Envoy Sees ‘Hope’ in Bid to Free Hostages

A special envoy sent by the Archbishop of Canterbury to negotiate the release of American hostages held by Shia Muslim extremists said today that he saw a “real opportunity for a breakthrough.”

“I see some hope,” said the envoy, Terry Waite, who successfully negotiated the release of Britons held in Iran and Libya.

“The fact that I’m here does indicate there’s a possibility (of freeing the hostages),” said Waite, who was ringed by Muslim militiamen and airport security officials upon his arrival. “There is a real opportunity for a breakthrough.”

Waite, a special adviser to Archbishop of Canterbury Robert A. K. Runcie, the spiritual head of the Church of England, said after arriving from London that he was “here on humanitarian grounds because I want to see a resolution to this problem. . . . “

Lebanese security guards and militiamen at the airport whisked the burly envoy through a scrambling throng of reporters and television crews.

Before leaving London, the 46-year-old Waite termed his mission the most dangerous he has undertaken because his earlier efforts involved “an identifiable person or group or government.”

Runcie on Tuesday said Waite was “a joint envoy” of his church and Pope John Paul II, “and the Pope is corresponding with us.” But Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro said today that while the Holy See hoped Waite succeeded in his mission, he could not be considered a papal envoy.

Waite embarked on his latest mission after making contact with an unidentified intermediary in Beirut about the Americans, who have been missing between five and 10 months, and after receiving a confidential letter from four of the Americans.