1975 AIA building hostage crisis
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| AIA Building hostage crisis | |
|---|---|
| Part of Pistols and explosive devices | |
| Injured | Four |
| Victims | Robert C. Stebbins Fredrik Bergenstråhle Ulla Ödqvist Gerald Lancaster Trudy Lancaster Vick Lancaster Rodney Lancaster Adrian Lancaster |
| Perpetrators | Japanese Red Army |
No. of participants | Five |
| Defenders | Federal Reserve Unit Royal Malaysia Police |
| Motive | Release of several members of the Japanese Red Army |
The AIA Building hostage crisis took place at the
Background
The Japanese Red Army was a communist terrorist organisation dedicated to eliminating the Japanese government and monarchy and launching a worldwide revolution. The organisation carried out many attacks and assassinations in the 1970s, including the Lod Airport massacre in Tel Aviv three years earlier.[2]
Key Malaysia rescue personnel
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Inspector General of Police Mohammed Hanif Omar (35), leader of the RMP since 8 June 1974, he founded the Special Actions Unit. He took command of rescue operations during this incident.
Supt. M. Shamugham (40), was first commander of the Special Action Unit who had served as commander since January 1974 and previously he served with Police Field Forces (Pasukan Polis Hutan). This was his second mission after the hunt for Botak Chin which started a year earlier but was still ongoing; he escorted prisoners from Japan for the hostage exchange. He died in 1976.
DSP Mohd Zaman Khan (40), was strike team leader of Special Action Unit who attempted a rescue but aborted mission after Tan Sri Ghazali began negotiations with the JRA and Japanese government.
Manivasagam (late 40's), was Minister of Communications, who tried negotiating with the JRA but failed and was replaced by Home Affairs Minister Ghazali Shafie.
Attacks
The AIA Building in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur used to house the United States and Swedish embassies. On 4 August 1975, 5 members of the JRA stormed the building and took 53 employees of the embassies hostage. All the hostages were gathered on Level 9 of the AIA Building. The JRA demanded that several of their imprisoned leaders be released, and threatened to massacre all 53 hostages if their demands were not met.
The Malaysian Prime Minister at the time was
Eventually, the Japanese government relented and agreed to the release of five JRA leaders. They were sent on a
Samsuddin Cassim and Ramli Omar returned to Malaysia unharmed on 10 August.Foreign Hostages
- Robert C. Stebbins - United States Consul
- Fredrik Bergenstråhle - Swedish embassy Officer
- Ulla Odqvist - Secretary of the Embassy of Sweden
- Gerald Lancaster - US citizen - age 50
- Trudy Lancaster - Australian citizen - age 32
- Vick Lancaster - Australian citizen - age 11
- Rodney Lancaster - Australian citizen - age 10
- Adrian Lancaster - Australian citizen age 9
Aftermath
Among the prisoners freed by the Japanese government was Kunio Bandō, who had been jailed for his role in the
The US embassy was moved to a new location at the junction of Jalan U Thant and Jalan Tun Razak in the 1990s.
Swedish King
References
- ISBN 9789814868556. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Jehl, Douglas (19 February 1997). "Lebanon Seizes Japanese Radicals Sought in Terror Attacks". The New York Times. p. 5. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Hitam, Musa (25 January 2010). "Tun Ghazali Always Has New Ideas". Bernama (in Malay). Malaysian National News Agency. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Andelman, David A. (7 August 1975). "Freeing of Last Hostages Is Delayed in Malaysia". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Political pressure forced Libya to accept terrorists". Beaver County Times. UPI. 9 August 1975. p. A-3. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Brian Lee Davis. Qaddafi, terrorism, and the origins of the U.S. attack on Libya. p. 182.
- ^ "Japan's police renew hunt for militants wanted since 1970s". The Independent. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Raiders Are Part of a Loose Alliance of Japanese Extremists". The New York Times. 6 August 1975.
- ^ "Wanted Red Army member left trail in Philippines | The Japan Times". 20 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Thiagarajan, Tara (2 May 2022). "47 Years Ago: The 53 Person Hostage Crisis in KL That Most Malaysians Didn't Know About". World of Buzz. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
External links
Crime portal
- "Terrorists Seize Embassies: U.S., Swedish Officials in Malaysia Held Hostage". Los Angeles Times. 4 August 1975. p. 1. ProQuest 157862744. Retrieved 7 March 2023.(subscription required)
- Kennedy, Charles Stuart (17 May 1990). "AMBASSADOR ROBERT S. DILLON" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. pp. 50–57. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
Then another crisis ensued. One of the four JRA prisoners, who was supposed to have been brought from Japan, refused to be part of the exchange. The terrorists didn't believe it. There were extended exchanges. Finally, we were able to patch through a telephone call from our building to the jail where this fourth JRA member was being held. Everybody of course could listen in to the conversation. So we could hear what was going on. The fellow in Japan just didn't want to be any part of this exchange; he wanted to stay in jail. So the terrorists were finally reassured.