Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990 TAG: 9003232852
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/4 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BEIRUT, LEBANON LENGTH: Medium
However, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, the reputed spiritual leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, said he had no specific information about when any of the hostages might be freed.
Most of the 18 Westerners missing are believed held by Shiite Moslem groups loyal to Iran.
A statement released by Fadlallah's office said the clergyman, asked about the possibility of a hostage release in a radio interview, replied: "A new situation has emerged, but I don't know when, how and where."
No further remarks on the issue were included in the release.
Also today, the weekly magazine Ash-Shiraa said Fadlallah had replied through an intermediary to questions from former President Jimmy Carter on the issue.
The story dealt with the hostages' whereabouts and the possibility of releasing them, but gave no specific examples.
Fadlallah visited Damascus during Carter's visit to the Syrian capital earlier this month. Diplomatic sources have said the two did not meet.
Fadlallah said Feb. 23 that the issue of the Western captives was being exploited to distort Islam's image and called for a humanitarian approach to free them.
His remarks echoed an earlier editorial in the English-language Tehran Times newspaper in Iran, which often reflects the thinking of President Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The past month has seen a series of contradictory statements over the fate of the hostages, indicating a fight over the issue within the Tehran government.
Moderates led by Rafsanjani have said the hostage issue was moving toward a solution, while radicals lead by Parliament member Ali Mohammed Mohtashemi have encouraged the captors to hold onto the hostages.
The radicals are believed to hold more sway over the factions in Lebanon actually holding the Westerners, with Hezbollah considered an umbrella group for them.
The Revolutionary Justice Organization, which holds two of the eight American hostages, said in a statement March 7 no hostages will be freed.
Addressing Fadlallah, without referring to him by name, the statement expressed sorrow over "irresponsible declarations by local friends" to free the hostages.
"We call upon them [friends] to concentrate their humanitarian attempts on areas that can be more positive," the statement added.
Most of the hostages have been held for more than three years. The longest-held is American Terry Anderson, the chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press, who was kidnapped March 16, 1985.
In another report, Ash-Shiraa said alleged U.S.-Iranian negotiations have "reached their final stages after agreement was reached on almost all topics, including the issue of the foreign hostages. "
"What's left is only carrying out the agreement according to acceptable scenarios that would save face for Iran and guarantee for Washington . . . its return to strategically vital Iran," said the report, which cited no sources.
Ash-Shiraa gained recognition in 1987 for breaking the story that the Reagan administration was trading arms for U.S. hostages. However, its reports over the past two years that a hostage release was imminent have not proved accurate.
by CNB