would check it out and he said he would.
Salas said the earliest he could come was June. He didn’t know about anyone else so we asked him to please check into it. They don’t have a reporter based in the Embassy but there is one from Cuba in the Carribbean. We have already made an overture but he said he wasn’t interested, according to Carter.
He said he didn’t think Burnham would be too successful because in order for a country to get assistance from the Soviets they must be devout socialists. Salas later said that Socialism is not yet firmly established in Guyana. He doesn’t think that Burnham and Jagan can get together.
Cuba does not give aid to Guyana because “Cuba has no money,” according to Salas.
He doesn’t think that Jagan can garner the support to become P.M. He said he didn’t think that either Jagan or Burnham could make inroads into the other’s support.
He admits that Guyana faces a serious economic crisis but yet he says it is not a political crisis. I asked him if Guyana moved left or right, did he think it would do it with the same power structure. He said “yes.” I’m not sure I understood my own question but he sure gave an affirmative answer.
When we asked him how he thought the government might react if our doctor went ahead and practiced without a license. He said he thought Burnham would solve the problem for us if we presented the seriousness of it to him. He sounded as if he were sure of this because he said Burnham is a Socialist and you are socialists, so why would he let the issue come to a head.
Salas said that he never said that Russia was closer to Jagan than Cuba is. He said it wouldn’t make sense, since Cuba is a satellite of Russia and follows its official line.
He said that since the new constitution would eliminate the possibility of a coalition government, this would hurt Guyana’s chances of aid from other socialist countries that want a coalition.
Re: taking us in. He said if it were up to him he would do it because he sees us as socialist comrades, but that’s as far as he could say, being that there is no precedent for a large group like ours moving to Cuba. He said that he thought in a crisis, the children at least would be accepted.
Though very friendly, this guy just doesn’t give away a lot of information.
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D-2-K-2A
Sharon Amos meeting with Vibert Mingo, April 23, 1978
Sharon Amos
[Vibert] MINGO 23/4/78 (Sharon, Mike [Prokes], Debbie [Touchette])
– said that regarding Dale, you can contact the Public Service Ministry as they are the ministry that helps establish posts and at the present time there is no category for his license
JUDGE BISHOP
– he must give the decision in time, but he is not bound by any particular time
MERCENARIES:
– Guyana won’t allow them but they could come across from Venezuela, or could be based in Brazil
– if they know about it they could prevent it (know from where they’d come)
– he said it would cause serious security problems if mercenaries come, for relations with Brazil or Surinam
– regarding a possible right wing coup/ he said he didn’t think the country would turn right in a hurry (that’s probably true Guyanese so disorganized it would “just now” turn right ???). he said whether they get Russian aid or not they won’t turn right in a hurry and that the official line would still be left, he thinks
– he said if the PPP wins, they have right wing elements in their ranks too (rich class of people)
– he said that the country has a strong capitalistic element in general, for a time people were frequently sent for their training and education to US and to England and that is a problem
– he said Shirley Field Ridley used to be considered a socialist but she had a British education and that may be her problem
(I said that I didn’t understand with the problem, which he mentioned of strong left leadership why the PM had fired [Fred] Wills) – he had said there is a problem finding talent to replace certain ministers tho he feels that there needs to be a cleansing out of certain elements. I said with such a problem why would Wills have been fired because at least he had socialist sentiments and his life style wasn’t capitalistic. He agreed that Wills took leftist stands and his life style was not bourgeoisie. He said it could be pressure from a high level or a dispute or argument on an high level. I said you’d think considering the problem that maybe one of the more capitalistic ministers would have been fired and that that whatever disagreement, it would have been tolerated
– he didn’t disagree on this (it’s the first time he even gave the slightest hint of agreement that Wills’ firing could have been political and could represent a bad sign for the left but he seemed to think it was more a disagreement with the PM than a decision to go right wing)
– he said our firearm licenses were approved and we could call Dep. Hanes at the Eve Leary police headquarters for more details regarding the paper
– he said the call the man in charge of the marriage license about it [handwritten addendum] Registrar General
– regarding the fact we want to be prewarned of any devaluation, he said that he knows the PM is against devaluation
– he said the PM is against socializing and that Mingo doesn’t socialize or go to cocktail parties because a lot of info is disclosed/ he said that for instance “some of his colleages” attend these social events like with the US Embassy and he said that they are all intelligence men (US Embassy) and some of his colleages disclose info (this was in response to our message to him that we didn’t understand Dick McCoy being told many things by officials, Dick says this to us)
– we told him about Cde. David, the guy that calls Debbie Touchette/ he said that maybe this guy is just interested in Debbie/ he said that a man kind of important told Mingo he came to our house and we have attractive women/ said that probably is why some men call (Over)
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Debbie said that Cde. David acts like he wants to see her on the phone but when he comes over he doesn’t act that interested, more like he wants to ask questions, Mingo said “that’s how men are”
Re [PPP head Cheddi] Jagan getting closer to Dick McCoy etc
– he said they probably find Jagan easier to talk to / (he’s more intellectual)
[handwritten] said Jagan just returned from a trip to the US
Re Jagan’s likelihood of getting in a position of govt/ he said Dr. Reid made a speech, it was in the paper, and said they would not have a combined leadership on the top (they PNC have maintained that they would be willing to unite the grassroots but they don’t want the unity of leadership at the top/ as they don’t want shared power with Jagan but they claim Jagan doesn’t really sincerely stand for a unity govt.)
