Transcript prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
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Jones: The news. (Pause) A raging war fever sweeps the United States. News, television, radio, carrying hysterical appeals about the poor, endangered regime of dictator Mobutu [Sese Seko] in Zaire. [U.S. President Jimmy] Carter has gone all the way. Under emergency powers, he has sent– or promised to sending of fifteen hundred crack airborne forces from the USA. Joined in the exploitation and aggression against Zaire – the people of Zaire – is Belgium, Senegal, renegade China, mainland China, that I will not dignify by calling even nationalistic communist, they have now come full circle and joined imperialism. Even Voice of America calls it the earmarks of all signs of a new Vietnam. Vietnam began just that small. (tape edit)
General [Alexander] Haig, NATO commanader– NA– NATO commander General Haig stated that he was concerned about the battle readiness of US soldiers, because they were on so much dope. He’d tried to appeal to the American public to not be fearful as there would be buildup of US forces in Europe also, because of what he said is a new and, we of course know, an imagined Soviet threat.
Carter admits he’s a liar. President Carter, who had denied vehemently a Washington Post article that accused him of freezing all arms talks because he rejected without compromise, without renegotiation, a Soviet offer to limit the building and employment of new intercontinental missiles. But when they had information red-handed, Carter was forced to admit that the story was true. Thus this is the way politics go, US style. General Haig, fascist commander of NATO, says to the American people, don’t be concerned, there’ll not be many of your soldiers sent. He said 90% of his land forces are made up of Europeans, and would continue to be so. But if he beefs it up, of course, that 10% that are USA are going to be increased too. But the American public is probably too apathetic, stupid, and despaired to take note of incongruity.
What was revealed by the Washington Post that caused Carter to have to admit that his administration lied to the American people will not be allowed to continue too much longer. They used a source high in his own administration.
Under new laws just upheld by the United States Supreme Court, police, law enforcement, our government have a right to break in and take the files of any newspaper, radio, or television station in the United States. It’s an open fascist move, if the police, or law enforcement, or government feels that that newspaper may have files pertnent– pertinent to a case, relating to a case that they intend to pursue. Of course, it can be set up. It can be an imagined case. Carte blanche, full opening to the media’s access of news, thus limiting the right of confidentiality. The high administration source that now is confidential will be revealed under the new US Supreme Court decision, because at any time, government, law enforcement can come into any newspaper, television or radio and seek their personal files, take them as evidence. They can take the film from television that’s not used.
Well, typical of USA, they didn’t see the handwriting on the wall. Peoples Temple will be holding a vigil in front of the federal building on Tuesday in consistency with our demand for liberty and justice in our open stance against fascism, as we took a stand for the four Fresno Bee [reporters]. If we were not committed to principle, we certainly could be caught up in bitter– bitter feelings about the newspapers. We do not like this overt move of a fascist nature against what is left of a so-called free press. That grossly affects the alternate media that is the only free press. But the establishment sellouts are now greatly concerned. Reg Murphy of the Examiner is ballyhooing and crying about the effect this will have on the newspapers. They tried so hard, the newspapers, the big monopoly newspapers like Hearst, Rupert Murdoch, to do the will and bidding of the state. As Harper magazine has said, they are the arm of the military governmental industrial bureaucracy or juggernaut. They are the arm of monopoly capitalism that comes in to beat people around, so they’ll be hated by the American people after they’ve born– been torn down by that vicious arm and thus make them open target for assassination or governmental attack. Harpers, New York magazine has said that there is no adversary press. There is a myth that there’s an adversary press anyway. The press has always done the bidding of the state. You can see them changing their whole style now to accommodate the new military adventurism and aggression of renegade mainland China’s government and USA monopoly capitalism.
Anyway, further news. The same kind of hysteria is being whipped up about Eritrea, where USA and renegade China is attempting to break away Eritrea from Ethiopia. If telling about the terrible amount of poverty and starvation, when indeed it was caused by US adventure by backing Somalia, and now, while there’s a momentary lull in Somalia’s invasion of the Ogaden Ethiopian territory, United States says it can reconsider giving arms under President Carter’s still broad ranging emergency powers, if a nation is not committing aggression, even though they have committed aggression or planning to commit to– an aggression or an attack on another independent sovereign nation, during that lull, he can give further military aid, and is doing so this Monday morning.
The military situation is dark and ominous, the plight of freedom in USA is also equally ominous.
We’re grateful for the news came to us yesterday from our people who heard the Prime Minister speak, Prime Minister [Forbes] Burnham spoke up a kind of friendly relationship– He– He sparked up a relationship with Kay Nelson in laughing over the regional director of the district who promised just to give him an introduction and gave him a long-winded unrelated speech. So he ran over and became friendly with Kay Nelson and Lee Ingram. He would’ve continued to talk endlessly, though there were several hundred waiting to talk to him. He gave a– an appeal to the support of the new constitution, the referendum which I have read during the night, as I’m up all night. It guarantees trade union developments, trade union benefits, it uh, guarantees the foundation of a socialist economic system. It guarantees the right to work and the right to leisure. It guarantees senior pension and permanent disability for those who are injured at their job. It guarantees absolutely free socialized medical services. All citizens will have the right to free medical attention in cases of any illness or disability. The republic state, the government of Guyana, socio-economic organizations, and the people as a whole will work consistently together to create the material conditions to enable the full realization of this right in the coming year. Right to housing is guaranteed, a right to education from cradle through university. Equality of women. The old constitution did not give that guarantee. Equality of children born out of wedlock will have the same rights as children born in wedlock, a very new and progressive feature. Protection and a commitment to oversee citizens, duty to protect public socialist property, the duty to defend the country from foreign adversaries. Aboli– Abolition of all discriminatory distinctions. The government will seek to eliminate discriminatory distinctions between classes, between town and country, and between mental and physical labor. As a communist measure, the government will seek to develop a socialist culture out of the many cultural strains which now enrich its society.
