1975 Indonesian consulate hostage crisis

On December 4, 1975 seven armed Moluccans raided the Indonesian consulate in Amsterdam in support of a train hijacking near the village of Wijster which had started two days before.

The terrorists called themselves the Free South Moluccan Youths. After taking 41 children hostages, the terrorists moved into the Indonesian consulate in Amsterdam, towards the top floor. Several consulate employees climbed out of the consulate via a rope. One attempted to jump to the ground, but fell 30 feet and died five days later from his injuries in a hospital. By this point, around 60 people were being held hostage inside the consulate. The gunmen made their demands to a group of police and special forces; they asked for the release of several South Moluccan political prisoners, and for talks to begin between the Moluccan leader and the Indonesian president Suharto. The Dutch negotiators refused all of the demands, even after twelve of the children were released, insisting that they would not negotiate until all of the children were released. The rebels gathered the children on a third-floor balcony, threatening to push them off the edge if their demands were not met. They chose not to push any children over the edge, however.^[1]

The crisis ended on December 19 when the hostage-takers surrendered after being given vague promises of meetings with Dutch and Indonesian authorities to talk about their case.

The hostage-takers were later convicted and given 7 year sentences.

See also

• Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS)
• Attempt at kidnapping Juliana of the Netherlands
• Train hostage Wijster 1975
• Train hostage De Punt 1977
• School hostage in Bovensmilde 1977
• Province Hall hostage Assen 1978
• Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid
• List of hostage crises

External links

• Article in 1975 Times magazine

References