(regarding Colin Westmoreland who told us he was the political officer of GDF/we asked Mingo what he thought of this man saying he wanted to ask us a few questions about our organization, and he didn’t understand why we were religious and socialist at the same time. We said Colin said it was a personal interest not his job tho he said his job is to be in contact with various groups/ he said that this man’s job is information / his job is not to question people.
GRANADA [Grenada]
– re a possible change we heard about in Granada
– he laughed incredulously, said that Gary [Grenada Prime Minister Eric Gairy] is very reactionary and is an opportunist
– he called Mentor on the phone, said it was an emergency, wanted info on the PPP rally Sunday (PNC seems very worried about this)
MINGO’S INVESTIGATION
– he said that HSP (Mentor Unit) is still investigating / no report yet/ HSP Is Head Special Branch (police) and we said it might be they that are investigating us/ he said nothing except that there is no “Official investigation of us”
– he doesn’t think Guyana will get much from Russia
– I said well how can they possibly manage without some help, he said they’d just have to try to sell domestic savings bonds to raise the money
Mingo
– in regards to the problem of the PM finding talented people, I said I sure wish people like you would be around as we’d feel more comfortable if people like you, more of them were around
– he said that he “prefers to be in the background – in the backroom/ he preferred to be a teacher/ also he did not graduate from University tho he has his education training, but he feels that in public office, if he were to be moved up (senior Minister) people are very aware of your diplomas etc.
– we told them about Gladys and the baby and the Georgetown Hospital/ he didn’t deny it, I said that it was a shame a fuss was being made about Larry [Schacht] when Guyana needed good medical care so much/ he said he’d look into it.
– I Said that if the country went right, he and his family could come and stay with us in Jonestown, he said “I might do that.”
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D-2-K-3
Sharon Amos meeting with Vibert Mingo, May 4, 1978
Mingo (meeting 4/5/78) Debbie [Touchette], Sharon [Amos], Debbie B [Blakey], Terri [Jones]
– told him about the message of Eureka Aereal photography Research Associates etc and how that’s why we need the guns etc
– he said he has already okeyed the guns
– the said that in regard to the mercenaries/ I showed him that article mentioning mercenaries and gave it to him that they are attacking the sovereignty of Guyana
– he said they’d probably operate through Venezuela and that’s a threat to the sovereignty of Guyana
– then in regard to [Tim] Stoen he said “what has he so much against you?”
– I told him about the transvestitism and said that must be being held above him or else it’s money as he hasn’t worked for a long time and is having trouble getting a job YET he stayed in the best hotel here etc.
RE MEDICAL
– asked him if he had talked to anyone about that situation with Gladys and the baby/ he said Minister [Hamilton] Green had talked to him and seemed concerned about it/ said he’s the one that could do something on this for you
– he said that they had thought of a way to get our medical supplies in duty free and that is to have our hospital become a “recognized hospital” /we asked him if this is a long process and he said no
RE MAYDAY PARADE
– he said they Mayday Parade was a “stroke of genius”
– he said that we are “getting to understand the spirit and feeling of the Guyanese people”
– said people are more favorable to us/ wouldn’t give names but said that even Shirley Field Ridley is coming around
– he said your presence at every event shows you identify with any national event
– Lenetta Dophin (she’s one of the heads of Culture, was at our show and liked it) – said she felt we had the best banners (most catchy banners) in the show
– he said “more people are interested in PT” (wouldn’t specify who, I asked if people were calling Ministry’s or what and he said no, not an official level)
RE DR REID:
– I asked if he understands the conspiracy now and our problems with this/ he said “Dr Reid does read your courespondence and he does understand” (or actually he said “I think he understands now”
– he said “Dr Reid is your strongest advocate”
RE MIREV:
– said it would help them to know how many people come in to Guyana in a month
– how many people have left?
