AGENTS, CULT MEMBERS HOLD FACE-TO-FACE TALK

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993                   TAG: 9303170121
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WACO, TEXAS                                LENGTH: Short
AGENTS, CULT MEMBERS HOLD FACE-TO-FACE TALK
For the first time, law-enforcement officials have met face-to-face with two members of the Branch Davidian sect outside the group's embattled compound amid growing indications that cult leader David Koresh's physical condition is deteriorating, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The hour-long meeting took place late Monday on a road about 60 yards from the fortified compound, where hundreds of law-enforcement officials have engaged in a 17-day standoff with the cult.
While the meeting produced no breakthroughs, the brief encounter on the flat, windswept land about 10 miles east of Waco produced a rare glimmer of hope for the weary federal authorities who are attempting to negotiate a peaceful surrender by Koresh and his followers.
"At this stage, we view any meeting as a successful meeting," said FBI spokesman Richard Swensen. "We're hopeful it will lead to something better."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB