Hopes fade for early release of embassy hostages

Press, 27 December 1979, Page 1

Hopes fade for early release of embassy hostages

NZPA-Reuter Teheran American hostages held in the United States Embassy at Teheran have no apparent hope of being released soon, in spite of earlier hints that some of them might get out before Christmas. Four Christian clergymen, three of them Americans, spent five hours celebrating Christmas at the embassy, where students have 'held the hostages for the last seven weeks.

They said they had received no indication that any would be released soon.

The Iranian Foreign Minister (Mr Sadeq Qotbzadeh) said last week that he thought, the students would release some of the hostages for Christmas.

Asked at a press conference if the clergymen had seen any sign of releases, the Rev. William Coffin replied curtly, “None.”

The students on Tuesday produced a new collection of documents from the embassy to back their claim that Abbas Amir Entezan, a Deputy Prime Minister of the first revolutionary government, had collaborated with the Centra! Intelligence Agency.

Mr Entezam was ar- . rested last week on the ’( basis of evidence the stu--1 dents said they found in

the United States Embassy. The students said on Tuesday that Mr Entezam had helped the United States Embassy to monitor the plans of Ayatollah Khomeiny shortly before last February’s Islamic revolution. Ayatollah Montazeri, the top Muslim clergyman in Teheran, said that he had visited the hostages on Christmas Day. One hostage refused to shake his hand. But Ayatollah Montazeri, who carries an automatic rifle with fixed bayonet at Friday prayers, said he told him: “I try to shake your hand because I am a Muslim, because you are a brother, because all human beings are the same.” Ayatollah Montazeri said he told hostages he would like to see them all released soon. But he added: “It’s Carter’s fault. I hope he is coming off his high horse.”

The three American clergymen told a press conference that the hostages were in good health, but some were showing the strain of their seven weeks confinement There was confusion about the exact number of Americans being held at the embassy since it was occupied on November 4. The American clergymen — Mr Coffin, the Rev. William Howard

and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton — said they believed that the 43 American hostages they met included all those being held. But the students later insisted that 49 Americans were being held in the compound. The State Department in Washington maintained that a total of 50 American hostages were being held at the embassy.

Neither the students nor the State Department has issued a list of hostages. The three clergymen

had hoped to hold one big inter-faith service for all the captives. The students would not allow that, and the hostages met the clergymen in small groups, usually' four, and always with their captors present. “Never alone,” said Mr Coffin. “We did not have what we would call ideal conditions.” The Iranians offered the three American television networks an hour-long film of the meetings between the clergymen and the hostages, but ail refused to carry it. “The conditions they demanded were not acceptable,” said Mr Lester Crystal, the senior executive producer of N.B.C. news.

The conditions were that the colour film, shot and edited by Iranian Television and the captors, be shown in its entirety or in two segments during the course of a week. The networks were not allowed to see the film before making their decision.Mr Crystal said the network representatives in Teheran were told only that the film included a t w o-minute statement from Ayatollah Khomeiny, read by a captor, as w'en as the meetings between the clergymen and the hostages.

President Carter has issued an emotional

Christmas message of hope to the families of American hostages held in Iran, saying simply: “We will prevail.” “Rarely in our history have we been so united, and rarely have we benefited from such strong support from people of all nations and religions around the world,” President Carter said.

His Christmas Day message was issued bn the fifty-second day of captivity for the hostages. President Carter’s Christmas message to the families of the captives was issued from his Camp David mountain retreat as congregations prayed for the hostages in churches across the United States. As the nation celebrated a low-key Christmas, the Carter Administration accelerated its diplomatic and economic drive to press Iran into releasing the hostages.

The United Nations Security Council was asked by the United States to hold an early meeting “to consider the measures which should be taken to induce Iran to comply with its international obligation.”

The Administration is asking the council to adopt international economic sanctions against the Iranian Government

Iran drops asking price for oil, Page 6.