The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, January 20, 1981-Page 5 RE-ELECTION BID CRIPPLED BY HOSTAGE ORDEAL Iran held Carter Ah AP News Analysis WASHINGTON - For more than a year, President Carter was the other American hostage. His presidency and, perhaps, his place in history, was held captive along with the Americans seized by Iranian militants on Nov. 4, 1979. For the cruel ordeal of the Americans held in Tehran to end in the final hours of Carter's presiden- cy would add an ironic twist to a bizarre international crisis that clouded his re-election campaign and ultimately crippled his chances for a second term. THE HOSTAGE CRISIS was the imponderable of the 1980 presidential campaign. Neither Carter nor his opponents could predict the political effect of the frustrations the American people felt throughout the prolonged ordeal.. Few politicians doubted that release of the Americans before election day would benefit Carter. The results of the election "might have been dif- ferent," said Vice President Walter Mondale on Sun- day. Voters in the early primary and caucus states sup- ported the embattled president, who vowed to stay off the campaign trail until the hostages were freed. BUT THAT WAS a vow he was to regret when the crisis outlasted original expectations. Finally, Carter resumed campaigning and for a while the hostage crisis seemed to fall behind the economy as the dominant concern among voters. But less than a week before election day hopes soared that at last the Americans were about to be freed. When those hopes proved premature, whatever chances Carter had for victory over Reagan were dashed. There was a surge of optimism that the hostages might finally be freed when the Iranian parliament met on Nov. 1, three days before the U.S. election, to set conditions for release of the Americans. THE NEXT NIGHT, Carter told an expectant nation that the Iranian terms "appear to offer a hostage positive basis" for reaching an end to the crisis. In saying the negotiations to follow had only a slim chance of quick success, he sought to avoid raising false hopes. But the administration was caught in'a political whirlwind. As they had been from the start, events were largely beyond the control of the president and his advisers. Election day drew closer with public attention riveted on Tehran. The cautious words from the White House and State Department did little to dam- pen expectations that the Americans might be coming home at last. By election day it was clear freedom was a long way off. But even a last-minute release of the 52 Americans finally may give Carter a measure of what he sought so avidly - public recognition that he served the nation wisely and well in a difficult time that offered little opportunity for political rewards. Iran accord prohibits lawsuits Daily Photo by JIM KRUZ A FLAG HANGS in front of Schlanderer Jewelry on South University in an- ticipation of the return of the American hostages from Iran. Tami leS of hostages hail developments By the Associated Press. The bleary-eyed families of 52 American hostages poured champagne, set off firecrackers, and put up "welcome home" banners yesterday to celebrate expected freedom for their lobed ones after 14 months of cap- tivity. ' Few were sleeping when President Carter came on television before dawn to give the word: An agreement had been signed to free the hostages. And those who weren't awake quickly got the word in a telephone call from the State Department.. "IT'S WHAT WE'VE been waiting to hear for so'long," said Doris Moeller of Loup City, Neb., mother of hostage Marine Sgt. Michael Moeller. "It's just ad end of a long, long time." "It's been a wonderful night," said Dorothea Morefield of San Diego, wife of fostage' Richard Morefield. "The U' alums among h.ost ages (Continued from Page 1) -master's degree in history. His wife, Wallapa, said last night in her Macllean, Va. home that she had "received a letter from him yester- day. Tomseth last saw her husband two weeks before the embassy take- over. He did not speak on the Christmas film, but did appear briefly. "He chose not to do it. You could see he was so mad; he would not be part of the holiday show." TOMSETH later received news of her husband at the embassy tea with the Algerians which Graves also at- tended. Tomseth predicts her husband will remain in the foreign service. "He likes the foreign service and he's really good at it. "It wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but he is one of the ones who could make it better," Tomseth said. Tomseth has spoken to reporters on the phone but said she had not allowed any newspeople to come to her door. "My husband is such a private person. Everyone copes in his own way," she said, echoing Graves' words. Queen was unavailable for com- ment last night. His mother, Jeanne said from her Lincolnville Beach, Maine, home that he has been Writing to the hostages in Iran since his release last July. "He will feel really free for the first time when all the hostages come home," she ad- ded. weight's lifted; the pain's gone. It's a glorious feeling." Most of the hostage families said they didn't plan to go to West Germany, where it was expected the hostages would be flown and possibly remain for" several days. ROBERT HOHMAN, father. of hostage Donald Hohman of West Sacramento, Calif., came to his door with tears in his eyes, a smile on his face, and a "Free the Hostages" pin on his lapel. "Well, that's it. It's official," he said. The parents of hostage Johnny McKeel grabbed a large yellow ribbon and walked from their Balch Springs, Texas, home shortly after the State Department called. They stood in the light rain and tied the ribbon around their oak tree. WASHINGTON (AP) - In the delicately balanced contract to end the 14/%-month hostage crisis, the U.S. government has agreed to forbid everyone including the hostages themselves - from suing Iran for damages. At the same time, the United States promises to help Iran press its lawsuit seeking to seize the vast wealth of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. HE AGREEMENT barring lawsuits and referring all prior claims against Iran to an international arbitration panel is one of the many commitments made by the United States in the agreements intended to bring the hostages home.' Essentially, Iran made one commit- ment in exchange: freedom for the 52 American hostages. The centerpiece of the agreements is a straight trade - freedom for the hostages in return for release of the billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen by President Carter 10 days af- ter the hostages were seized at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4,1979. THE DEAL fell victim, however, to a dispute over the exact language in the additional documents that will im- plement the agreements. These ad- ditional' documents, which have not been released, focus on procedures and details. The dispute specifically centers on a provision dealing with Iran's recovery of assets that might be found in the future after the hostages are released. THE 10 PAGES of published agreements specified the whole series of U.S. promises to Iran, all to be triggered by the hostages' release. " "The United States pledges. . . not to intervene directly or indirectly, politically or militarily in Iran's inter- nal affairs," says one of the agreemen- ts. * The U.S. government pledges to "restore the financial position of Iran, insofar as is possible to that which existed prior to Nov. 14, 1979," the day Carter ordered Iranian assets frozen. This means returning billions of dollars in assets to Iran's control. * The U.S. government will end all trade sanctions against Iran. * The U.S. government will freeze the property and assets of the former, shah and his close relatives pending resolution of the Iranian government's lawsuit seeking to obtain such funds. The U.S. government will order anyone with knowledge of the funds to inform the government.1 " The U.S. government will ter- minate existing lawsuits against Iran and refer those to arbitration. " The U.S. government will prohibit all future lawsuits against Iran in the United States stemming from the hostage seizure or the Islamic revolution. The agreements specify that both the United States and Iran will terminate all lawsuits against each other and all such litigation involving each country's citizens and "to bring about settlement of all such claims through binding ar- bitration." That refers to the sinter national tribunal set up by the agreements. In particular, the agreement states the United States will bar any citizen from suing Iran or attempting to collect damages from Iran because of the seizure of the embassy, the detention of the hostages or damages due to the Islamic revolution in Iran that were not actions of the government. The financial arrangements for the hostages' release were quite complex, due to the number of banks and the huge amounts of money involved. Under the principle of attempting to put the Iranian assets back in the status that existed when Carter froze them, one of the main points of the financial deal states that Iranian assets held by 2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES WIH THIS ENTIRE AD Good Mon. thonu Thurs. Eves. valid thru 1-22-81 M SHEOUVDIALL Y R I YAM (PO) mon,tues, thurs: 7:15, 9:20 WED: 12:50, 2:55, 5:10, 7:15, 9:20 ~AROA*4 MATINEES BOTH SCREENS WED, sAT, 51K 52.0 tll 4:W GOLDIE HAWN as PRIAT BEN.IAMIN (Rt) MON, TUES, THURS 7 30, 9:30 WED: 1:20, 3:20, 5:30, 730, 9:30 the Federal Reserve Bank - put at $i billion in gold and $1.2 billion in cash and securities - have been deposited with the Bank of England. They are to be put in an escrow account and tran- sferred to Iranian control when the hostages are freed. Hostage talks hit snag over bank agreement (Coninued from Page 1) lawsuits against Iran. "U.S. banks have brought up an ap- pendix which even with the utmost op- timism could only be viewed as an un- derhanded maneuver for delaying the final solution of the problem. Iran severely condemns this subterfuge," he said. White House officials and U.S. banking sources both denied Nabavi's charges but conceded there were more problems to be ironed out. "WE DON'T know what they're talking about," a White House spokesman said. "There certainly have not been any underhanded appen- dices." A spokesman for Citibank, one of the banks holding Iran's frozen assets, said the appendix was part of the agreement between Iran and the United States and had nothing to do with the financial in- Pil spills cause bird deaths AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP)-More than 2,000 dead sea birds have been found along the Dutch coast in the last week, apparently victims of oil spills that killed 150,000 to 200,000 birds further north, the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry said. Authorities have not traced the sour- ce of the spills, which also have killed birds in Norway, Sweden, and Den- mark. The spills could have resulted from oil-drilling operations in the North Sea or from leaks in tankers passing in the area. stitutions. "The banks were not parties to it and had no part in its drafting," he said. "It (the agreement) is very com- plicated and there may have been an honest misunderstanding," another banking source said. STATE DEPARTMENT officials said the delay was caused by Iran's failure to send a set of documents to the Bank of England, which is setting up an escrow account to receive the $9 billion in Iranian assets.I Until that escrow account is set up, the officials said, Carter cannot sign the necessary executive agreements tran- sferring the funds. And until the documents are exchanged, the Iranians will not release the hostages. Secretary of State Edmund Muskie described the snag as "complex" but "manageable . . .. It will be managed," he said. THE OFFICIAL reached in Nabavi's office after Nabavi made his comments said the issue "was not very com- plicated." "They could reach agreement any moment and the hostages would go back to their country. God willing, everything will be over," added the of- ficial, who declined to identify himself when reached by telephone from Beirut Lebanon. A group of Algerian doctors and nur- ses had examined the captives and one doctor reached at his Tehran hotel early yesterday said, "All the hostages are in good health." He refused to say where the doctors had examined the Americans. The latest crisis in the 141/2-month or- deal came cruelly at just the moment when it appeared the hostages would be set free. At 4:58 a.m. EST, while most of the nation was asleep, a weary Carter went on television to somberly announce the news that had eluded his final, troubled year in office until the last full day of his term. Place Your Daily Classified -Call 764-0557 The Collaborative Bored with your evening routine? The Collaborative Art Space Is sponsored by the University Artists & Craftsmen Guild. Classes begin the week of Jan. 26,1981. Classes include: Leaded Glass Photography