The Jonestown Massacre

NOVEMBER 18, 2021, marked 43 years since the Jonestown massacre in which 918 died, including a United States Congressman Leo Ryan. Few people at the time knew of a settlement established by the notorious Jim Jones at Port Kaituma, Region One. Permission to establish the settlement was granted by the then PNC regime; the settlement was administered by the People’s Temple, a San Francisco-based religious cult under the leadership of Jim Jones.

Dubbed the ‘People’s Temple Agricultural Project’, the settlement grabbed the international spotlight when in November 1978 a total of 918 persons perished from cyanide poisoning, which has gone down in history as one of the largest mass murders/suicides to have taken place in the world. Guyana was catapulted in the international limelight for reasons that were at best, bizarre. It became a story of lies, deception and human degradation that had become the plot of movies and bestseller thriller novels.

The question that still remains unanswered was why a decision to open a scheme by an overseas cultist group was concealed from the public by the then PNC regime, despite several attempts by the then opposition to have answers provided. Questions posed by the PPP in Parliament were blatantly ignored by the PNC regime until the issue of Jonestown hit the international community.

The regime tried its best to hide the matter from the Guyanese public and international community.  However, given the high-profile murder of a United States Congressman and the sheer numbers of those killed, it was not possible to do so. Instead, it attempted to project a narrative of ‘mass suicide’ on the part of those who perished. It was not until the true situation unfolded that it became known that an overwhelming majority of those killed were either forced to consume that deadly cyanide-laced drink or were duped into so doing. It was not something that was done voluntarily as the public was led to believe. Indeed, it was pathetic to watch images of the hundreds of men, women and children, many still clinging to each other even in death.

The Jonestown massacre remains until this day a reminder of a dark past when the constitutional rights of the Guyanese people were trampled upon with immunity and in the most flagrant manner. Among those were the right to elect a government of one’s choice, the right to free speech and the right to know, as happened in the case of the Jonestown tragedy. It was only after that massacre that Guyanese became aware that a community in the deep jungle of Guyana existed and that it was home to one of the most notorious cults under the leadership of Jim Jones.

In some respects, Jonestown was a microcosm of what was taking place at the national level which was characterised by dictatorial rule, violations of fundamental human rights, a culture of fear and a climate of repression which permeated the wider society. The latter part of the 1970s was particularly known for its political turbulence which saw in its wake the brutal murder of Jesuit priest Father Darke at the hands of the dreaded House of Israel cult which, like the Jonestown cult, was closely affiliated with the leadership of the then PNC regime. It was during that period also that world-renowned historian and revolutionary Dr. Water Rodney was assassinated, along with several other opposition figures. Not to be forgotten too was the shooting to death of two young men in 1973 whose only crime was to protect ballot boxes from being carted off by the military to some unknown destination.

The PNC, as a party in government at the time of the Jonestown massacre, cannot escape responsibility for what transpired. There is evidence that the leadership of the PNC were not only instrumental in the establishment of Jonestown, but also played a facilitating role in a commune led by someone now regarded as one of the most fanatical and cruel in modern history.

Fittingly, and no doubt as a reminder to the Guyanese people, was the slogan at the entrance of that disgraced community: ‘Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.’

The best thing that we can do as a society as we reflect on the Jonestown massacre is to ensure that there is no return to such a sordid past.

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