– how many relatives have come to visit (Debbie T. mentioned the relatives coming in to visit and said that we just had one come Mrs. Davis) – I showed Mrs. Davis’ letter (tho he didn’t read it carefully, he glanced at it) and mentioned about the Moores [John and Barbara Moore]
– we talked about [Dr. José M.] Da Costa visiting and what he said about dental hygiene/Mingo said he knew about the doctor coming in and we talked about that
– he said it would help if Da Costa wrote the Ministry of Health about what he found to be the good care in Jonestown and the doctor from the Marco Net, if he wrote too that would help
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D-2-K-1
Sharon Amos meeting with Vibert Mingo, May 8, 1978
Sharon Amos
[Vibert] Mingo 8/5/78 (Debbie T [Touchette], Debbie B [Blakey], Terri J [Jones], Sharon)
– when we asked him about that Mirror reporter Moses/ he said that this man is one of the PPP’s top people/ he said “Don’t take him on”, his intentions couldn’t be favorable (I mentioned that I thought it would be favorable because the Tass reporter was favorable but didn’t dwell on it because I thought we should get further instructions on whether to purse [pursue] this)
– he said he was mad at the Russians/ they sent him the article about us, but sent it in Russian and he feels it is an insult because they can write English/ Terri and Debbie B agreed with him (I felt we should leave this between him and the Russians and shouldn’t comment) (he said that he made this condition as the one relating to their visiting here, but the Russians told us that their writing is never subject to scrutiny here but he was willing to give it to them as a courtesy but he felt no compulsion to translate it)
– regarding the mercenaries, he said the situation needs to be looked at from the security view/ General security/ they need to be alerted to what is happening/ they are not ordinary police/ he will send a copy of our letter regarding mercenaries to them (we called and asked him not to do this as some of it was just for him and Dr. [Ptolemy] Reid and he agreed) – he’s talking about Mentor’s unit to tell
– PM [Prime Minister Forbes Burnham] – we told how Tim [Stoen] is quoting the PM saying the PM is on his side and that should be told to Reid and the PM right away / he said he will do so
– the letter mentioned the Guyanese rep in LA and his involvement in the case/ he said that this LA man was concerned and feels under pressure from Stoen
– regarding the referendum / I asked what has been done to settle our problems Medical, School, John [Victor Stoen], customs/ he said they are working on this to see how they can assist us
– I pushed on the need for him to come here to see for himself/ he said he will in a fortnight or two
– as we are residents, he said we are entitled to official security/ we have the right of protection
– he said he needs documentation of what various of our visitors have said (Debbie T mentioned the many relatives and visitors that have come)
– regarding our investigation or any investigation of us, he said that all he knew was we were investigated in the past and it was favorable
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D-2-K-7
Undated Maria Katsaris letter to Vibert Mingo
Dear Minister Mingo,
A chief aide in Lt. Govenor [Mervyn] Dymally’s office was told by a reporter that Peoples Temple is the one keeping the National Enquirer out. This same reporter also told a secretary in one of our attorney’s offices that our clinic doctor was not in good standing. The first statement was a sort of implied threat to Lt. Govenor Dymally. He said if you don’t help me get into Guyana, Dymally will figure highly in this article.
We have also been informed by a very prominent author [Don Freed] who is coming here to do a story on Jim Jones (he is the author of Executive Action and Paralax View, which were also made into very popular movies), that his investigations have found that the present editor of the National Enquirer was a deputy director in the CIA.
If Cde. Baird said these things, please have it corrected, because they will whip a storm over it, making relatives there feel that we do not have medical care – when we have the best. We are damn near perfect in that area. Or at least we try. It will also cut off consultations from specialists which will hurt not only our community – but the close to 200 people who come in a week. We have found consultations to save a life in complicated situations. In other words, Cde. Baird said to Lt. Govenor Dymally’s aide, that we are keeping the National Enquirer out, and said to the secretary that our doctor was not in good standing, says the reporter.
If it will be corrected we want to out an injunction before the fact. Or if Minister Greene [Hamilton Green] can correct this – but it has to be done right away. We do not know when the National Enquirer plans to print this story.
Cooperatively Yours,
Maria Katsaris
Peoples Temple
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D-2-K-17A
Jonestown resident Scott Thomas letter to Vibert Mingo, July 28, 1978
Dear Minister Mingo,
Today, July 28, we called your secretary and asked her to pass a message on to you. Recognizing that you are a busy man, we hope that she conveyed the information at a time that would be convenient for you. However, we overheard you make the comment to her that you did not “want to talk to those people” in a very forceful tone. This was disturbing because we can assure you that we would never say one critical word about you, let alone if such criticisms could be overheard, together with the phrase “those people” made us feel like outsiders – aliens – once more. It was quite upsetting, particularly in that we have been a loyal friend of the government and would give our lives for you. Friends of our who work for the press told us that the principle reason for the trouble that we have been having with the press smears has been our presence here. Guyana is presently getting the same treatment from the press because of the referendum. The thing that the press is saying is that it is designed to usher in a dictatorship.
