![]() | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Malay. (July 2013)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
AIA Building hostage crisis | |
---|---|
Part of Terrorism in Malaysia | |
Location | AIA Building Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Coordinates | 3°09′45.7″N101°44′22.1″E / 3.162694°N 101.739472°E |
Date | 5 August 1975 - 10 August 1975 |
Attack type | Hostage situation |
Weapons | 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 AIA (American Insurance Associates) Building in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 5 August 1975. [1] The Japanese Red Army took more than 50 hostages at the AIA building, which housed several embassies. The hostages included the United States consul and the Swedish chargé d'affaires. The gunmen won the release of five imprisoned terrorists and flew with them to Libya.
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]
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.
Ghazali Shafie (49), was Minister of Home Affairs who was in negotiations from early on until the end of the mission and persuaded President of Libya Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to allow the JRA and hostages into Libya. He also persuaded a very reluctant Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to allow the aircraft carrying the JRA and hostages to refuel there.
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 Tun Abdul Razak and his police chief was Mohammed Hanif Omar. The then Home Minister Ghazali Shafie was heavily involved in negotiations despite his being in Jakarta at the time. [3]
Eventually, the Japanese government relented and agreed to the release of five JRA leaders. They were sent on a Japanese Airlines DC-8 to Kuala Lumpur. The Deputy Transport Minister Dato' Ramli Omar and secretary-general for the Home Ministry Tan Sri Osman Samsuddin Cassim were exchanged with the terrorists as hostages to guarantee safe conduct. [4] The hostage-takers proceeded on the DC-8 with their freed leaders, as well as Omar and Cassim, to Libya, arriving at Tripoli Airport on 8 August after a stopover in Colombo. [5] There they would be sheltered by dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who at the time supported a variety of terrorist organisations such as the PLO and the IRA. [6] Samsuddin Cassim and Ramli Omar returned to Malaysia unharmed on 10 August.
Among the prisoners freed by the Japanese government was Kunio Bandō, who had been jailed for his role in the Asama-Sanso incident. [7] [8] Bandō was later believed to have assisted in the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 472 from Paris to Tokyo in 1977, forcing the jet to land in Dhaka. Bandō remains at large and reportedly spent time between 1997 and 2007 in Russia, China, the Philippines, and Japan. [9]
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 Carl XVI Gustaf awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star to Tan Sri Samsudin Osman Kassim on 16 September 2009, about 34 years later. The award was presented by the Swedish ambassador to Malaysia, HE Helena Sångeland. [10]
The Japanese Red Army was a militant communist organization active from 1971 to 2001. It was designated a terrorist organization by Japan and the United States. The JRA was founded by Fusako Shigenobu and Tsuyoshi Okudaira in February 1971, and was most active in the 1970s and 1980s, operating mostly out of Lebanon with PFLP collaboration and funding from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya, as well as Syria and North Korea.
Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was an aircraft hijacking carried out by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) on 28 September 1977.
Haruo Wakō was a Japanese communist militant, member of the Japanese Red Army (JRA).
The Makam Pahlawan is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara, in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Construction of the mausoleum began in 1963 in conjunction with the construction of Masjid Negara, and was completed in 1965.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1975, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.
This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2002, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Ong Kee Hui was a Malaysian Chinese politician and founder cum first president of the Sarawak United People's Party which was founded on 12 June 1959. His family trace their origins to Longhai, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China.
The National Operations Council (NOC) or Majlis Gerakan Negara (MAGERAN) was an emergency administrative body which attempted to restore law and order in Malaysia after the 13 May incident in 1969, in the wake of the racial rioting which broke out in the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Masjid Jamek LRT station is a rapid transit station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the interchange station between two of Rapid KL's light rapid transit (LRT) systems, namely the LRT Ampang and Sri Petaling Lines and the LRT Kelana Jaya Line. The station is one of only two stations integrating the LRT lines, the other being Putra Heights station. The station is situated near and named after the Masjid Jamek in central Kuala Lumpur.
This article is about the extent of terrorism in Malaysia, including historical background, laws concerning terrorism, incidence of terrorism and international terrorism from the Malaysian perspective.
The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara'.
Malaysia–Sweden relations refers to foreign relations between Malaysia and Sweden. Sweden has an embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia has an embassy in Stockholm. As of 2009, 90 Swedish companies are present in Malaysia and about 450 Swedish citizens live in Malaysia. The number of Swedish citizens visiting Malaysia in 2011 was 44,138.
Tun Muhammad Ghazali bin Shafie was a Malaysian politician and diplomat. He served under the administrations of four Prime Ministers, most notably as Minister of Home and Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1984.
2011 in Malaysia is the 54th anniversary of Malaysia's independence.
The 1974 French Embassy attack in The Hague was an attack and siege on the French Embassy in The Hague in the Netherlands starting on Friday 13 September 1974. Three members of the Japanese Red Army (JRA) stormed the embassy, demanding the release of their member Yatsuka Furuya. The ambassador and ten other people were taken hostage. The siege and negotiations lasted five days, resulting in the release of Furuya, the embassy hostages and a safe flight out of the Netherlands for the terrorists. During the incident, a café in Paris was bombed which was linked to the embassy crisis.
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Panglima Khoo Chong Kong was the former Perak state Police Chief during the Communist insurgency period in Malaysia.
Johan Fredrik Göstasson (Gson) Bergenstråhle was a Swedish diplomat.
Tun Mohammed Hanif bin Omar was a Malaysian police officer who served as the 4th Inspector-General of Royal Malaysia Police from June 1974 to January 1994. Assuming office at the age of 35, he was the youngest police officer appointed to the top post. He was also the longest-serving Inspector General of Police for 20 years.
The Special Actions Unit, commonly known as and abbreviated to UTK is a tactical unit of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). The unit is headquartered at the RMP buildings in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. Together with the 69 Commando, they form the Pasukan Gerakan Khas.
The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang.
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.