1977 Dutch train hostage crisis

Infobox civilian attack
title= 1977 Dutch train hostage crisis


caption=
location=
coordinates= coord|53|7|N|6|36|E|region:NL_type:landmark|display=inline,title
target=Train
date= May 23 - June 11, 1977
time=
timezone=
type= hostage-taking
fatalities=8 (including 6 perpetrators)
injuries=unknown
perps = Moluccan youth (9 perpetrators)
weapons = Guns / Handguns
motive = A free South Moluccan Republic (Republik Maluku Selatan)

On May 23 a train hijack takes place close to the village of De Punt in the Drenthe province, northeast of the Netherlands. Nine armed Moluccans pulled the emergency brake around 9 AM and took about 50 people as hostages. The hijacking lasted for 482 hours (20 days); two hostages and six hijackers were killed.At the same time four other South-Moluccans started a hostage on a elementary school in the village of Bovensmilde, also in Drenthe.

This was the second train hijack in the Netherlands and, like the train hijack in 1975 in Wijster, again by Moluccans.

Context

The South-Moluccans came to Holland for a temporary stay, promised by the Dutch government that they would get their own independent state, RMS. For about 25 years they lived in temporary camps, often in poor conditions. After these years the younger generation felt betrayed by the Dutch government for not giving them their independent state and they started radical actions to get attention to their case.See Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS) for more information about the RMS case.

Developments

At the same time 4 other South-Moluccans started taking hostages at a primary school in the village of Bovensmilde; they took 105 children and 5 teachers into hostage. With these combined actions the hijackers wanted to force the (recently resigned) Dutch government to keep their promises about their RMS, break diplomatic ties with the Indonesian government and release 21 Moluccan prisoners involved in the hostage actions in 1975. An ultimatum was set for May 25 at 14:00 (2pm) with the hijackers threatening to blow up the train and the school. The hostages were forced to help blinding all the windows so for a long period nobody knew about what happened inside the train; it was only near the end of the hostage that electronic eavesdropping devices were installed by marines. About 2000 marines and soldiers were stationed both at the train and the school.

For the date of May 25, the elections for the Dutch parliament were planned. The leaders of the different parties agreed to cancel their election campaigns but the elections itself would take place on the planned date.

After the ultimatum expired, the hijackers announced new demands; They wanted an airplane from the airport of Schiphol and fly out with the 21 to be freed prisoners, the 5 teachers, and all hijackers. By means of electronic eavesdropping, minister of Justice van Agt (under resignation) knew that the hostages were not in danger, so the government let this second ultimatum pass as well.

* May 23 9:00AM: Start of the hijack
* May 24 : The national broadcast NOS reads the letter with demands
* May 25 : Elections for national parliament, ultimatum expires without anything happening
* May 26 : A handcuffed hostage is taken outside the train and then taken aboard again
* May 28 : Hostages clean up the train, 60 activists offer themselves as alternative hostages
* May 29 : Negotiations about releasing a pregnant woman are cut off
* May 30 : Second week of crisis
* May 31 : For the first time the hijackers ask for a negotiator
* June 01 : The hijackers ask for an ambulance but later retract the request
* June 04 : 2 negotiators talk for hours with the hijackers
* June 05 : 2 pregnant women, including Annie Brouwer (later mayor of Utrecht), are allowed to leave the train
* June 08 : An ill passenger is released
* June 09 : 2 negotiators talk again to the hijackers for hours
* June 11 5:00AM: In the morning the crisis is ended after 482 hours

Negotiators

Engineer J.A. Manusama, then president of the RMS, and Rev. Metiarij acted as negotiators during the crisis.

Because of some disease in the school (probably caused by the food distributed in the school), the hijackers decided to release the children, but keep the teachers. According to medical doctor Frans Tutuhatunewa (later successor of RMS president), there was no health issue with the hostages in the train. Nevertheless the health conditions of these hostages were used as an argument for the later attack on the train.

The attack

On June 11 1977, a Saturday morning and almost three weeks after the start of the hijacking, six Starfighter jetplanes flew low over the train at 5:00 AM with the purpose of disorienting the hijackers and also make the hostages duck down to the floor of the train where they would be relatively safe. Then the marines started shooting at the train; an estimated 15.000 bullets were shot at the train. The marines aimed at the first class and in-between compartments with the doors because they knew that there were the areas the hijackers were hiding. One of the hostages killed was in such a compartment because she was allowed there by the hijackers before. Six hijackers were killed.

Aftermath

Three hijackers survived and were later convicted to sentences from six to nine years.In 2007 there was a memorial service for the killed hijackers [nl [http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article721950.ece/Herdenking_voor_kapers_van_trein_bij_De_Punt_1977_ Article in NRC newspaper] ] ; the Moluccan community never offered any apologies, but two of the hijackers, motivated by a conversion to Christianity, had a meeting with former victims in 2007 [nl [http://www.eo.nl/components/articles/article.jsp?article=8654143&portal=5254965&
] ] .

ee also

* Attempt at kidnapping Juliana of the Netherlands
* Train hostage Wijster 1975
* Indonesian consulate hostage 1975
* School hostage in Bovensmilde 1977
* Province Hall hostage Assen 1978
* Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid
* List of hostage crises

External links

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915035,00.html Article from 1977 in Time magazine]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/23/newsid_2503000/2503933.stm Article in BBC "on this day"]
*nl [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY75q93E3Jk Dutch Polygoon newsreel images from 1977]
*nl [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Vp96RLLnk Dutch Polygoon newsreel images of the military action from 1977]
*nl [http://gaf.zeelandnet.nl/yp408/de_punt.html Images from the armoured car unit involved in the action]
*nl [http://beeldbank.nationaalarchief.nl/index.php?option=com_memorix&mrx_mod=geavanceerd_zoeken&show=1&mrx_search_field%5Btheme%5D=40 Images in the Dutch National Archive]
* [http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=4272 South Moluccan Suicide Commando in MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base]