We can understand how you might feel frustrated, particularly at the end of a long week and with the heavy responsibilities you bear. But you can imagine how such a remark would engender a feeling of insecurity. Our only feeling of security has come from yourself, Dr. Reid, and Prime Minister Burnham. There is the one person we have discussed with you, who is our bitter opponent and we have been told by many people in government that he promises to be the Prime Minister (although we are mindful of your assurances to the contrary). This would be a development that would be a total undermining of Jonestown.
We are sure you can sympathize with our frustration; Charles Garry told us that the National Enquirer stated unequivocally that your assistant Baird said that Jim Jones and Peoples Temple did not want them here, that this fascist rag would be welcomed by Guyana, but all that would stop them would be the refusal from Peoples Temple.
No resolution has been achieved regarding Jim Jones, even though he has helped many hundreds of Guyanese, (and this can be verified), and has saved lives – one just tonight.
A rumor has been circulating that our radio operators are operating illegally and although the FCC says that this is not true, the medical net will still not handle our request for phone patches. We have been advised by many other operators that we should get licensed in Guyana. But we are told this is not possible.
Now, offices in the Ministry of Education are giving us the run around and assigning students and teachers without our knowledge to our school. We have no room for the students at this time and cannot pay the teachers, but we cannot get those simple facts across.
We love Guyana, but we infer from your tone about us that we are becoming a heavy weight. We are not naïve about the United States, nor afraid of their harassment, nor their jails. We see clearly how the New Times spent an entire issue on smearing and destroying Huey Newton. We do not agree with all of Newton’s
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D-2-K-17B
modus operandi, but the things he was being accused of (by unnamed sources and defectors with an ax to grind) are untrue and outrageous – everything from child molesting to murder. We know what the United States can do to their critics. We want to help Guyana and give our total commitment to Guyana’s development and growth, but sometimes it seems that our honesty and the depth of our commitment is more than what people are used to. We hope that this view is not the correct one. We are being honest about his because it can be worked out. But we cannot endure without hope. So please tell us at all times your true feelings about us. Wouldn’t it have been much easier to simply say I’m too busy now, especially since the call was to your secretary only, as we empathized with you overloaded schedule.
Cooperatively Yours,
[signed] Scott Thomas
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D-2-K-4a
Sharon Amos meeting with Vibert Mingo, August 9, 1978
Sharon Amos
MINGO visit to him (tony [Walker], maria [Katsaris], sharon) 9/8/78
Regarding JJ he said he’d get to Dr. Reid and every consideration would be given regarding this/ he said no-one is so soulless as not to give consideration to JJ with this health problem. He said he would give his personal assurance that JJ could come to town for tests or could travel. He asked if we had made a medical appt. for JJ in town and we said we were waiting for assurances, he said “you’re getting like Guyanese” you should have made the appt and then you’d get the assurances
– he said first that he’d give verbal assurances but I pushed for a written one and he said he could get it in writing if we want – he said again that we have his personal assurance that JJ could get medical care
– he was very warm about this
– he did make the joke about us being like Guyanese and laughed at this
– he said he’d check about Tim [Carter]’s gun license – he called [D.A.] Haynes of the police Dept when we were there and said the 14 guns had been approved and had been sent (we haven’t gotten them yet) but they are still processing Tim’s / the one for Tim is with F division – we cannot go down to the police station to pick up the approval for the 14, it has to be sent to the person himself. Tim’s is with the commander of F division/ he handles the hinter-land/ it’s not quite done. We would present the approval for the 14 when we purchase the guns and then have to get an import license to bring them into the country
– regarding the remarks Baird was to have said (because of the injunction) he said that Baird doesn’t know about those remarks
– regarding tax approval/ he said that it has to be approved by the President (Maria told him what she had found out by talking to Barsillos who is a tax man, when Barsillos said we could under law be considered tax exempt)
– he said be careful about these people like Barsillos, they aren’t always that reliable
– regarding [Minister of Works Steve] Naraine and the Guyanese radio license/ he said it is difficult for him to call on our behalf/ he can arrange for us to see Naraine as he already did but to call him puts Mingo in a difficult position (I’m trying to reach Naraine’s permanent secretary on this Tiwari/ he was very friendly when we gave him a gift and chatted with him, and drove us somewhere once)
– he said he spoke to [Minister of Education Vincent] Teekah about our school and Teekah said he understood our school would be taking in children. Mingo said “can’t you take in at least a few” – we talked about the housing problem and he said of course they can’t send them to you to live there as you don’t have any lodging facilities/ he said we should tell them that/ he talked to Cde. Aagard of Educational Ministry about when this meeting was going to be to settle it and Aagard said it would be soon. Told us to tell Agard that there is a residential school nearby so it doesn’t make sense to send them to Jonestown
