Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, June 20, 1985
Experts say Syria may
have guided hijacking
JERUSALEM (UPI) - The
hijacking of the Trans World Airlines
plane apparently was planned and
carried out by members of an ex-
d tremist Lebanese Shiite Moslem
organization, Israeli Arab affairs ex-
pert said yesterday.
They said the hijackers probably
belong to one of about 15 Iranian-
inspired Shiite groups active in
Lebanon who at different times have
identified themselves as the shadowy
group known as the Islamic Jihad, or
Holy War.
THE HIJACKERS are holding 40
Americans for a sixth day to demand
the release of Shiite Moslems -
belived to number 766- being held in
Israel.
When the plane was first seized last
Friday en route from Athens to Rome,
i d there were two hijackers aboard. The
: w plane was forced to shuttle between
£ . Algiers and Beirut and during a stop
Doily Photo by DAN HABIB Saturday in the Lebanese capital,
about 10 other hijackers got aboard.
A day's work Inaseries of interviews, experts
said the hijackers may belong to the
The South-Eastern Michigan Construction Company winds up a day's work on the Ronald McDonald house. Hezbollah, or Party of God, a group
The house will be completed in late August for families of hospitalized children. led by hardline Shiite clergymen that
is believed responsible for the 1983
bombings of the U.S. Embassy and
Sthe U.S. Marine headquarters in
Hostage release centers on Red CrossBi.
(Continued from Pagei) in negotiating the release of the American hostages. AT LEAST 63 people died in the em-
The ICRC has accused Israel of violating the Geneva The spokesman said Perez de Cuellar had been asked to bassy blast, including 17 Americans,
Conventions by moving the prisoners - suspected of play a role by Nabih Berri, the Lebanese justice minister and 241 servicemen were killed in the
guerrila attacks on Israeli troops - from southern and leader of the Shiite militia Amal. suicide truck bombing of the Marine
Lebanon to Atlit Prison near Haifa in April. CARRYING 153 PEOPLE, TWA Flight 847 was seized compound.
IF THE ICRC asked Israel to free the Shiites, it could Friday by two Shiite gunmen just after takeoff from Clinton Bailey of Tel Aviv Univer-
allow Israel - and by extension the United States - to end Athens to Rome. They forced the pilot to shuttle between sity, a specialist on Shiite Moslems,
the crisis without capitulating on its policy of not Beirut and Algiers before landing in Beirut Sunday for a said the hijackers make no secret of
negotiating with terrorists. third time. their allegiance to Ayatollah Ruhollah
In Washington, National Security Affairs Adviser One hostage, an American sailor, was shot and killed by Khomeini, the Iranian leader, and are
Robert McFarlane said the United States had not asked the hijackers but they released all but 40 of the captives. directed by Syrian President Hafez
the ICRC to negotiatea swap, saying "the notion is about For the first time since the plane was hijacked, repor- Assad.
and it is flat wrong..." ters yesterday were allowed to talk to some of the There's a large confluence of in-
"We will not make concessions now and will not ask hostages. terests between Syria and Hezbollah,
anyone else to do that," he said, repeating a similar Three ABC news correspondents were permitted to ap- and the hijacking is Syria's way of
pledge made Tuesday night by President Reagan during a proach the TWA Boeing 727 as it sat in the shimmering showing it's still around in light of the
nationally televised news conference. heat on an airport runway and question pilot John current peace moves involving Israel,
IN ABU DHABI, the semi-official daily newspaper Al It- Testrake and nis crew as armed militiamen watched. Jordan, and the Palestinians, which
tihad said Algeria offered to mediate between the United One reporter asked Testrake, a Richmond, Mo., Assad is not a part of," Bailey said.
States and Amal and that Washington had approved. resident, what he thought about the possibility of a U.S. "It puts Syria back on the map."
There was no immediate confirmation from the United rescue mission. Assad flew to Moscow yesterday
States. "I think if they did, we'd all be dead men because we are and met with Soviet leader Mikhail
A spokesman at the United Nations said U.N. Secretary- continually surrounded by many, many guards," he Gorbachev in the Kremlin, the official
General Javier Perez de Cuellar was "actively involved" replied from the window of the cockpit. Soviet news agency Tass said. The
two discussed Middle East peace, it
GA__IE__NPP___Nsaid. -
HAPPENINGS
The Israeli experts said the
hijacking also appeared to be an at-
tempt by the extreme Shiite groups -
which are fanatically religious and
virulently anti-American and anti-
Israeli - to outflank the mainstream
Shiite militia group, Amal, and its
leader, Nabih Berri, Lebanon's
justice minister.