Fundamental rights and freedoms are out in the existing constitution– set out in the existing constitution will be absolutely retained intact, and added to in terms of their protection. The right to life, the right to personal liberty, protection from slavery and forced labor, protection from inhuman treatment, protection from deprivation of property, protection against arbitrary search or entry, the right to a fair hearing in court, freedom of conscience including freedom of religious beliefs, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, including the right to form or belong to political parties of any sort and trade unions that recommend socialism, freedom of movement, protection from discrimination on grounds of race, place of origin, political opinions, color or creed, and the right to enforce them– these fundamental rights by application to the courts for redress.
Citizenship laws are increased and enhanced and broadened, the citizenship provisions of the existing constitution will be given the following improvements: for the purpose of acquiring Guyanese citizenship, privileges will be given to Commonwealth citizens only on a basis of strict reciprocity and that the Commonwealth nations do not practice racism in any form. That’s a slap at England for its racism and calling for the expelling of all black people from that country. So Phil Blakey should get his citizenship right away.
b) The husband of a Guyanese wife will, through her, have the same privilege of applying for Guyanese citizenship which is now enjoyed by the wife of a Guyanese husband. Also the Guy– the child of a Guyanese mother will have the same privilege applying for Guyanese citizenship which is now enjoyed by the child of a Guyanese father. The elimination of chauvinism.
(unintelligible word) many other rights, the right to veto an assent, the president will have the right to veto a bill passed by the National Assembly, if he exercises the right. The bill will be sent back to the National Assembly which could thereafter bring it into force if it passes by a special majority. The president will have the right to send messages to the National Assembly and to address it on special occasions. The Prime Minister’s duties, cabinet minister, the parliamentary freedoms remain ostensibly the same. Amendments to the constitution are: provisions of the commission– constitution which are of an ordinary importance may be amended by a bill supported by the ve– the votes of a majority of all elected members of the National Assembly. Uh, amen– amendments also any other provision of the con– Constitution of Guyana may be amended by a bill if it is passed by the votes of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly and later approved by a majority of the electors who vote at a referendum on it. The referendum could– but need not be held if the bill is supported by two-thirds of the elected members of the assembly. A referendum will however always be required if it is proposed to amend certain sensitive provisions as to the Bill of Rights of the constitution, such as those relating to rights of the people, enable the state– territory of the state, the principle that sovereignty derives from the people, the principle that land must go to the tiller, the principle of equality for women, the principle of equality for children whether born in or out of wedlock, the principle that– that laws should only be made by the elected members of the National Assembly, and any other provision which may be identified in the course of further prepor– preparatory work as being sufficiently important to warrant treatment by referendum procedure. The courts will continue to be free and independent without any interference from government. A judicial service commission will be retained to see that there is fairness in courts.
The fact that Prime Minister Burnham was coming to visit us, had his helicopter blade not broken, will’ve given the highest sanction– It already shows the intentions of the Prime Minister towards us. And also we were courted by the colonel, who’s one of the chief attachés of the Venezuelan Embassy. He came over to our people, spoke up spontaneous conversations of praise, speaking how our deputy prime minister, Dr. Ptolemy Reid, who’s also the head of the Peoples National Congress, the chairman, had nothing but praise for us. He was very anxious for us to know that Venezuela was also a beautiful country, which sort of made us laugh as if he were courting us, in case Venezuela would ever seek this part of their territory. He was very friendly and very praiseworthy of our lifestyle, and very interested in coming to visit. So it seems that we, sitting on mineral wealth and oil wealth, are quite actively sought in friendship these days. We’re in the best place we can be in the world, on disputed territory, where Venezuela will not invade because they have to go through US citizens, where Guyana strategically needs us, and the Prime Minister seems to have inherent goodwill and friendship. He was coming, we know that by the uh, commander of the– the Air Force that was flying his plane. He also said the GDF would be letting us know anytime a plane came in, the Guyana Defense Forces Air Force, anytime a plane came in, we would have the privilege of using it, any extra seats or any extra cargo space free of charge, and we needed that desperately, because our costs are prohibitive.
Yesterday, Pres– Dr. Green – Hamilton Green [Guyana Minister of Health and Labor] – said that no one dare interfere with our medical program in this district. He had the sole right and the only right to determine whether our people would practice medicine, and he was firmly behind us in our right to practice medicine here or in Kaituma. He was working all day. We have not heard any further reports, and he’s getting ready to take a vacation out of the country, or rather, a high-level summit conference of health and education and welfare conference of all Third World nations, and he was going to have the matter, he said, resolved before he left.
We have our school. Our school has been official, legally uh, advertised in the Gazette which makes it now that we are our own independent school, officially. We will keep you posted of good and bad news alike.
Channel 2 in Los Angeles continues in its tirade, Tim Stoen orchestrating attack on us, now is more visible for supposedly being enemies of certain practices in the United States. It is awesome that they tried to portray us as enemies of the people of the United States, instead of the horrible, horrible oppressive monopoly capitalist government of the United States, and the fascist prac– practices and racist practices in the United States. And when they discuss the question of cancer, and our own attorney [likely Charles Garry] step forward with the document verifying Marceline’s healing. They said, yes, he certainly can heal cancer, and here’s bona fide proof. Here’s visible proof that Jim Jones can heal cancer. Now if they print it all, we’re going to be making certain appeals to them that, if they’re interested in ever doing any further coverage of us that they’ll have to. That was one way that we got in the praise of Dr. [John V] Moore about this beautiful project, the Methodist superintendent, on channel 2. There seems to be a conspiracy between the channel 2’s of Los Angeles and San Francisco. We’ll be making notification of that today.