– they had expected us to accommodate some children in our school
– they said Agard they would meet with us this week and that they may reallocate the children/ there were 20 children they had allocated to JT but Agard said the above to Mingo
Minister Green: he talked tohim and Green said they had arranged a compromise we told Mingo that we hadn’t yet heard of it as we had sent in the proposal but hadn’t gotten an answer
– regarding Bonnie [Guyana Ambassador Laurence “Bunny” Mann] and what he said, Mingo was very interested/ he said “let
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me hear this so I can see how accurate he is
– told him what he said about Mingo and Mingo didn’t say anything but looked very attentive and displeased
– regarding what Bonnie said about Wills, he said “Yes, I have heard rumours to that effect – that Wills wasn’t acting quite right
– he didn’t say anything in regards to the info about Frank Noel and Bascomb re Noel sweating and the PM saying let him sweat etc (see copy of the letter to the PM)
– regarding King, he said it’s not true about King – about they not indicting King to keep the govt from being involved in the scandal/ he said King is no angel but there was nothing against King
Re Ralph
– he said that Ralph should have shown up in court/ he should have gone and pled non-guilty / now it is more difficult as it already has gone to court but he will see what he can do
– Maria said, “we’ll have we lost the bail then”/ Mingo said that is not certain
repress:
– he said he talked to Shirley Field Ridley and she showed some sympathy to it/ they are working on that/ Shirley agreed it was a good thing to do
Bonnie continued
– re the remark Bonnie said the PM made about Paula [Adams] and watching out for Paula, he said that Bonnie may have said that for affect/ but I said, “well it’s still a disloyal thing to say about the PM even for effect” and he agreed
– regarding the Mercedes Benz and the lifestyle of Tindall/ he said TINDALL will still be able to drive his car as it is his property/ regarding the generous housing allowance/ he said Tindall will still get an allowance for housing as senior minister
– he said Bonnie probably didn’t know that Tindall wasn’t being offered the position as Acting Secretary General of the Secretariat so he couldn’t keep that position (someone else told us that too, maybe Hamalidan) – and also maybe Bonnie didn’t understand that some people might want to take a position not just for money or status but to serve
– re Reid/ he’s tried to see him but Reid always rests during the day/ he’s not been too well over the past months/ he has a problem with sugar/ and former paralysis of his face/ doesn’t take chances with his health
– re the court situation/ he said Reid wouldn’t know about the court situation (and how long it was going on, but he will tell him)
Mingo (Tony’s report) 9/8/78 (Sharon, Maria, Tony)
– told him about the things Bonnie said about it be rumored Wills is talking negative about the govt. etc.
– he will talk to Reid about JJ coming into Georgetown and if possible traveling abroad for medical care/ he’s sure it will work out/ check with him in the morning (Sharon did but he hadn’t reached Reid yet)
– he talked to Agard about the school/ they probably will relocate 25 children
– he said Ralph should have shown up at this appt at court/ Judge probably would issue a bench warrant for his arrents/
– he doesn’t think the Perm. Sec. made the statements to the press
– Tim’s [Carter] gun is not bein processed yet but 14 guns have been
– tax matter has to be approved by the President Chung
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D-2-K-23A
Tim Carter meeting with Vibert Mingo, September 30, 1978
from tim carter
MINGO Tim, Terry [Jones], Debbie, Jimmy [Jones Jr.] Sat. 30/9/78
– [Vibert] Mingo seemed to appreciate the gift but he also seemed a little worried about exactly what it was – I don’t know if he’s ever seen cake with frosting on it – he acted like he didn’t know what it was.
– the first thing he said was that he had talked to Dr. [Ptolemy] Reid and told him of the situation and that Dr. Reid did not see the necessity of putting something in writing, just as he felt. He said that Dr. Reid said that Jim had assurances that nothing would happen while he was in town. He said after Jim had received a doctors advice about the situation then something could be decided about him going out of the country.
– then Mingo mentioned that “something came up this morning,” and that McAshley was concerned about the reporting of our births and deaths. He said they were having a MIREV meeting and that they needed to know that. He explained to him the situation with Lynetta’s certificate and the other certificates, and Mingo wrote down Herbie Thompsons name, Lynetta’s name, and said he woudl take care of it. He said that he might as well take care of the entire situation, and he said he was glad that we had been taking care of it from our end.
– Jimmy asked him about Tim’s license. he started out by saying that several of our members had been victims of choke and rob. Mingo wanted to know where this was happening, because he said it might be that people were lying in wait for Peoples Temple. He didn’t seem to think this was the case when we said the incidents had been spread out, although two were by our house. He told him that Tim’s gun license had been hung up in Home Affairs since July 6, and he wrote it down in his book. He agreed that was a long time and he said eh would check into it.
