[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 166 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11190-H11191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF JONESTOWN AND THE DEATH OF CONGRESSMAN LEO 
                                  RYAN

  (Mr. LANTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the 
massacre at Jonestown where more than 900 people lost their lives to 
the sick cause of a sociopath masquerading as a visionary.
  Among the victims was my distinguished predecessor and good friend, 
Congressman Leo Ryan, the first Member of Congress ever killed in the 
line of duty. He was gunned down along with four others of his 
delegation whom he led to investigate reports of human rights abuses in 
the jungles of Guyana.
  Mr. Speaker, while we continue to struggle to understand such events, 
let us also continue to commemorate the people they affect.
  I would like to ask all of my colleagues for a moment of silence to 
remember our fallen colleague, my predecessor representing the San 
Francisco peninsula in Congress, Congressman Leo Ryan, and to honor his 
work for justice and human rights.
  Mr. Speaker, November 18, is the 25th anniversary of the massacre at 
Jonestown. A quarter century ago, more than 900 people lost their lives 
to the sick cause of a sociopath masquerading as a visionary.
  Among the victims was Congressman Leo Ryan, the first Member of 
Congress ever killed in the line of duty. He was gunned down, along 
with four others of the delegation that he led to investigate reports 
of human rights abuses at a compound in the jungles of Guyana. Ten 
members of his group were wounded, some of them seriously, including 
California State Senator Jackie Speier, who was then a member of 
Congressman Ryan's staff.
  In addition to those who died, thousands more were directly affected 
by the Jonestown tragedy: the grieving family members and friends of 
those who had misplaced their faith in the so-called Peoples Temple led 
by Jim Jones.
  Mr. Speaker, survivors of that misguided movement, as well as 
relatives of Leo Ryan and of others who died, are gathering in Foster 
City, California, in a park that bears Congressman Ryan's name. They 
will consider his gifts and accomplishments as a public servant, and 
they will carry on with the struggle to make sense of the events that 
cut short his life and those of so many others.
  Leo Ryan dedicated his life to protecting the oppressed. Elected to 
the California State Assembly in 1962, he was so moved by the 
conditions that led to the Watts Riots two years later that he 
volunteered as a substitute schoolteacher in Watts while the community 
rebuilt itself. This was typical of Leo Ryan: Confronted with a complex 
situation of social injustice, he insisted on getting his facts first-
hand. In 1970, after hearing about abuses against convicts in 
California's top-security institutions, he spent a week undercover 
behind bars in Folsom Prison to see for himself how they were treated.
  Mr. Speaker, this hands-on approach characterized Leo Ryan's work 
here in Congress, where he served on the Foreign Affairs Committee. In 
early 1978, concerns had been raised about U.S. citizens being held 
against their will in Guyana; stories were filtering out about beatings 
and forced rehearsals for mass suicides. When constituents brought the 
issue to Leo Ryan's attention, he took action.
  There were warnings, but characteristically, Congressman Ryan was 
undeterred. He moved with caution, yet without trepidation, to organize 
a trip to Guyana. And to alert the world to what he expected to find, 
he brought along with him a handful of journalists, as well as members 
of the Concerned Relatives group whose loved ones were in the thrall of 
Jim Jones. But after challenging Jones and confirming some of his 
concerns, Leo Ryan, three of the journalists and a defector from the 
Peoples Temple were to lose their lives on a jungle airstrip as the 
cataclysm at Jonestown began.
  What lessons can be drawn from these experiences, Mr. Speaker? What 
can we conclude when we continue to see the rise of aberrant social 
groups that use violence to control their members, and are capable of 
unleashing brutality upon the world?
  Jim Jones' methods of control mirror those of totalitarian leaders 
throughout history. He created a cult of personality centered on 
himself, demanded absolute obedience, isolated those who surrounded him 
from their former lives, and instilled in them a profound sense of 
paranoia about the outside world.
  The Peoples Temple's members were manipulated to see in it whatever 
they wanted it to be. It was a self-help group for some, for others a 
religious movement, and for many it represented a new means to address 
society's

[[Page H11191]]

shortcomings. Jim Jones also managed to legitimize the group among some 
conventional religious and political leaders by supporting their public 
events and contributing money to their causes during the years when the 
Peoples Temple was based in San Francisco.
  How could so many people find themselves hoodwinked to varying 
degrees, letting themselves even be linked with this deviant community, 
much less joining its ranks and sacrificing their lives?
  Mr. Speaker, it is a hard question to confront. And the Peoples 
Temple example teaches us most dramatically not to be seduced by easy 
answers. It is left to historians and specialists in mass psychology to 
piece together and place in context the puzzle of Jonestown, the rise 
of Fascism in Europe, and any number of other instances in which a 
twisted and charismatic individual has found ways to exploit the 
weaknesses of large groups and to destroy their will.
  As John Ross Hall wrote in one of the definitive studies of 
Jonestown, Gone From the Promised Land, ``We hear the screams, but we 
do not entirely understand them, and we will continue to wrestle with 
the apocalypse they unveiled.''
  And I would add, we will continue to commemorate the victims, and to 
pay tribute to their lives. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for a 
moment of silence here in this chamber to remember our fallen 
colleague, my predecessor representing the San Francisco Peninsula in 
Congress, Leo Ryan, and to honor his work for justice and human rights.

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