Page Two
,THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Wednesday, June 1, 1977
PageTwoTHEMICIGANDAIY WdnedayJun 1,197
Moluccans request mediator
ASSEN, The Netherlands (,F) A HIGHLY placed govern-
--South Moluccan terrorists ment source cautioned against
holding at least 55 hostages on too much optimism over the
a hijacked train for the past gunmen's call for mediators,
nine days asked for outside me- calling it "a small change."
diators yesterday, a request But it appears to open the way
that some here saw as a first for genuine negotiations, which
step toward possible resolution government officials said had
of the long standoff. not been possible previously.
Prime Minister Joop den Uyl After the terrorists made the
met through the afternoon with request, members of a group
key ministers in the Dutch calling itself the "Free Moluc-
capital of The Hague to con- can Youth" read an open letter
sider the request. to the government at a news
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conference in this northern
Dutch city.
"We know our boys. This
could end in violence," the let-
ter said.
"BUT IF the government ac-
cepts this as a political prob-
lem, then negotiations can
start immediately to free the
hostages."
Seven to ten terrorists, mem-
bers of the South Moluccan im-
migrant community in the
Netherlands, were holding the
hostages on the commandeered
passenger train on a rail line
eight miles from here.
Another group of four gun-
men was holding four teachers
in an elementary school in the
village of Bovensmilde, just
south of Assen.
SOUTH MOLUCCAN media-
tors were instrumental in end-
ing a similar twin seige in De-
cember 1975, when South Mo-
luccan militants seized a train
and the Indian consulate in
Amsterdam to demand Dutch
help in winning independence
~ONIGHT~
PITCHEROF
MIXED DR INks
from Indonesia for their island
homeland.
The South Molucca islands
and the rest of Indonesia were
once the Dutch East Indies col-
ony. The Dutch have said they
have no control over their for-
mer colonies.
The terrorists in the current
action had threatened to kill
hostages if an attempt was
made at mediation. Until now,
most contacts have been made
by government psychiatrists
acting for the authorities.
THE GUNMEN at the school,
who last Thursday and Friday
freed 105 children and one
teacher, did not say anything
Tuesday about mediators, of-
ficials said. A telephone line
linking the train and school has
been cut, and it was believed
that the t leaders of the twin
terrorists strike were among
the train hijackers.
Noes Solisa, a Moluccan with
purported links to militants,
said the gunmen may ask to
be flown to Libya, Yemen or
Vietnam. He said South Moluc-
can militants have gotten
"sympathy" from the Pales-
tine Liberation Organization
and similar movements but de-
nied this included arms and
money.
At the outset of the long dual
sieges, the gunmen had de-
manded release of 21 country-
men jailed for earlier terror-
ism in Holland and a jumbo
jet flight out of the country to
an undisclosed destination.
Toos Faber, a spokeswoman
for the Justice Ministry, said
yesterday that these demands
"are no longer being discussed
by anyone," but she refused to
say whether they had been
dropped outright. She did say
the gunmen had abandoned
any hope of taking hostages
with them.
Police posted guards yester-
day at a railway switching yard
2.5 miles from the stalled train
where an armored train capa-
ble of assault troops stood by.
Dutch officials said contingen-
cy plans called for storming
the hijacked train if any host-
ages were harmed.
Carter hopes to restore
diplomatic ties with Cuba
j , ..9";xe. ice"'
,f."°"rf+
r
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) - Presi-
dent Carter said yesterday that
he sent a personal message to
Cuban President Fidel Castro
expressing best wishes for suc-
cessful negotiations to restore
diplomatic relations and Castro
responded in kind.
"I think we moved some first,
faltering steps," Carter told re-
porters before setting out on a
sentimental stroll through his
home town. "But it eventually
depends on them. We'll move as
fast as they will."
"I SENT HIM best wishes for
a successful conclusion of our
negotiations and he responded
accordingly."
The State Department has con-
firmed that the United States
has proposed a limited exchange
of diplomats with Cuba.
UNDER THE proposal, U.S.
diplomats would work out of
the Swiss Embassy in Havana,
while Cuba would post diplo-
mats at the Czechoslovakian
Embassy in Washington.
It would be a step short of
exchanging ambassadors an'd
resuming full diplomatic rela-
tions, which were ruptured in
early 1961.
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Volume LXXXVII, No. 20-5
wednesday, June 1, 1977
is edited and managed by students
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