– I asked him about the Catholic priest Fortune who had came and asked us about these tow Uruguayan refugees. He said he would be concerned aobut several things. #1 was the fact of their possible inability to fit into our community. #2 was the fact that it was a Catholic priest who had approached us, and we did not know their background for sure. #3 was the possibility of infiltration. He seemed to think that was a definite possibility, and recommended against our pursuing the matter. He said that he was not aware of the situation.
– we gave him the background on the Grace and Tim Stoen situation once again per instruction. He seemed attentive.
– I asked him if Dr. Reid was aware that the situation with the court case was still pending and what was happening. He said Dr. Reid was aware of the situation, and that he had an understanding of the situation, and that he was surprised that Dr. Reid was as aware of the matter as he was. He said it was because of the pending court decision that Dr. Reid didn’t feel the assurance in writing could be done.
– Mingo tried to say that it was normal in civil cases that it takes a very long time. I told him that it was not normal in cases of habeus corpus, that habeus corpus cases were to be decide immediately. He said that it was a normal in these cases that it take a longtime.
– I told him that the Chief Justice [Harold Bollers] had even told us that in 33 years as a judge he had never heard of such a thing and he considered it outrageous. Mingo immediately reacted with hostility and asked what he was doing for us, if that is the way he felt. He said that he couldn’t understand why he would tell us such a thing. He said why didn’t he ask the judge the status of the case.
– He told him that we couldn’t be going to the Chief Justice and asking him to do things, just as he said he couldn’t. He told us that his hands were tied in this situation and there was nothing he could do. He said again he didn’t understand why Bollers told us such a thing. He asked us who it was that appointed [Judge Aubrey] Bishop in the first place. He said it was Bollers. He said if Bollers was so concerned, why didn’t he call Bishop up and ask him what was happening. He kept asking in a sort of sarcastic, hostile tone What is he doing for you?
– We had sort of run out of things to talk about at this point. It was obvious that he was very uptight about the situation, as we were. I said that I felt like we were up against a brick wall, and there was nothing left to say. He got up and left. I left without shaking his hand, but I understand Debbie and Jimmy did, and Terry didn’t.
– I think its quite obvious that Reid or Mingo is not willing to do a fucking thing but give verbal assurances. Terry heard Mingo say that Jim would have to sneak into and ..
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D-2-K-20
“Rude” letters to Vibert Mingo, October 6, 1978
These were the letters Mingo got
(the ones that he felt were so rude, but he referred to the one addressed to him as being rude especially)
The instructions were dictated on it – for a Mitzi letter)
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D-2-K-21A
October 6, 1978 letter to Vibert Mingo from Gloria Carter
PEOPLES TEMPLE AGRICULTURAL and MEDICAL PROJECT
P.O. BOX 893
Georgetown, Guyana
6 October, 1978
The Honorable Minister Vibert Mingo
Minister of Home Affairs
Brickdam, Georgetown
Dear Minister Mingo;
REGARDING TIM CARTER’S SITUATION WITH CUSTOMS
It’s a shame when a man is honest that his money was taken away from him. When you hear people on the plane joking about hiding money, in their shoes and their hair, it is not fair that his money was taken when he didn’t realize he was making a mistake and he openly declared the money. This upsets our people when money is taken away just because we’re so honest when we need money so badly.
We will double that gift to the PNC if it’s given back. We would like the privilege of giving it to the PNC rather than have them take it from him like he was doing something wrong. He had to get a part for the boat which we operate at a loss to take people (Guyanese) down the river. Also, Guyanese people are taken to Georgetown on our boat free of charge and we provide food on the trip and formula for the babies. In town, as you know, they stay at our headquarters free of charge and food and transportation are totally provided for them. We are living off our reserves because of the immense amount of money put out for Guyanese people.
ADDITIONAL INFO RE PRESS POLICY TOWARDS PEOPLES TEMPLE
Re: Rabbi Washington
We don’t understand why a man who is known to be against the PNC and who came here fleeing the law is played up in the press everywhere. We don’t understand this when there’s a hands off policy on Peoples Temple.
JIM JONES’ MEDICAL CARE
Jim Jones is not coming to town for medical care because he’s been told he should play hide and seek if he comes to town and he’s not a common thief. He’s done the best he can. He’s got emphysema and his hematocrit is 18 points. His white blood count is 14,000 when it should be 5,000-10,000. He has a bronchial infection. His temperature is still high. He should have a bronchoscopic
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D-2-K-21B
test. However, he’s been told by sources that John Stoen’s case will never be resolved. It is not being worked out just to keep Jim Jones in Jonestown. You should know, Minister Mingo, that we are very very upset about it.