Other news has it. Racist attacks. Gadsen [Gadsden] plans protest. A federal grand jury’s refusal to indict policemen, it included the entire police department in the murder of several black men, in Gadsen– Gadsden, Alabama has provoked the anger of the local black community. The grand jury announced last week that it would not indict any of the police force officers involved in the murders because of an alleged lack of evidence pointing to their illegal involvement in the murders. The first murder occurred on January 20, the death of a 27-year-old Carlos Maderon [phonetic], and then there’s a Jack Madden killed on the twenty-seventh of January, and it goes on and on. We feel that his bullet ridden body which was shot 15 times was evidence enough and (unintelligible), R. B. Cotton Reader told the news. Cotton Reader, a field officer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said we plan to escalate and intensify nonviolent protest around the issue that a man has a right to live, and we’ll try to block people in Gadsden, Alabama from being shot down in cold blood, as they have been repeatedly this year by the police, and the killers being permitted to go scot free. Cotton Reader added that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the one founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, would initiate picketing of Gadsden businesses and would be encouraging black people to keep their money in their pockets. Beginning in June, Gadsden residents will apply whatever nonviolent direct action tactics necessary to impress upon the people responsible for letting the killers loose that we are thoroughly dissatisfied with this decision. Cotton Reader said the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has sponsored a number of protests against the killings, including a march of over 2000 people. However, not one word of this appeared in any US media. We had to pick it up through the socialist press. That’s the way things work in USA, fascist style, 1978.
The man’s home is still his castle, and in it, he reigns as lord and master over the wife and kids. It sounds a little old-fashioned for the 1970s, doesn’t it? But the notion of equality in the home has yet to reach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided to let stand a state law in Alabama and in Louisiana, to name two of several, calling the husband head and master – head and master – and allowing him to make all decisions about property shared with his wife. Racism, chauvinism, classism, elitism, sexism, and ageism is upheld every day by the US imperialist-financed capitalism.
The most horrendous insight of the news, that China is sending forces into Zaire. Even the BBC said Zaire is rocking and reeling. Its citizens are protesting and resisting in every corner of the nation, even in the entire northeast section, far, far removed from Shaba Province. Elements of Katangans and other citizens of Zaire joined in revolutionary assistance to the almost liquidated forces of the brave Katangans in Shaba Province that’d been bombed back into the stone ages and driven all the way through Zambia into Angola. The Ian Smith dread fascist sellout regime, along with Bishop [Abel] Muzorewa, who’s gone back into the fold in spite of the elimination of all blacks from high-level government post in this so-called transitional government, is attacking Zambia for abducting children into the resistance of the Patriotic Front. The Patriotic Front is now being housed in Zambia.
President Kwan– Kwanda– [Kenneth] Kaunda came by Guyana a week ago for an emergency session with Prime Minister Burnham, who’s always been committed strongly to black Third World liberation. Also Prime Minister Kaunda of Zambia is intensely committed, as he has allowed (pause) the forces of Joshua Nkomo to be actually located and housed inside Zambian territory where they cannot face reprisals by the dreaded secret police of the Rhodesian capitalist fascist racist pig, Ian Smith. It is there that US money has been poured, CIA assistance, US AID assistance, even indirectly by military officers who have tortured to such an insane degree– We have Obliko [phonetic], great hero of the people who was tortured by US major and colonel. They had his little daughter beaten until she was not even aware of what she was doing hardly. She was just five years old, and they had her put a wire around his gonads after he’d been beaten senselessly, and she was forced to pull on it, until the sharp edges cut off his scrotum or balls, gonads, and they let him lay, a torturous existence, for three days until he died. This– Oblicko was his name rather, not– We get them sometimes mixed up with Steve Biko in South Africa.
It was there that 175 students were killed. It was there that all Rhodesians must be in their concentration camp reserves by sundown or shot down by the fascist army that has illegally imposed itself upon the Rhodesian– or what we proudly call the Zimbabwean people. Ian Smith was an illegal regime to begin with. He broke away from the Commonwealth, from England, when the Zimbabweans were demanding their independence over 10 years ago, and he formed an illegal government, and now three black leading religious leaders have formed a conspiracy in Uncle Tom fashion to support that interim transitional government. Now Bishop [Muzorewa] has again, good Uncle Tom, house nigger, for calling for actions against– world actions, US actions against the Zambians for abducting little children – it sounds like the tirade against Peoples Temple – for abducting little children from Zambia to help fight in the Patriotic Front. It is a lie utterly denied. (Pause)
Rape victims on trial again. The trauma of rape can result in long-lasting psychological scars for the victim. The only thing worse women feel is the trauma of appearing at the trial of the rapist, facing the attacker again, recounting the details of the attack, and withstanding hostile questions from defense attorneys seeking to damage the credibility of the woman. Now a Washington DC Superior Court judge must decide whether to compel two such victims to applely– to appear in court again for the retrial of the man already convicted of assaulting them, but the jury declined to accept their truth about his rape against them. At hearings before Judge Harold Greene, psychiatric profiles presented of two women raped in 1972 showed that both are still suffering emotionally from the experience. These files were given May 18. Prosecuting attorney Raymond Manune [phonetic] in Washington DC argued that they cannot bear the stress of appearing in court again and urged that he be allowed to present transcripts of their earlier testimony instead. The accused rapist, Morris Warren, was found guilty in 1973 of raping at least 14 women in a series of assaults. The conviction was overturned in 1976. However, when an appeals court ruled that Warren – a white man from a middle class family – was improperly tried with a codefendant rather than separately, his conviction was overturned. Warren’s lawyers argued that their client has the right to confront his accusers at his trial. One of the four women has since died of a drug overdose. Another cannot be located. And to force the remaining victims to testify again would cause extreme and serious damage to their health, Manune said. Judge Greene must now decide whether the two women can be considered medically unavailable to testify because of their emotional injuries, or whether the damage to their mental health is no greater than for any other rape victim, as defense attorneys contend. It is the consensus of the news report that the judge will allow the defendant his right to have the accusers, the women that were raped, come back to court again. Now if he were black, not a middle-class white man, there wouldn’t be this problem. They’re always convicted one time round.
