Weir Says Reagan Ignored Message From Kidnapers

The Rev. Benjamin Weir, a former American hostage in Lebanon, said that he passed on demands of his kidnapers personally to President Reagan but that his message fell on deaf ears, a Beirut newspaper reported today.

“I am discouraged by the government’s reaction to the kidnapers’ demands, but I will continue my efforts to convince it and the people of the gravity of the situation,” Weir was quoted by the leftist As Safir newspaper as saying in an interview in Washington.

Weir, a 61-year-old Presbyterian minister, was released Sept. 14 after 16 months in captivity in Lebanon.

His kidnapers told him that they would kill six other U.S. hostages still being held unless Washington persuades Kuwait to free 17 people jailed for a series of bombings there in 1983.

One-Sided Conversation

U.S. officials have said they will not bow to threats.

Weir said he told Reagan by telephone of the kidnapers’ demands, but said the conversation was one-sided.

“He talked all the time, congratulated me on my release, said he was worried about the other hostages and was praying for them,” he said.

“I told him of my message from the kidnapers. . . But the President did not answer. He carried on as if I did not say anything. But I felt I did my duty,” Weir said.

Weir, who lived in Lebanon for 32 years, said Washington is not aware “of the complex situation in the Middle East” and is not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages.

‘Into a Dark Tunnel’

“I believe our leaders have led us into a dark tunnel. It is time to clearly see where we are heading and what the implications of this policy are for us,” the paper quoted him as saying.

But he said he had not expected his government to take serious action for his release. “I knew of their position not to deal with what they call terrorists,” he said.

“This annoys me, because I believe the American government more than once resorted to terrorist actions. My captors said they consider the shelling of the Druze Mountains by the warship New Jersey a terrorist act, and I agree.”