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OPEC siege
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OPEC siege
On 21 December 1975, six militants attacked the semi-annual meeting of OPEC leaders in Vienna, Austria; they took more than 60 hostages after killing an Austrian policeman, an Iraqi OPEC security officer, and a Libyan economist. Several other individuals were wounded. The self-named "Arm of the Arab Revolution" group was led by Carlos the Jackal. The siege resulted in complex diplomatic negotiations. It ended two days later, after flights to Algiers and Tripoli, with all hostages released and all militants escaping. The fact that this was one of the first times that Arab states were targeted by a terrorist attack prompted them to aid in developing antiterrorism efforts at the United Nations.
At his trial in 2000, the former militant Hans-Joachim Klein revealed that information about the security measures at the conference and the weapons came from the government of Libya. This support was necessary for the launch of the raid.
On 21 December 1975, Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum Ahmed Zaki Yamani and the other oil ministers of the members of OPEC were taken hostage in Vienna, Austria, where the ministers were attending a meeting at the OPEC headquarters at Dr-Karl-Lueger-Ring 10 (renamed Universitätsring in 2012). The hostage attack was orchestrated by a six-person team led by Venezuelan militant Carlos the Jackal (which included two West Germans Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann, Hans-Joachim Klein, Lebanese Anis al-Naqqash and Syrian Kamal Kheir Beik).[citation needed] The self-named "Arm of the Arab Revolution" group called for the liberation of Palestine. Carlos planned to take over the conference by force and kidnap all eleven oil ministers in attendance and hold them for ransom, with the exception of Ahmed Zaki Yamani and Iran's oil minister Jamshid Amuzegar, who were to be executed.
Carlos led his team past two Austrian police officers in the building's lobby and up to the first floor, where a police officer, an Iraqi plainclothes security guard and a young Libyan economist, Yusuf al-Azmarly, were shot dead.
As Carlos entered the conference room and fired shots into the ceiling, the delegates ducked under the table. The militants searched for Ahmed Zaki Yamani and then divided the sixty-three hostages into groups. Delegates of friendly countries were moved toward the door, 'neutrals' were placed in the centre of the room and the 'enemies' were placed along the back wall, next to a stack of explosives.
This last group included delegates from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Carlos demanded that a bus be provided to take his group and the hostages to the airport, where a DC-9 airplane and crew would be waiting. In the meantime, Carlos briefed Yamani on his plan to eventually fly to Aden, South Yemen where Yamani and Amuzegar would be killed. During the attack Hans-Joachim Klein was shot and injured; however, Carlos refused to leave him behind and demanded medical assistance. Kurdish-born doctor Wiriya Rawenduzy, who was living and working in Vienna, volunteered to accompany the militants on board in exchange for the hostages' safe release upon arrival.
Carlos threatened the execution of a hostage every 15 minutes and demanded that the Austrian authorities read a communiqué about the Palestinian cause on Austrian radio and television networks every two hours. To avoid the executions, the Austrian government agreed and the communiqué was broadcast as requested. The communiqué was written in French and demanded that the Arab world wage a "total liberation war". As requested, a bus was provided the following morning at 6:40 and 42 hostages were boarded and taken to Vienna International Airport. The Viennese police said that 96 hostages were taken during the siege, though around 50 hostages resident in Vienna were freed.
An Austrian Airlines DC-9 was provided for the group and was airborne just after 9:00, with explosives placed under Yamani's seat. The plane first stopped in Algiers, where Carlos left the plane to meet with the Algerian Foreign minister Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Five oil ministers and 31 other hostages were released, while five oil ministers remained captive.
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OPEC siege
On 21 December 1975, six militants attacked the semi-annual meeting of OPEC leaders in Vienna, Austria; they took more than 60 hostages after killing an Austrian policeman, an Iraqi OPEC security officer, and a Libyan economist. Several other individuals were wounded. The self-named "Arm of the Arab Revolution" group was led by Carlos the Jackal. The siege resulted in complex diplomatic negotiations. It ended two days later, after flights to Algiers and Tripoli, with all hostages released and all militants escaping. The fact that this was one of the first times that Arab states were targeted by a terrorist attack prompted them to aid in developing antiterrorism efforts at the United Nations.
At his trial in 2000, the former militant Hans-Joachim Klein revealed that information about the security measures at the conference and the weapons came from the government of Libya. This support was necessary for the launch of the raid.
On 21 December 1975, Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum Ahmed Zaki Yamani and the other oil ministers of the members of OPEC were taken hostage in Vienna, Austria, where the ministers were attending a meeting at the OPEC headquarters at Dr-Karl-Lueger-Ring 10 (renamed Universitätsring in 2012). The hostage attack was orchestrated by a six-person team led by Venezuelan militant Carlos the Jackal (which included two West Germans Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann, Hans-Joachim Klein, Lebanese Anis al-Naqqash and Syrian Kamal Kheir Beik).[citation needed] The self-named "Arm of the Arab Revolution" group called for the liberation of Palestine. Carlos planned to take over the conference by force and kidnap all eleven oil ministers in attendance and hold them for ransom, with the exception of Ahmed Zaki Yamani and Iran's oil minister Jamshid Amuzegar, who were to be executed.
Carlos led his team past two Austrian police officers in the building's lobby and up to the first floor, where a police officer, an Iraqi plainclothes security guard and a young Libyan economist, Yusuf al-Azmarly, were shot dead.
As Carlos entered the conference room and fired shots into the ceiling, the delegates ducked under the table. The militants searched for Ahmed Zaki Yamani and then divided the sixty-three hostages into groups. Delegates of friendly countries were moved toward the door, 'neutrals' were placed in the centre of the room and the 'enemies' were placed along the back wall, next to a stack of explosives.
This last group included delegates from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Carlos demanded that a bus be provided to take his group and the hostages to the airport, where a DC-9 airplane and crew would be waiting. In the meantime, Carlos briefed Yamani on his plan to eventually fly to Aden, South Yemen where Yamani and Amuzegar would be killed. During the attack Hans-Joachim Klein was shot and injured; however, Carlos refused to leave him behind and demanded medical assistance. Kurdish-born doctor Wiriya Rawenduzy, who was living and working in Vienna, volunteered to accompany the militants on board in exchange for the hostages' safe release upon arrival.
Carlos threatened the execution of a hostage every 15 minutes and demanded that the Austrian authorities read a communiqué about the Palestinian cause on Austrian radio and television networks every two hours. To avoid the executions, the Austrian government agreed and the communiqué was broadcast as requested. The communiqué was written in French and demanded that the Arab world wage a "total liberation war". As requested, a bus was provided the following morning at 6:40 and 42 hostages were boarded and taken to Vienna International Airport. The Viennese police said that 96 hostages were taken during the siege, though around 50 hostages resident in Vienna were freed.
An Austrian Airlines DC-9 was provided for the group and was airborne just after 9:00, with explosives placed under Yamani's seat. The plane first stopped in Algiers, where Carlos left the plane to meet with the Algerian Foreign minister Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Five oil ministers and 31 other hostages were released, while five oil ministers remained captive.
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