NCJ Number
130647
Journal
Terrorism Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (May-June 1990) Pages: 215-226
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This overview of the campaign being waged by South Moluccan terrorists against the Dutch government focuses on the historical origins of their cause and their objective: to establish a South Moluccan Republic in what was a Dutch colony in the East Indies.
Abstract
The South Moluccans gained notoriety in the mid-1970's when, in a series of terrorist attacks, they hijacked two trains, held the Indonesian consulate hostage, and seized 15 children and their teachers in an elementary school. Today's terrorists are the children and grandchildren of South Moluccan Indonesian soldiers who fought for the Dutch after World War II and migrated to the Netherlands around 1950, hoping to return to their homeland. As a result of Moluccan terrorism, the Dutch government has reconsidered some of its policies toward minorities, implementing new measures in education, employment, and politics to help the immigrants anchor themselves to Dutch society while retaining their own ethnic identity. 16 notes (Author abstract modified)