Serial 396

[Editor’s note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 396 of the FBI’s RYMUR release.

[The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1978STATE299116_d.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]

CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 01
STATE 299116
ORIGIN ARA-15
INFO OCT-01 ISO-00 SCS-06 CA-01 SSO-00 PA-01 ICAE-00 L-03 JUSE-00 /027 R
DRAFTED BY ARA:RBRUCE:MJB
APPROVED BY ARA:JBUSHNELL
DOD:COL.BRAMSEY
SCS:RDAVIS
ARA/P:JDIETERICH
S/S-O:RCASTRODALE
——————084538 260150Z /12

O R 260118Z NOV 78
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN IMMEDIATE
INFO CINCMAC SCOTT AFB ILL
USREDCOM/RCJ2 MACDILL AFB FLA
USCINCARRED FT MCPHERSON GA
CD 18TH AIRBORNE CORPS FTBRAGG NC
FBI
HEW
SECDEF WASHDC 2124
JCS WASHDC 1722
CINCSOUTHCOM QUARRY HTS CANAL ZONE
C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 299116

E.O. 11652: GDS
TAGS: CASC, OREP (RYAN, LEO), GY
SUBJECT: ARRANGEMENTS FOR RETURN OF SURVIVORS
REF: BUSHNELL/DIKEOS TELECON

1. Press already beginning to converge on Charleston, South Carolina, as interest in potential arrival of survivors at Charleston Air Force Base (AFB) mounts. We expect great pressure from large numbers of print, radio, and TV journalists for access to survivors for interviews and filming.

2. We are now in process of developing arrangements to receive and process survivors. While we see no problem in providing press opportunity to photograph arrival of plane from a distance, we are looking at question of media access during processing and departure from base in view of the reported concern of some survivors for their personal safety.

3. In developing our plans it would be helpful to have embassy’s recommendations and advice. It would be of great assistance if we knew attitude of survivors (or a sampling of opinion) on this issue. It may be that some survivors would welcome an opportunity to tell their stories to the media while others would prefer anonymity insofar as possible.

Christopher [Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher]

CONFIDENTIAL