Muslims Release American Priest : Jenco Arrives Safely in Syria After 19 Months of Captivity in Lebanon

An American Roman Catholic priest who was kidnaped by Muslim fundamentalists in Lebanon nearly 19 months ago was released by his captors Saturday and driven to freedom in Syria. The freed hostage, Father Lawrence M. Jenco, carried a videotaped message from a fellow American captive who said one American hostage, William Buckley, has been killed and who chastised the Reagan Administration for not doing more to help the hostages.

Jenco, 51, arrived at the Syrian Foreign Ministry accompanied by an army security officer. The priest looked haggard but otherwise healthy.

“I’m just so happy to be on my way home,” Jenco, of Joliet, Ill., said at an impromptu news conference. “You have to give me a little bit of space now to unwind.”

White Hair, Safari Suit

The priest wore a white safari suit that was given to him by his Syrian hosts after he reached Damascus. His hair and beard had turned snow-white in captivity.

As he stepped from the Syrian government car, Jenco was introduced to Peggy Say, the sister of another American hostage held in Lebanon, Terry A. Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent of the Associated Press. He embraced her emotionally.

Kept With Americans

Speaking to reporters later, Jenco said he spent “every day” with the other Americans still in captivity in Lebanon.

Richard W. Murphy, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, told a news conference in Frankfurt, West Germany, that Jenco had informed U.S. officials that he was kept with three other American hostages.

In addition to Anderson, the others are Thomas Sutherland, 55, dean of the School of Agriculture at the American University of Beirut, and David P. Jacobsen, 55, head of the American University Hospital.

Buckley, a U.S. Embassy political officer, was kidnaped March 16, 1984, but the Islamic fundamentalists who claimed to be holding him said last October that they had killed him.

Jenco carried a videotaped message from Jacobsen, who also reported Buckley’s death and said he would “be alive today” if the Reagan Administration had not “missed several golden opportunities” to negotiate the hostages’ freedom.

In the videotape, Jacobsen criticized President Reagan for what he called “subservience to the political principle position of ‘we will not negotiate with terrorists,’ ” according to a text of the message reported by wire services.

“Maybe it is true that our government has been less than candid and perhaps even lied to our families. I pray to God this is not so,” Jacobsen said.

He compared the hostages to “Gen. Custer’s men” or “the men at the Alamo waiting for help to arrive.”

In Washington, the White House released a statement from the President, who said he is happy about Jenco’s release but “will not be satisfied until all those who are held hostage--of whatever nationality--are released.”

“Those who held Father Jenco have, in effect, declared their ability to control the fate of the remaining American hostages,” Reagan said. “We hold their captors and those who support them responsible for the safety of the remaining American hostages.”

The President also expressed “our thanks for the way in which the Syrian government expedited the delivery of Father Jenco.”

White House spokesman Donald Mathes said Syria “played a role of expediting and facilitating” Jenco’s delivery to U.S. authorities but did not have a role in initiating his release.

Met by Syrian Official

Here in Damascus, Jenco was met at the press conference by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh, who greeted him on behalf of President Hafez Assad.

“I want to say that President Assad has always kept in mind the rest of the hostages,” Shareh said. “He has exerted a lot of effort in the past, and he is going to continue to do so.”

Jenco was then driven to the residence of U.S. Ambassador William L. Eagleton Jr., where he was checked by the U.S. Embassy doctor. He was also met by the papal nuncio here, Nicola Rottuno, and received the sacrament of Holy Communion. He later spoke by telephone with his family in the United States.

Jenco was reported to be in extremely high spirits, telling officials at the ambassador’s residence that the hostages’ boredom was periodically relieved by watching American soap operas such as “Dynasty” and “Dallas” on Lebanese television.

An Automatic Response

At one point he joked that the hostages had been moved so often that now, whenever he sees a car, he automatically climbs into the trunk without being asked.

Embassy officials said they found out about Jenco’s release early Saturday afternoon when Eagleton was summoned to the Foreign Ministry.

They said they have not yet arranged transportation for him. It was believed that he would first be flown to Frankfurt, to be reunited with his family and given a thorough medical examination at a U.S. military hospital.

The release coincides with a decision by Syria to deploy its troops in the southern suburbs of Beirut, extending a security plan that has been in effect in the Lebanese capital since June 28.

In Suburbs of Beirut

Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam told reporters in Paris last month that the hostages were being held in the suburbs of Beirut. Lebanese officials believed that extension of the security plan to the suburbs might lead to the release of one or more of the hostages.

Jenco was released in a remote area of the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon and made his way on foot to the town of Karoun, where he was taken in by a family that summoned Syrian soldiers who are stationed in the area.

Jenco’s family has said he suffers from heart problems, but an embassy spokesman said he appeared to be in good health despite his long captivity. The priest complained of nothing worse than a slight headache, the spokesman said.

Jenco’s apparent well-being appeared at odds with a statement issued by Islamic Jihad, the shadowy group that claimed to have kidnaped him on Jan. 8, 1985, while he was driving to work at the Catholic Relief Services offices in predominantly Muslim West Beirut.

Because of Ill Health

The statement from Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), which was released Friday night in West Beirut, said Jenco was being released “because of his deteriorating health and in conformity with our humanitarian Islamic principles.”

Terming Jenco’s release a “last gesture,” the terrorist group called upon the U.S. government to meet its demands or accept responsibility for the lives of the remaining hostages.

The Rev. Benjamin Weir, a Presbyterian minister who was one of the American hostages until his release last Sept. 14, has said Islamic Jihad is demanding the release of 17 people being held in Kuwait following the December, 1983, car bombings of the U.S. and French embassies in that Persian Gulf nation.

While Islamic Jihad has never been identified, it is believed to be a cover name used by an underground Iraqi group known as Al Dawaa, whose members are Shia Muslims with close ties to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s fundamentalist Muslim regime in Iran.

Under Syrian Pressure

Iran has been under considerable pressure from the Syrians to cooperate with the Damascus regime in implementing the security plan for West Beirut and helping Syria shed its tarnished image abroad as a supporter of terrorism.

When Syria appeared on the verge of reconciling its differences with the Iraqi government, which is at war with Iran, the Iranians quickly rushed oil supplies and money here as an inducement to Syria to remain friendly to the Iranians, according to Western diplomats. It is widely believed that the agreement contained a political dimension as well, possibly concerning Iranian intercession with the group holding the hostages.

By coincidence, King Hussein of Jordan, who was attempting to mediate the Iraqi rapprochement with Syria, arrived in Damascus on Saturday in an effort to revive the initiative.

A Hug for His Family

Following her meeting with Jenco here, Say, Anderson’s sister, said: “I was pleased that I was the first person to put her arms around him and hug him for his family.

“We didn’t say too much. . . . We just did a lot of hugging and crying.”

In addition to the Americans, Islamic Jihad also claims to hold four Frenchmen hostage in Lebanon.

The group said in a message three weeks ago that French Embassy protocol officer Marcel Carton would be released soon, but he has not yet surfaced.

A four-man French television crew was also abducted in Beirut last March, but so far only two of them have been released by their captors.

French Ties to Iran

France is reportedly making a major effort to repair its relations with Iran, which have been damaged by French assistance to Iraq’s war effort.

The French have expelled a leading Iranian dissident figure to Baghdad and reportedly have made progress on the freeing of $3 billion in disputed funds.

Two Britons, an Italian, an Irishman and a South Korean remain missing in Lebanon, but they are believed to be held by different groups.