Waite Reveals Fears He Could Be Kidnaped

Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite said Monday that he plans to begin face-to-face negotiations soon with the captors of U.S. hostages in Lebanon, but he expressed fears that he could be abducted himself.

Waite said he has received assurances from Islamic Jihad, the pro-Iranian Shia Muslim group that kidnaped Americans Terry A. Anderson and Thomas Sutherland, that the two were “well looked after. Their condition is generally good.”

In all, five Americans are being held captive in Lebanon.

Waite arrived in Beirut a week ago on his fifth visit to the Lebanese capital in his quest to free foreign hostages.

In an interview on the roof of his seaside hotel, Waite said Monday that he has “completed the public phase of my visit.”

Now on Phase Two

“I have met with leaders of all political parties and religious communities in this part of Beirut. . . . The second reason for my being here is to maintain relationships and contact with the actual hostage-takers. Now that is being done.”

But he said that face-to-face meetings with the kidnapers have been made “increasingly dangerous” by the arrests in Europe of a Lebanese man accused of participating in the 1985 TWA hijacking in which a U.S. Navy diver was killed.

“Some people here in Beirut are going to say, ‘Well, the only way to get . . . people back is to have some bargaining counter,’ and I would be a pretty good bargaining counter,” Waite said.

Previous Kidnap Attempts

Waite said attempts were made to kidnap him during his four previous trips, but he refused to elaborate.

Asked what he would do if kidnaped, Waite said: “That’s very clear. I would do my best to survive and maintain myself. I would not expect any one to come out for me.”

At a news conference later in his hotel, Waite said he has established contact with Islamic Jihad, or Islamic Holy War, but he stressed that no direct negotiations have so far taken place during this trip.