1977 Dutch school hostage crisis
Encyclopedia
On the morning of Monday, May 23, 1977, four armed South-Moluccans
took hostage of 105 children and their 5 teachers at a primary school in Bovensmilde
in the Dutch
province of Drenthe
. At the same time nine others hijacked a train in the nearby De Punt. Both hostage crises lasted for 20 days before being ended by military interventions.
When the hostage crises begins the children are forced to cover the windows with newspapers preventing the outside world from knowing what was happening inside.
The day of the elections for the national parliament. To increase pressure on the government the children are forced to shout out of the windows: "van Agt
, we want to live". The first ultimatum expires at 14:00 without any problems. Later that day, additional demands are expressed.
All children are released because many children became ill from some unknown disease. The cause and nature of these disease is still unknown, but it is often speculated that the provided food might have been deliberately poisoned with laxatives by authorities to force a break-through, this is substantiated by a statement from van Agt in a Dutch documentary where he said "Ik vind het een uitstekend idee (…) een laxeermiddel hebben we allemaal wel eens nodig."[I think its a great idea (…) everybody needs a laxative now and then.]. Four teachers were retained as hostages.
Marines attack the school in the early morning, an armoured car and explosives punches a hole in the wall and marines enter the building. The Moluccans surrender without fight after hearing about the military attack on the train.
The Moluccan community has never made any apologies, but two of the hijackers, motivated by born-again Christianity, have had a meeting with former victims in 2007.
Thirty years after the events in question, on May 23, 2007, a monument was erected and the first memorial ceremony is held where symbolic white balloons were released.
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
took hostage of 105 children and their 5 teachers at a primary school in Bovensmilde
Bovensmilde
Bovensmilde is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 6 km southwest of Assen.In 2001, the town of Bovensmilde had 2,873 inhabitants...
in the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of Drenthe
Drenthe
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...
. At the same time nine others hijacked a train in the nearby De Punt. Both hostage crises lasted for 20 days before being ended by military interventions.
Context
The South-Moluccans had arrived in the Netherlands for a temporary stay, promised by the Dutch government that they would get their own independent state, Republik Maluku Selatan (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 began radical actions to gain attention for their cause.Developments
- May 23 9:00AM:
When the hostage crises begins the children are forced to cover the windows with newspapers preventing the outside world from knowing what was happening inside.
- May 25
The day of the elections for the national parliament. To increase pressure on the government the children are forced to shout out of the windows: "van Agt
Dries van Agt
Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from December 19, 1977, until November 4, 1982....
, we want to live". The first ultimatum expires at 14:00 without any problems. Later that day, additional demands are expressed.
- May 27
All children are released because many children became ill from some unknown disease. The cause and nature of these disease is still unknown, but it is often speculated that the provided food might have been deliberately poisoned with laxatives by authorities to force a break-through, this is substantiated by a statement from van Agt in a Dutch documentary where he said "Ik vind het een uitstekend idee (…) een laxeermiddel hebben we allemaal wel eens nodig."[I think its a great idea (…) everybody needs a laxative now and then.]. Four teachers were retained as hostages.
- June 11 5:00AM
Marines attack the school in the early morning, an armoured car and explosives punches a hole in the wall and marines enter the building. The Moluccans surrender without fight after hearing about the military attack on the train.
Aftermath
The 4 attackers were convicted with sentences varying from 6 to 9 years.The Moluccan community has never made any apologies, but two of the hijackers, motivated by born-again Christianity, have had a meeting with former victims in 2007.
Thirty years after the events in question, on May 23, 2007, a monument was erected and the first memorial ceremony is held where symbolic white balloons were released.
See also
- Attempt at kidnapping Juliana of the NetherlandsAttempt at kidnapping Juliana of the NetherlandsIn Spring 1975 some Moluccans attempted to kidnap Juliana, queen of the Netherlands.On March 3 that year two South-Moluccan youngsters were stopped by the police and found carrying weapons and ammunition in their car. Their plan was to rent a heavy truck and crash into the gate of the Soestdijk...
- Train hostage Wijster 1975
- Indonesian consulate hostage 1975
- Train hostage in De Punt 1977
- Province Hall hostage Assen 1978
- Bijzondere Bijstands EenheidBijzondere Bijstands EenheidThe Unit Interventie Mariniers , formerly known as the Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid , is an elite Dutch special forces unit, which is specially trained for intervention missions...
- List of hostage crises
External links
- Article from 1977 Times magazine
- Article from BBC "on this day" Dutch Polgoon television images from 1977 Dutch Polygoon television images of the military action from 1977 Images in the Dutch National Archive Images of the memorial ceremony on May 23, 2007
- Terrorist Organization Profile: South Moluccan Suicide Commando
- About: 1977 Dutch school hostage crisis