[Editor’s note: This document was released both as a State Department cable as part of its 1981 FOIA release, and as Serial 391 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/1978STATE299151_d.html.]
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ORIGIN ARA-15
INFO OCT-01 SS-15 PA-01 ISO-00 SCS-06 CA-01 SY-05 SYE-00 ICAE-00 H-01 NSCE-00 SSO-00 CIAE-00 INR-10 NSAE-00 INRE-00 /055 R
DRAFTED BY ARA:EO’DONNELL:SJP
APPROVED BY ARA:JABUSHNELL
S/S-O:TREYNDERS
PA/PRESS:MBADER
——————090271 261916Z /42
O 261858Z NOV 78
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN IMMEDIATE
SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2128
JCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1727
FBI WASHDC IMMEDIATE
HEW WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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E.O. 11652: N/A
TAGS: CASC, OREP (RYAN, LEO) GY
SUBJECT: RELEASE OF JONESTOWN SURVIVORS AND RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES
1. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES ARE BEGINNING TO CONVERGE ON CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA AS INTEREST IN ARRIVAL OF JONESTOWN SURVIVORS MOUNTS, DESPITE STATE PRESS SPOKESPERSON INDICATING NO SURVIVOR FLIGHT WILL ARRIVE PRIOR TUESDAY AT EARLIEST.
2. BASED ON BEST INFORMATION FROM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN, JONESTOWN SURVIVORS WILL NOT RPT NOT ARRIVE CHARLESTON
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PRIOR RPT PRIOR TO TUESDAY, NOV. 28. EVEN TUESDAY ARRIVAL IS INDETERMINABLE SINCE GOVERNMENT OF GUYANA (GOG) AUTHORITIES HAVE NOT YET INFORMED USG WHEN SURVIVORS WILL BE RELEASED, AND ARRIVAL MIGHT SLIP SEVERAL DAYS. MOREOVER IT MAY BE THE SIZE OF GROUP WILL BE MUCH REDUCED AND MAY NOT EVEN JUSTIFY SPECIAL MILITARY FLIGHTS.
3. EMBASSY HAS BEEN INSTRUCTED TO NOTIFY DEPARTMENT AS SOON AS THEY RECEIVE RELEASE INFORMATION WHICH WE WILL FORWARD TO ALL ADDRESSEES ASAP. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE WOULD SURVIVORS ARRIVE IN CHARLESTON LESS THAN 24 HOURS FROM THIS NOTIFICATION.
3. REQUEST JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] ADVISE APPROPRIATE COMMANDS OF ABOVE INFORMATION.
CHRISTOPHER [Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher]
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