Congress
app roves o
president's
reaction
4
4
WASHINGTON (UPI) - President
Reagan received broad bipartisan
support on Capitol Hill yesterday for
his handling of the hijacking of TWA
flight 847, but some Democrats chided
him for tough talk five years ago and
others asked for more action.
Although most congressmen
generally supported Reagan's
response to the crisis, a few members
of the House Europe and Middle East
subcommittee complained of ad-
ministration inaction and suggested
Shiite leader Nabhi Berri, who has
claimed control over the 40 American
hostages, should be penalized.
BUT SEN. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
said, "Any talk of retaliation right
now would be dangerous and foolish.
This is a time to talk about getting
Americans back."
"I think he's doing the right
things," Leahy added. "The president
is getting strong bipartisan support -
he certainly is from me."
Freshman Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.)
said Reagan is "handling it very well'
although he is "handcuffed" on what
he can do to save the lives of the
hostages.
"The president is managing the
situation in a sensible and rational 4
manner," an aide quoted Sen. Warren
Rudman (R-N.H.) as saying. "This is
not the time to strike out in-
discriminately."
But some Democrats mixed their
support with reminders to Reagan of
his tough talk in the 1980 presidential
campaign, when he often blasted
President Carter's handling of the 444-
day Iran hostage crisis. Reagan
promised then that terrorists would
be dealt with swiftly and harshly in
his administration.
"I certainly wouldn't stand by and
do nothing," he said at the time.
Senate Democratic leader Robert
Byrd (D-W. Va) said he fully suppor-
ts Reagan but observed the president
now is experiencing "the leakage of
reality" - and is finding out how
much tougher it is to deal with
terrorists than to talk about them.
"The president is finding out it's
much easier to be rhetorical and
political when it's done on someone
else's watch than when it's your
own,' Byrdsaid.
Highlight
School of Music - recital, Eduardus Balim, I Washtenaw IBM Personal Computer User
p.m., Mendelssohn. Society -7 p.m., room 140, Business School.
"The 1985 Summer Fashion Exposition" presen-
ts what's hot this season for the stylish, the chic, or
those who wish to be. The show is sponsored by Speakers
Michael Weisbart-Fredrick Jackson Productions,
and part of the proceeds will go to the March of Opthamology, Psychiatry, Phsyiology, Bio-
Dimes. The show starts at 8 p.m. at the Ann Arbor Engineering - Carole Hill, "Disorders of Memory
Inn. Call 761-NEXT for ticket information. for Color," 12:15 p.m., room 2055, Mental Health
Films Resesrch Institute.
Cinema Guild - Suddenly Last Summer, 7:30 &
9:30 p.m., MLB 4. Meetings
Michigan Theater Foundation - The Seventh U
Seal, 7:10 p.m.; Smiles of a Summer Night, 9 p.m., University AA -noon, 3200 Uion.
Michian Thater.His House Christian Fellowship - bible study,
Michigan Thester.7:30 p.m., 925 E. Ann.
Performances Board of Regents - 1 p.m., Regents Room,
Fleming Administration Building.
Department of Recreation - Mid-day Mid-town Medical Center, Turner Geriatric Services -
Music Series, 12:15 p.m., Liberty Park Plaza. Turner Travelers, 10:30 a.m., 1010 Wall St.
Miscellaneous
Scottish Country Dancers - beginners, 7 p.m.,
intermediates 8 p.m., Forest Hills Community
Center, 2351 Shadowood.
Michigan League - American Heritage, San
Francisco, 5 p.m., League cafeteria.
Computing Center - workshop, Forrest Har-
tman, Tell-A-Graf, 3:30 p.m., 165 Business Ad-
ministration Building.
Gay Liberation - Pride Week workshops, 7 &
8:30 p.m., Union.
Microcomputer Education Center - workshops,
Micropro WordStar, Part I, 8:30 a.m.; Intro to
BASIC Programming on the Macintosh, 10 a.m.;
MacManage: Disk and File Management on the
Macintosh, 1 p.m., room 3113, School of Education
Building.
I