Students dismiss U.N. call to free hostages

Press, 6 December 1979, Page 8

Students dismiss U.N. call to free hostages

NZPA-Reuter Teheran Muslim students occupying the United States Embassy in Teheran have dismissed a United Nations call for the release of 50 hostages as an American-dictated exercise and have repeated that they will not be freed unless the former Shah is returned to Iran.

The students stormed the embassy on November 4 to press demands for the extradition of the ousted Shah to stand trial for crimes he is alleged to have committed during his rule. -As we have already said, we do not recognise the Security Council.” a spokesman for the students said in response to the council s call for the release of the hos-| tages. He added that the resolution had been “prescribed under the pressure of America.” Commenting on the 15member council’s unanimous call on the United States and Iran to resolve their differences peacefully the spokesman said: “Peaceful measures mean the extradition of the Shah.” He added: “The crisis will not be solved unless the Shah is returned to Iran.” After the Security Council resolution was passed, the Secretary-General (Dr Kurt Waldheim), who has intermittent contact with the Iranian authorities, said he would devote all his efforts to finding a solution to the Crisis. Ibrahim Nokalla, chief

! spokesman of the Iranian I > Foreign Ministry, said that ■ the United Nations resolu-; > tion would have to be dis- > cussed by the 15-member I Revolutionary Council which■ in theory runs Iran. But since the seizure of ; the United States Embassy ’ more than a month ago, the. Government appears to have; 1 taken its cues from the students rather than lay down i policy for them. i The students enjoy the : backing of Iran’s revolution-, 1 ary leader. Ayatollah Ruhol- ‘ lah Khomeiny, who has repeatedly’ declared that the, - hostages will be tried for es- > pionage unless the United » States agrees to hand over ■ the Shah. !l Ayatollah Khomeiny was !• given virtually unlimited ■ powers by a new Constitution approved by a twoI day referendum which ended s on Monday. Though final re--1 suits have not been an--1 nounced yet, there was no doubt that the 175-clause t charter had been adopted • with a large majority’. In fact with Muslim cler- ■ ics sitting in polling places ; urging “yes” votes and able • to see how everyone voted, the result was never in: 1 doubt. Officials continued

' yesterday to claim a big ; “yes” vote by the autonomy- • seeking ethnic minorities in ■the Kurdistan, Azerbaijan • and Baluchistan provinces, [ although it’s believed that in i those regions abstention was ' widespread. The United States Govem- ! ment has consistently reii fused even to consider the ■ Iranian demand for the 1 extradition of the deposed Shah, saying he had been ! admitted to the United • States last October for •[ humanitarian reasons. The former monarch Was [ treated for cancer in New •York before he flew to I Texas on Monday for recu- • peration at the military hospital of the Lackland Air ; Force Base. I The students have said ■ that the former Shah’s de- ■ parture from the United 1 States to a destination other ■ than Iran would result in ■ the hostages being put on > trial sooner than planned. ! Eight of the hostages have I been singled out for intensive interrogation before • their trial, one of their stuydent captors has said, r The eight include William .: Daugherty and Malcolm ilKalp, who the students alI lege, worked as Central In-

jtelligence Agency officers -lunder the cover of second t'and third secretaries. i To back up their claim, , fhe students last week proi duced the photocopy of a ses cret cable, said to have been sent by the American - Charge d’Affaires (Mr Bruce - Laingen) to the State Dee partment last August, which e identified the two men as i officers responsible for i “S.R.F. coverage,” a term 1 which stands for “special rer porting facility” in C.I.A. [jargon. 5 Meanwhile, the spiritual ’’■leader of Iran’s Kurdish miTnority has described the ■ month-old occupation of the ■ United States Embassy as a r diversion planned to whip [up public approval for AyaUtollah Khomeiny’s Islamic ■'Constitution. Sheikh Ezzeddin Hosseini r said in a taped interview ’ that reached Reuters yes- ‘ terday: “I think the issue of „ the occupation of the United " States Embassy is not as J important as is thought. It ' is diversionary. People are saying the measure is aimed 7 at raising the prestige of the j Government and getting -Imore people to poll “yes” - votes for the Constitution.”