Discrimination suits. A Delta stewardess lose– stewardesses lose. A federal appeals court in Louisiana last month set a potentially damaging precedent for women charging employers with discrimination. The court refused to consider a maternity leave policy contested by flight attendants at Delta Airlines, because Delta employed no male flight attendants when the maternity leave at issue was taken. Thirteen Delta stewardesses had brought the discrimination suit after they found the airlines would only grant seniority first three months of a pregnancy leave. Federal District Judge Charles Moyer [phonetic] had ruled in favor of the flight attendants, but was reversed in– on the appeal. Plaintiffs suffered a discrimination that was based on pregnancy and not sex, the federal appeals court ruled. What kind of injustice. The (sigh) May 29 decision may hamper similar suits brought by women in sexually-segregated jobs, such as secretaries and nurses, if other courts choose to dodge the discrimination question by pointing to the absence of a comparable class of men at the same job.
The USA is pushing strongly banning of all handguns, by saying that poll after poll, which are controlled and manipulated by the establishment, the ruling class, the elitists of monopoly capitalism, but they say their polls reveal that 78% of the American public want all guns in the homes to be banned, and some 93% want the handgun to be banned immediately. The whipping up of frenzy by US capitalism and its obedient servant, the US press, is constantly seen. Constantly seen. When will the people ever learn? It seems a bit late, particularly now that another police state measure has passed the Supreme Court, allowing all the files of news media to be seized by any law enforcement or governmental agency.
Rapist convicted. Three men were convicted of rape in France last week in the important victory for the women’s movement there. It was the first time in French legal history that the rape victims appeared in a criminal court. The case involved the beating and rape of two Belgian women on a camping trip near Marseille in 1974. The trial was a national focus of attention with large women’s demonstrations publicizing the case and forcing the courts to act. Local male supremacists vehemently oppose the case in France, threatening and attacking women journalists, lawyers and spectators at the trial. The rapist defense typified the anti-woman bias of Frence– French justice that has become increasingly imperialist.
As you know, the French forces are now fighting their– for their good master, US imperialism, as embodied in the Trilateral Commission, they’re fighting, sending their legionnaires to stop the liberation of Chad, to stop the liberation in Zaire, everywhere we see this. Several black nations have spoken out against the injustice of US imperialism in backing the French in the Sahara, in West Sahara, and also the Spanish oppression there. The office– an Organization for African Unity, made up of better than 60% of all African nations, have forthrightly condemned US intervention in Zaire to support a bloody dictatorship. The Office of African Unity calls the intervention of US soldiers, 1500, and her imperialist allies or Axis, to be called because there’re such mineral riches that USA wants to keep under its capitalist monopoly control in what used to be called Belgian Congo and is now called the puppet regime of Zaire, under the dictator Mobutu.
Anyway, the rapist defense typified the anti-woman bias in French imperialism and the general right-wing trends in France today. The defendants admitted committing the attack but maintained that since the victims had finally yielded, the men were innocent of rape. Defense lawyers also inferred that the women (tape edit) were to blame because they are lesbians and frequently complained that the women’s movement was interfering with justice by making a major issue out of the case. (tape edit) Prior to this case, charges against rapists have generally been reduced to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery, with hearings held behind closed doors.
Japan and USA. Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda – F-u-k-u-d-a – is in Washington. Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, was in Washington for talks with President Jimmy Carter, attempting to smooth over some of the economic tensions between the two capitalist powers, as there are major tensions between the Euro communist – Euro-capitalist, rather – the common market, EEC, and the Japanese capitalist and USA capitalist over a trade war. None of them want to lower their tariff sufficiently to really maintain capitalist economic balance. All want an undue advantage, to be able to export more things than they have to buy or import. The biggest problem has been Japan’s enormous trade surplus with United States. Fukuda, the Prime Minister of Japan, once again promised that the surplus would be reduced by increasing Japan’s growth rate and increasing imports and by restraining exports of such items as ships, automobiles, steel and television sets. No specific figure was set for the surplus reduction. However – and Prime Minister of Japan stressed – that his promises were dependent on USA monopoly capitalist measures to counter inflation and the decline of the dollar. And the dollar’s in disrepute all over the world.
In other international talks, meanwhile, Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev, met with West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in Bonn to discuss arms reduction in Europe, reportedly making no progress in economic cooperation between the Soviet Union and West Germany, which was relatively small breakthrough in that area, as war tensions hang over Europe again too, like the sword of Damocles.