Cooperatively yours,
/s/ Gloria Carter
Gloria Carter
Secretary to Cde. Jim Jones
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D-2-K-19A
Sharon Amos meeting with Vibert Mingo, October 9, 1978
Sharon Amos
MINGO visit with him CL [Carolyn Layton], Jimmy [Jones Jr.] and Sharon 9/10/78
(this was the meeting when we played J’s tape for him to soften him as he had been pretty inflexible when I came into GT about the issue of writing J’s assurance that he could travel safely to GT without fear of arrest and also he was pissed when I talked to him about Thomas’ situation with customs and later he got a Mitzi letter about it)
– when I first tried to get an appt. he said he was too busy and that we really needed to be more coordinated. This seemed to be repeated to me a couple of times about getting a letter from one of us about Thomas when he had talked to us and given me advice. He had said the letter was rude in the first sentence which complains about Thomas getting his money taken away even tho Thomas was honest and declared the money.
– I didn’t argue much on this issue but asked him if the letter personally attacked him or was it just concerned about Thomas. He did admit that it wasn’t a personal attack but he just was upset that we didn’t follow what he said and he got a letter from us about the same time he gave the advice. (I told him I had followed his advice tho Customs hadn’t really been too helpful. He told me to contact customs to ask them about it. I did do this and the Customs man, I told him, said he had never heard about a customs man taking money from someone. But this customs man hadn’t known much about it.)
– I said I thought we needed to establish better communication and he agreed about this.
– in the beginning of the tape he was preoccupied – looking in the telephone book and rummaging through papers and his date book. When JJ was talking about the transition in Guyana to socialism, he put his hands on his face. (hard to say what he was feeling, disturbed at the dilemma of how to deal with us, conflict or what) – he covered his face also when JJ was talking about Bonnie Mann and how that has been a dilemma to us how he keeps his position. When JJ talked about socialism not succeeding when there is a social democracy, he began to read a letter)
REGARDING THE 3 WELL-KNOWN JOURNALISTS and what they said about being expelled, he said you can’t believe always what journalists say. He said he hasn’t heard this himself tho it could be on a higher level than he would know about. I said that this was said in separate places at different times and they all said the same thing and we wouldn’t pay so much attention to these things except that when you hear nothing from the govt and then get these reports, it is of concern.
– he admitted that this is a problem but kept repeating that he didn’t have any answers for us. He said that he too is concerned about JJ and he understands our concern and how we feel about him but perhaps it will work out in time and CL heard him say that perhaps JJ would be able to go to the US for medical care by the end of the year (I didn’t hear him say US but I did hear him say perhaps JJ could come in for medical care at the end of the year)
– CL stressed how much JJ means to us in JT, how leadership is being cultivated and getting stronger but that we still need JJ and that many been with him for 20 years and many for 10 years or more.
– we both said CL and me that it was very strange to us the lawsuit being pro-longed for such a great time, that Judge [Audrey] Bishop (I told him [attorney Lionel] Luckhoo has said this) had taken months and months on it just to refuse to make a decision when he could have turned it over to another judge months ago, and now it wasn’t even assigned as Bollers was going to assign it to someone else.) He said he was just as mystified as we were about this case and why it wasn’t solved.
– regarding a paper – we talked about how we had been told by others that they thought JJ was imprisoned, prestigious visitors could see it/ and that we had been advised that even tho Dr. [Ptolemy] Reid and Mingo had given their verbal assurances, that others could take advantage of the situation. (I told Mingo that if Mingo wasn’t even privy to what was happening politically, I didn’t say it quite this way, but if there is info that he isn’t receiving as he said, and if as he said the political situation mystifies him also, which he admitted, then if we couldn’t at least get a paper saying they will stick up for us, it was awfully shaky. He didn’t argue with this but didn’t give any solution to it either.
– he said he didn’t understand why there was a stand off in the press against us because Shirley Field Ridley was out of the country at the same time Mark Lane was here and she is the one that can be cool at times, so he doesn’t understand it but doesn’t doubt that it is possible. I said that it was again very upsetting in terms of where the whole country was going because even a reactionary press such as one in Spain printed about the conspiracy against us, and well-known papers in the US, and if Guyana was taking a more conservative stand than the US papers, then I thought we were in trouble. He didn’t disagree about this and that’s when he said he gets mystified also about some things about this country also
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D-2-K-19B
MINGO PG 2 visit
Venezuelan Border situation:
– he said that it is true that Venezuela considers that this is Venezuelan land but he didn’t think that the situation would change as long as the present, and we could watch the result of the President’s visit (which is to be soon), however he said that the President’s term will be over around December, and then he can not say how it will go.
