Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 16, 1990 TAG: 9003162341
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Only days into her first overseas trip, she was about to entertain a personal representative of Abu Nidal, then a fugitive Palestinian revolutionary. But Say wasn't concerned for her own safety.
"What do you serve a terrorist?" she wondered.
To play it safe, the woman from rural Kentucky sent for a wide variety of munchies and beverages, including French pastries and Arabic coffee.
Boldly casting a wide net has typified Say's controversial, globe-trotting odyssey in search of her brother, Terry Anderson, one of eight American hostages in Lebanon. Say said she began engaging in the extraordinary personal diplomacy only after losing confidence in the U.S. government.
Attempts to gain release of the hostages - whether official or personal in nature - are coming under new scrutiny amid heightened speculation that they may soon be freed. Tuesday, President Bush called even more attention to those efforts by alluding to covert initiatives on their behalf, including "going around in the back alleys."
Whether any of those efforts will bear fruit remains to be seen. In the meantime, the president's penchant for secret diplomacy has aroused deep resentment among many family members of the hostages. In interviews this week, family members said repeatedly that Washington's public response to the crisis has left them feeling isolated and abandoned.
"I'm under the impression that there's nothing official going on," fumed Bryan Polhill, son of hostage Robert Polhill, 55.
"They only tell us what we've already heard," added Virginia Rose Steen, wife of hostage Alann Steen, 50.
"What is it going to take to get the government moving?" demanded Simon Seikaly, Robert Polhill's brother-in-law.
Today, many of the disillusioned relatives - who have coalesced into a mutual support group - hope to increase the public pressure, starting with a celebrity-studded noon rally in front of the White House.
As many as 30 family members - their largest such gathering - are expected to attend the "Ceremony of Hope," which will mark the fifth anniversary of the day when three armed abductors in Beirut shoved Anderson into a green Mercedes and drove off.
Very little is known publicly about the behind-the-scenes efforts on the hostages' behalf - other than that some U.S. allies, especially West Germany, and a steady stream of international businessmen have carried messages to Iran and Syria.
As Bush said at a Tuesday news conference: "There are things that go on. . . ." Then he added tantalizingly: "When the whole story comes out on this, you all are going to be very, very fascinated with the details, very fascinated."
And during a Thursday question-and-answer session with journalists, Bush added: ". . . We are going down every alley, we are trying every avenue to free the hostages. But there is no negotiation going on with any part of the U.S. government or anything of that nature."
To be sure, not all the relatives are disenchanted with Washington.
"They say there's a lot going on, but they can't tell us," Estelle Ronneberg, mother of hostage Jesse "Jon" Turner, 42, said of the State Department. "They've told us in the past that sometimes opportunities have been lost because too many people knew what was going on." Ronneberg said she was pleased to have received a Christmas note last year from Bush.
Speculation about a possible release of the hostages arose last week amid a flurry of public and private signals from the Middle East, including a statement by Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani that the situation was "moving toward a solution."
But Ruth Polhill, mother of hostage Robert Polhill, spoke for many when she noted warily: "There have been many ups and many downs . . . and I'll believe it when I see it."
"You ought to always have hope," added John Murray, brother-in-law to hostage Thomas Sutherland, 58. "But keep your expectations low. Over the past 4 1/2 years, we've seen positive news and negative news in cycles."
The uncertainties were underscored Thursday when the captors of three of the hostages threatened to execute them unless the U.S. meets certain, vague demands, apparently stemming from the captors' outrage over the increased migration of Soviet Jews to Israel.
The Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine also vowed to attack airports and airlines involved in transporting Soviet Jews to Israel.
Over the years, many of the relatives have formed their own support network, exchanging late-night calls, personal visits and even a home video of a newborn baby. "There's an instant bonding, an understanding of the particular hell you're going through," said Say, 49.
The long hostage stalemate also has taken surprising tolls.
About 100 members of Joseph Cicippio Sr.'s extended family used to hold reunions each summer; they no longer do so. "It was getting to be a little too hard to handle, with Joe not here," Thomas Cicippio said of his hostage brother, 59.
by CNB