Telegram outlining plans for a private fact-finding mission led by Joan Baez, including Bayard Rustin, Elie Wiesel, and others, to visit refugee camps in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore in October 1979. The group aimed to document human rights conditions among Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian refugees to raise international awareness. Public disclosure of the mission was to be delayed until an official announcement by Baez on behalf of Humanitas/International Human Rights Committee.
Bayard Rustin’s Commentary Featured in U.S. Media Coverage of Rhodesia
Telegram summarizing major U.S. media coverage of Rhodesia, including an adaptation of a Bayard Rustin article in the Washington Star. Rustin’s analysis, aligned with Freedom House’s conclusions, highlighted the fairness of the Rhodesian elections and urged U.S. support for democratic change. The media also covered debates around sanctions, the refugee crisis in Southeast Asia, and U.S. policy responses.