Europe conservative union formed. Europe’s most powerful right-wing fascist parties last month formed the European Democratic Union, EDU, a bloc intended to promote greater strategic unity in such areas as planning for the 1979 parliamentary elections of the European Economic Community, the EEC. The EDU was started at the initiative of the British Conservative Party. Other members include the French Neo-Gaullist party, and the Allied Christian Democratic Union, a fascist party, and the Christian Social Union of West Germany, a fascist party, and parties from smaller EEC and non-EEC European countries. The rightist policies of the new group are evidenced by its failure to include the Christian Democratic parties of Italy. Contrary to all the revisionist and communist apologist, the Red Brigade has not caused a rightward swing, but in fact a moderate swing. The Christian Democratic Party, corrupt fascist monopoly capitalist party of Italy, will not participate in this international effort to bring fascism back to Europe. Holland– or Belgium, three conservative parties whose domestic credibility would be damaged if they associated with the once-more blatantly reactionary parties since Adolf Hitler of the EDU. In particular, the anti-union positions taken by the British conservatives are an embarrassment to conservative parties that govern with the support of or in coalition with social democratic sellout reformist communists such as in Belgium, or revisionist parties such as the so-called Communist Party of Italy that’s a totally revisionist party. Nonetheless, the EDU’s founders hope to eventually win these parties to what they hope will strengthen fascist reaction throughout Europe. Among the new union’s first aims is the development of a common attitude towards Eurocommunism, one of resistance and defiance, in spite of Eurocommunism’s revisionism and an attempt to please.
The mood in USA is shifting from total disinterest in Africa to willingness – 57% of the poll shows – to send troops into Africa to protect USA’s citizens. The big lie is that there are lots of US citizens there that’re doing business, little modest businesses, and so that’s going to be the appeal. You can hardly say that you’re going to guy– to clear over to Zaire in the center, the heart of Africa, to protect the frontiers of USA, which has become openly imperialist.
Micronesia strike slaps at colo– co– colonialism. A strike at the Consti– Continental Hotel in Palua, Micronesia, has developed into a key battle in South Pacific struggle against US colonialism. The struck hotel is owned by Continental Airlines, the US-based multi-national fascist corporation that also operates Air Micronesia, the inter-island airline. Continental reportedly has strong ties with the CIA. That’s been known for years. Begun December 10, the walkout by 37 women and seven men has attracted growing support, for they’re still out today, in this June of 1978. It’s drawn uh, growing support from the emerging workers’ movement and from the pro-independence forces throughout the islands scattered across the South Pacific. The islands lie in the West– vast US-controlled trust territory, where people live in virtual serfdom of Micronesia – M-i-c-r-o-n-e-s-i-a. Look it up. A plebiscite on independence is scheduled for next month. “We’ve been here for centuries,” (unintelligible name), the union vice-chairman told a Continental vice president shortly after the strike began. “We have our land, we can fish and grow our own crops and keep on picketing this damn hotel forever. We can wait you out because you need us more than we need you.” (Pause) (unintelligible name) continued, “We want to control our own free society, not have you US foreign capitals, do– dominate and control us.” Organized into the Paulu Continental Employees Association, the workers are resisting the extreme exploitation of Micronesians and all trust areas held by USA suffer under US trusteeship.
This gives you some insight of the news both good and bad. The biggest concern, the gravest concern is China and USA invasion of Zaire, along with their puppets of Belgium, France, Senegal and Morocco.
Keep the production up. Much love. (tape edit) People’s Rally tonight. People’s Rally at 7:30. People’s Rally at 7:30. Let’s all have good production reports to show our concern to liberate our people, which we now need to liberate more than ever.
(tape edit)
Woman’s voice: Okay.
Jones: Attention. Be sure that you are prepared for testing tonight in People’s Rally at 7:30. This Sunday night at 7:30, all must be prepared for testing. Bring papers and pencil. All day you should study Marxist concepts, socialist concepts on library tapes, and review the news for testing. This is important. We will be postponing in the future, our people’s rallies for the time being will be coming on Monday and on Fridays, to try to alter any time schedule that we might have where we would be located in the pavilion, according to the last defector [Debbie Blakey] who could predict our comings and goings. We had an excellent class under Stephan [Jones], people who’d been in the military said, like Tim Carter, that he’d never had such training, even though he was in the Marines and boot camp. We learned self-defensive measures. We learned how to kill racist or aggressive fascist enemy. We had great discussions on how to protect ourselves from what we have ascertained will be a conspiratorial move in the field of mercenaries by Stoen’s own statements, by the fact of who we know through our intelligence that he’s meeting with, a person that’s in air reconnaissance, an Uncle Tom sellout, Colonel Coleman. Anyone knowing anything about the Robert Coleman may, as I said, report it to the radio room. It’ll probably be a small force, ‘cause USA’s spread too thin in trying to carry out her expansionist aggression against Central Africa and in the Horn of Africa. It’s unlikely that it will have any mortar or bazooka fire, because they would not want the reputation for killing innocent women and children. So the main thrust will be in the area wherever the office was, wherever your leader was located, for kidnapping or for attempted assassination. So there’ll be increased surveillance. All should keep a wary eye, ‘cause Tim Stoen in his narcissism, now that he’s full circle turned back to a capitalist pig, an open racist fascist pig in his associations, he happened to talk to someone he thought was interested in his so-called relatives committee, and he revealed that that is one of his designs. He is impassioned with hate, he is fully a class enemy and must be considered so, and all must keep your eyes moving.