– tho when I said we would rather die than live in Venezuela territory and we would have to fight if they came to take our land, he didn’t have much reaction/ he just said, “you wouldn’t want to do that.” And said “we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.” – I mentioned also about some of our people might go on a hunger strike since we are just all getting despairing about JJ being stuck and the feeling that we aren’t very welcome in Guyana/ he was thoughtful but said nothing
[crossed out sentence: “he did say that he had never heard of any talk of any pressure to expel us and”]
– he did say the Venezuelans have been organizing Amerindians for a long time, primarily to have them vote in Venezuela so that’s nothing new (CL talked about the fact that Amerindians are very open to communal living and were receptive to our purposes but that we share information and skills with them. But that sometime the govt. might want to work on the idea of collective projects to develop that region.
– I said that PT would refuse to live in Venezuela/ we’d rather die in a liberation struggle than to do that/ he didn’t argue but rather nodded as if he understood this
– talked to him about JJ being cut off and Mingo being his only connection with reality and how important that is to us and he said he understood that.
– he said that at some times he’s been upset with us but he forgets about it and part of it has been that he too like us has been annoyed that things don’t get solved for us.
VISITING: we said how this would help and I said I wondered if maybe he hadn’t come because he felt like it was easier to avoid the situation (as I knew he made other visits even to churches etc.). He said he knows how we feel about this and he will definitely come as he knows it is important to us and he will be visiting his friend Durant [Regional Minister Leonard Duvant] so will drop in and see us.
– mentioned about JJ being as imprisoned as if he were in So. Africa like the blacks are restrained and have to come right home after work etc./ he didn’t disagree or make any comment
CL mentioned about Rabbi Washington and his going around freely and JJ is unable to
– mentioned about JJ being talked about like a common criminal and we protecting Guyana’s image/ he didn’t say much to it
TALKED ABOUT IMF
– he agreed that it is a poor solution and I mentioned tht was even being talked about in local PMC meetings, the negative aspects of it. I said I had hoped Guyana would have accepted a loan from a socialist country with less strings. He said that he had heard himself that the PM [Prime Minister Forbes Burnham] would absolutely not accept devaluation but that the IMF has ways of putting other requirements on so it is just as bad/ thereis a requirement of savings and that the rules on the NIS are from IMF (I didn’t understand this too much) – but he agreed when I said that I had heard that if you don’t raise in 5% in the economy the IMF can start taking an active part in your economy and he didn’t argue this and agreed with it. He doubted they could make the 5% he said.
I said if he could only give us some answers/ even if he ever finds out anything and we would assure the confidentiality in any way he would suggest, meet anywhere and even in a more private place like JT. He said he would share it with us if he had more info.
– he said that he didn’t hear much of negativity about us/ he said he did attend the MIrav meeting when they asked about our population/ they had called us during the meeting and we asked JT and gave them the number of 977. He said even [Minister of Development Desmond] Hoyte, “our good friend” was there at the meeting and he didn’t say anythign negative about us.
– regarding [Guyana reporter Carl] Blackmon and his questions about our sexlife and how it was so amazing to us that all who visited were so impressed and made commitments to write positive articles and then all of them were squelched and Blackmon did all this wierd questioning, he said that he Mingo had never questioned our integrity in terms of our lifestyle and he hadn’t heard any rumors about any strange sex life, so he didn’t understand about his.
JJ: I THINK MINGO IS REALLY AT A STANDSTILL WITH US AND THAT’S WHY HE PERIODICALLY GETS MAD. I think he would really like to be able to take some stands to solve things for us but he has tried and doesn’t get any response either, and he’s been told by [Deputy Prime Minister Ptolemy] Reid that he can’t make concessions in certain areas for us and so he feels like a political football in the middle and he’s not ready to make any sacrifices for us as he is not a revolutionary and not a humanitarian of any great extent. He gets mad at us periodically
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D-2-K-19C
because we keep asking for answers he isn’t allowed (or doesn’t seem privy to) to give. It’s hard for me to believe that he doesn’t know anything about what is going on in the govt. as much as Guyanese talk and rumor and blab, but he may not know all the shenanigans that go on, especially if he has shown any sympathy to us to the govt. they wouldn’t share all info with him about us. But he’s not a crusader and he’s admitted to us he has had to make many compromises in his position and get used to it.
I think it is useless to bombard him as we often do. We give him too much of the day to day problems, things he can’t really solve and won’t make much comment on and then when we do need him, he’s fed up. I think we write up almost everything that happens and he doesn’t feel he can absorb any more of it and it just makes him feel more and more guilty and less and less successful in terms of us. I think it would be better to talk about only 1 or 2 subjects and be briefer and not hit him with ever emergency even when it doesn’t concern his area of work. Perhaps if we could build up a more relaxed relationship with him and hit hard when we need to on less items, he might not get so overwhelmed.
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