We’d rather that you reported something that didn’t exist than not to report. It’s important that you look all around all the time, and take note of anything coming. And if there is ever an attack, you should run towards the tower which can keep all this community and its open spaces under its watchful eye, that you come running and say you are part of the family, you are part of the family. You’re members of Peoples Temple, or your name. Shout your name, loud and clear, with your hands uplifted and running forward. Because we will provide protection. We will defend our community from all outside aggression. That is our duty. That is our stance, and we give no apology whatsoever for that stance. I’m sure that all of you, all of you would concur, that it’s the only proper position to take. We will not allow ourself to be invaded, we will not allow ourselves to be overro– run by mercenaries. And this is important that each of you – that each of you – follow that kind of commitment, that you look constantly as a watchful sentinent– sentinel sitting on a hill, that you be like a (unintelligible word) on the wall, observer, all of you, every citizen, every child, every senior, looking. Don’t be anyplace you’re not supposed to be after night hours. Last evening, as the offinous– office is always ready to defend itself, two people were out in an area where they did not belong, and it could’ve been fatal for them. So be sure that you do not wander about after night, and stay in the walkways, in your own homes of this community. We will not be overridden by a small element of murderous, racist, fascist mercenaries, that even the US press admitted it plans to come, quoting Donna Ponts’ dad [Don Ponts], had plans to come and take their loved ones back, dead or alive by force. Well, I still say the major thrust would be at your leader, thus they hope that would starve you out and cause you to be in disarray and confusion. And so we will all be prepared at any place, because we do not want anything– not one of our people must be attacked, because you know how the leader feels about that. His loyalty to all is the same. There’s no difference in his loyalty and commitment to anyone. You’re all members of his personal family. So we will keep the struggle, the struggle’s going on throughout the world.
Throughout Africa, people are resisting oppression, in Central America and Guatemala. In Colombia, the president [Alfonso López Michelsen] had to step down, such fierce fighting and struggle amongst the students against oppression in Colombia, just below us, the president has stepped down for new elections, even though the university’s been under a state of siege by the national police, they have not bowed going on 15 days.
There’s a struggle amongst the trade unions that are communist oriented in Peru, and uh, we are seeing (short laugh) the fires of revolution everywhere. This is remarkably good news, remarkably good news. So we want to all stay inspired and ready, capable, vigilant guards. Peru, by the way, is also fighting valiantly. The people are fighting for their independence, and we’re seeing great strides. There’s been revolution, you know, trade unions paralyzing general strikes have affected the entire nation, and it looks like the Peru military will have to allow civilian rule. The military just does not be– doesn’t seem to have the power to return Peru to civilian rule by uh, you know, natural social democratic means, particularly just when the working class and peasant militancy is on the upsurge. It’s going to come, though, out of necessity, because the people are taking a hand. According to Carter administration advisors, the Latin America is entering a new period of civilian democratic government, ending the present stage of repressive military dictatorship. Peru is cited as a regime, a prime example, where the military regime has scheduled elections, and it looks like those elections are going to be in this month of June, perhaps the end of military rule, and bring about a constitutional assembly. In theory this body would draw up the legal framework for Peru’s new post-agrarian reform area [era]. President General Francisco Morales Bermúdez has promised to turn over the government anyway by the pressure of the peasantry that’s existing in the working-class industrial sector. He’s been forced to promise a return to civilian government in 1980, twelve years after the military helped the industrial sector of the Peruvian bourgeoisie wrest power from the traditional oligarchy, composed largely of agro-mineral exporters. That’s one of the contradictions of capitalism, and fortunately does lead to some reform that finally leads to communism. Those who foresee an end to military dictatorship in Latin America can point to special events in Peru in recent weeks to support their thesis. Deported leftists, such as mine worker leaders, Richarded– Ricardo Diaz Chaves and Victor Quadros [phonetic], have returned to help lead the popular struggles. The government has ordered factory worker– factory owners to rehire 98 hunger strikers who are among 6000 workers sacked in the wake of the nationwide general strike. The representatives uh, of the repressive in– uh, government, the interior minister, Gen. Luis Cisneros, is under popular pressure to resign, and leftist communist socialist periodicals are circulating once again freely in Peru.
Carter can claim no credit however. These limited popular victories have been won in the streets by the growing militancy and unity of the Peruvian working-class that’ve been holding general strikes for the past two weeks, and US mercenaries and US intervention has not been able to stop it. The US government, quite to the contrary of its human rights rhetoric, has joined with the international banks to impose economic austerity on the masses in Peru, regardless of the social cost.
Following two successful general strikes, the disintegration of the façade of the anti-imperialist military regime, and the resulting split in the Peruvian Communist Party, PCP, into the revisionist PCPU and the militant reformist, PCP, Communist Party Marxism, the Peruvian left now stands at a crossroad fraught with great dangers. As always, the capitalists seek to divide, as the capitalists have won the renegade Chinese mainland, who sold out Communist. But the Soviet Union has a great advance in defensive warfare laser-beams, killer satellites, they’re highly equipped and quite able to win the war, as horrible as it is to consider a nuclear war.
As in most Latin American countries, the left in Peru is splintered and plagued by re– a recent history of ultra-leftism and dogmatism. Nevertheless, the left has taken intelligent advantage of the contradictions of ten years of false reformism, pseudo-reformism, under the progressive military to organize vast sectors of the working class and peasantry. It’s important that we get a knowledge of our own beautiful revolutions of color, because all people are brown or black in South America, the majority are. (Pause)
As the economic crisis has deepened, and the brave working class and peasantries have united, the masses themselves have demanded that the divided left organizations centralize the popular struggles in Peru. Vanguardia Revolucionario, VR, and the Partito Communisto Revolucionario, PCR, the latter formed out of a split with VR, took the lead last year to build the Commando Unitario de Luche, a commando united to fight, CLU, CUL. This grouping centralized the independent miners and teachers labor federations, the Peruvian peasants confederations, CCP. Various Marxist-Leninists and Trotskyite even, led unions. Together with three of the four national labor confederations, VR has developed a mass line which enabled the CUL to unite these heretofore hostile forces and fragmented forces, and bring about the first nationwide general strike since 1919, and they’ve had three this year.
Most left organizations in Peru trace their roots to one of four sources: the pro-Moscow PCP has been the most prolific in spawning small leftist parties and creating the best general revolutionary backbone. Many of them, such as the Bandera Rosa and Estera Rosa, becoming dogmatism– dogmatic and ultra-left, overreactions, unfortunately, in some instances, to revisionism. The movement– uh, the Momento de Iquisel Revolucionario, MIR, which traced its political roots to the Cuban revolution, lost much of its leadership and cadre in the 1965 guerilla campaigns led by Che Guevara, who was killed because of his indulgence in romance. He got diverted and was set up by the lady to be murdered by the CIA. And most of the real strong movement, Momento de Iquisel Revolucionario, MIR, which traced its political roots to the Cuban revolution, lost it– most of its lea– leadership and f– fighting force in the– that 1965 fatal guerrilla campaign which were quickly liquidated by USA fascist train Peruvian army units.
Trotskyism is also splintered and has been of little significance in Peru, since the repression of the Quoso peasant insurrection in the early 1960s, led by the charismatic Hugo Blanco. Blanco, who returned to Peru with the other deported leaders in mid-May, this– this May, commands considerable respect even among non-Trotskyites, but his party has virtually no mass base. The key Trotskyite-led unions in Lima, the capital of Peru, are not affiliated with Blanco’s party and have worked instead with VR to build the CUL. They have also worked to develop a single united front for these June elections and to combat the revisionism of the PCP on the shop floor. The most important of the splits from the PCP is the Partito Communisto de Peru, PCDP, better known in Peru as Patria Rosa, red father land. It has made [had] wide influence among university students and controls the teachers union at the national level. It’s much like the Red Brigade in Italy.
There has been, according to revisionists, a lot of ultra-left chaos, academic econ– econo– economism and political terrorism which are rampant on the main university campuses. And this though provides a fertile setting for left uh, advancement in the eyes of what we’re seeing in Peru, even though the communist apologist and revisionist would call it left opportunism, but uh, the– the chaos and the political radical activity in the academic sector has actually uh, not called– caused ultra-left chaos, as the Eurocommunists would say, but ultra left unity.
It is within this highly poli– politicized but divisive context that VR has played the decisive anti-revisionist role in helping centralize the mass struggles through the CUL. And in building a united left front in the electoral arena through the Unidad Democratic Popular, UDP. The UDP joins 18 political organizations, including VR, PCR, PCPM, the majority faction of the Peruvian Communist Party, and a group of independent Marxists associated with the newsweekly Marca, which has a circulation of about 130,000. The UDP strategy is to participate in the elections in order to expose and exploit the contradictions of bourgeoisie rule. This is more unity than has ever been seen between 18 major splinter groups of Marxist Leninist.
“We have no illusions,” a representative of Vangardadia Revolunaria told the Guardian. “The bourgeoisie hopes to slow down the mass movements with its electoral charade. Our aim is not to be elected to seats in its constitutional assembly, but we will use the electoral forum to agitate, to expand the class struggle.” Indeed for the first time in Peru’s history – look it up on your map, know your own neighbors here in beautiful South America – indeed the first time in Peru’s history, revolutionary leaders have been granted free television time to debate the bourgeoisie capitalist political parties, a decision which the military now clearly regrets. Both the UDP leaders and the Trotskyite representatives of a second electoral front have been devastatingly articulate and eloquent in their use of 20-minute TV spots.
Whether the military returns Peru to civilian rule is not really the central issue in the country. The left is mobilizing the masses both within and outside of the electoral arena, and working to destroy any illusions about the future form of the bourgeoisie dictatorship, whether it’s civilian or military. The specific focus of this struggle has shifted in recent weeks from a concentration on many, many hunger strikes throughout the nation of Peru, on the plight of the 6000 sacked workers, to a more general attack on the military’s policies. There has especially strong protest against decree law 22126, that was shaped and formed by [then-Secretary of State Henry] Kissinger and the USA imperialist CIA, which liquidates in one stroke most of the progressive labor legislation won during the past three decades, the 30– the govern– that’s 30 years. The government calls this the law of labor stability while workers have dubbed it the law of labor instability. The government likewise proclaimed 1978 as the year of austerity, while workers call it the year of misery.
The combatative mood of the mi– the masses and their demand for unified left leadership in Peru were most dramatically dem– demonstrated in a confrontation with police forces in the capital of Peru in Lima last month. On May 13, all left organizations from the UDP electoral front to the pro-Moscow PCPU joined in what heartens all leftists in total unity in calling for the Marcha Unitaria, to begin in the front of the GC– CGDP labor confederation headquarters on the Plaza Dos de Mayo. The central slogan of the march was repudiation of the fascist decree law 22126 and all other repressish– repressive fascism against the working class and peasantry.
As the continuance of the different organizations, all of the 18 major leftist organizations united, some over 10,000 strong, converged on the plaza at 6 PM, police with tanks and riot gear sealed off the five avenues leading to the square. For the next three hours, workers from all organizations, Marxist unity, fought shoulder to shoulder with rocks and sticks against hundreds of riot police in battles, which ran– ranged all over the downs– town district of the beautiful capital of Peru, Lima. By 9 PM, central Lima reeked of tear gas. Despite numerous bloodied heads and arrests, the workers withdrew in a spirit of victory and with a sense of their growing strength, as the military was afraid to kill anyone because of the peasant and working-class mood of leftist unity in Peru.
Meanwhile the general strike which paralyzed the southern provincial capital of Arequipa for nine days was lifted, but without any basic resolution of worker demands. Lesha Gloria, the subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Carnation cor– company– Carnation Milk is one of the worst fascist multi-nationalist corporations in the world, and it dominates the economy of the region. And I just mentioned, the southern provincial of Arequipa in Peru, and it dominates the economy in the region, together with several national companies offered to buy off the local hunger strikers with a nine million dollar (unintelligible word), $69,000 in compensation for having been fired, but the workers rejected the rule. Likewise, Asacro and Sero Corporation announced in New York that the miners’ strike at their Peruvian subsidiary has temporarily ended without any real resolution of the workers’ demands, but Asacro implied that copper shipments from the port of Ilo might be halted again soon, because of the combatative mood of Peruvian workers in the present general strike. As one foreign observer commented– uh, commented while watching the approach of the June elections, the constitutional assembly elections, it looks like maybe the year of austerity is turning into the year of insurrection and revolution.
Thus is a documentary and news coverage of “will Peru military junta allow civilian rule?” We are hopeful that revolution– even Carter admits on Voice of America that there is revolutionary ferment that’s going to require civilian democratic governments throughout South America, and in that democratic period, if the forces of Marxist-Leninism coalesce and do their job, they can then take insurrection and revolutionary power through armed struggle and liberate this continent from the bondages of US oppression.
Thank you. Remember, testing on all matters, on all concepts of Marxist-Leninism, imperialism as opposed to colonialism, armed struggle and the argument of terrorism. What is revisionist? What are the four basic enemies of the international s– uh, Marxist-Leninist struggle? What are they? You know them. Anarchy, Trotskyism, social democracy (pause) and uh, revisionism. You know the basic elements of revision, you know what it is. Those that believe that gradualism can bring change through the social democracy, through parliamentary or legal means, through peaceful means. You need to know all the concepts, the basic concepts that I’ve given, the basic documentaries and commentaries. Remember the test on Friday night, if you have that reviewed, you’ll be in good shape too.
Be sure – be sure – that we have time to see Z. We want to be sure to see it. I want to go over it point by point. It’d be nice to do it in the People’s Rally, to see that eloquent movie articulating exactly what’s happening in USA and what happens in every capitalist state as fascism takes over. It’s powerful as television and uh, movie world fame. It has that impact. It’s went all around the world. Many nations ban it, because it’s so frighteningly accurate. Everyone will be required to see it, and you should study it again and again, for the meanings in every sentence, in every line and all occurrence. Indeed it tries to look (sigh) like that the champions of justice in Greece before the fall of democracy were the pacifists and the Social Democrats, but still it has a great impact and shows you the insidious workings of the fascist clique, even though it puts some lines in there that– that they’re not really capitalists and so forth and so on, but it does show indeed the workings of a fascist state and exactly how Greece fell, the apathy, and then when people did become concerned, how fascism will show its true colors and come out in the open.
Thank you. Produce well. Let us step up our production to make up for the rain, we need it desperately to free our people. Our people are under the most hostile forces now. Racism is open and rampant. Violence– racist violence has broken out in every major city in USA. I told you yesterday of the horrible police brutality, a hundred and fifty-some murdered innocent blacks in Chicago alone last month, and this is only one of several major cities where this police brutality has reached such a horrifying level of torture and brutality, that even the US Civil Rights Commission has had to denounce the police of the US cities as being guilty of more brutality, repression and torture than ever in their history, even through the dark era– or the light era of the Ku Klux Klan. The white era, I should say, of the Ku Klux Klan.
Thank you. Be considerate, be grateful, give your gratitudes, think about what it means to have your children protected, your loved ones, where one stands and says, every time anyone’s arrested or molested, you can’t take them, and every time he’s freed them, you take one, you have to take all. Think of the medical care. Thousands and thousands, a $56,000 medical order in one day for your protection. The food, the fried chicken today that we can’t afford, we really can’t afford it but your– your liberator, your loving father liberator always cares, always cares, always cares, and so often, so often, it’s not known, maybe never will be enough or appreciated, but he cares because it’s right to care. And think about those protections, think about the miracles, think gratefully all we have, and think with guilt and responsibility to our people back there that need to be freed and gotten out before they’re brought down under any kind of oppressive circumstances, and since it’s obvious to all world commentaries that USA is going fascist. That means concentration camps, genocide like the Turks did to the Armenians, and Hitler did to the Jews and people of color, all those things you know, and nuclear war now is so pending, it’s so close, it’s almost as close as the breath you breathe. So let us please work. If we have any sense of dignity, every time we waste, every time we break something, every time we waste time on our job, we’re killing some person that could find– actually murdering someone that could find liberty here. And remember the Rodriguez boy who was once in our church, who once had the opportunity, who walked out hostile. He’s now been charged with first-degree murder. His mother and her grandchildren’s in the city of Georgetown now, there’s nothing she can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. He had the light of truth, we’ll offer legal facilities and so forth, but there’s nothing you can do, ‘cause he had the opportunity and with disdain turned against it. And there’ve been so many cases like that, let’s be grateful and let’s be sure that we don’t have the blood of any innocent on our hand that could find freedom. Much love.
(Balance of tape is music, taped backwards, of a classical music station)
Tape originally posted May 2012