On December 21, 1975, six militants attacked the semi-annual meeting of
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
leaders in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
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, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
; the attackers 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
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...
. The siege resulted in complex diplomatic negotiations. It ended two days later, after flights to
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
and
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, with all the hostages and terrorists walking away from the situation. The fact that this was one of the first times that Arab states were targeted by terrorists also led to them being more cooperative in developing antiterrorism efforts at the United Nations.
Siege
On December 21, 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
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
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, 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 terrorist
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...
(which included two West Germans
Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann
Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann (18 May 1951 – 7 October 1995) was a German far-left militant, associated with Movement 2 June (J2M) and the Second Generation Red Army Faction. She was the wife of the J2M terrorist Norbert Kröcher. Her '' nom d ...
,
Hans-Joachim Klein
Hans-Joachim Klein (; 21 December 1947 – 9 November 2022) was a German left-wing militant and a member of the Revolutionary Cells group. His '' nom de guerre'' was "Angie". In 1975, Klein participated in an attack on OPEC headquarters in Vie ...
, Lebanese
Anis al-Naqqash
Anis al-Naqqash ( ar, أنيس النقاش; 1951 – 22 February 2021), also known as Naccache, was a Lebanese political activist and revolutionary. He was also known for being a Lebanese guerrilla fighter.
Biography
Al-Naqqash was born into ...
and Syrian
Kamal Kheir Beik). The self-named "Arm of the Arab Revolution" group called for the liberation of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. 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
Jamshid Amouzegar ( fa, جمشید آموزگار; 25 June 1923 – 27 September 2016) was an Iranian economist and politician who was prime minister of Iran from 7 August 1977 to 27 August 1978 when he resigned. Prior to that, he served as ...
, 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 terrorists 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 those 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
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
airplane and crew would be waiting. In the meantime, Carlos briefed Yamani on his plan to eventually fly to
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
,
South Yemen
South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
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
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
-born doctor Wiriya Rawenduzy, who was living and working in Vienna, volunteered to accompany the terrorists on board in exchange for the hostages' safe release upon arrival.
Carlos demanded that the Austrian authorities read a communiqué about the Palestinian cause on Austrian radio and television networks every two hours. To avoid the threatened execution of a hostage every 15 minutes, the Austrian government agreed and the communiqué was broadcast as requested. The communiqué written in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
demanded the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
wage a "total liberation war". Vienna Police said that 96 hostages were taken during the siege. The attackers freed about 50 Vienna resident hostages and a bus was provided the following morning at 6:40 as requested and 42 hostages were boarded and taken to
Vienna International Airport
Vienna International Airport (german: Flughafen Wien-Schwechat; ) is the international airport of Vienna, the capital of Austria, located in Schwechat, southeast of central Vienna and west of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the co ...
.
Flight
An
Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub ...
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
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, where Carlos left the plane to meet with the
Algeria
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, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
n Foreign minister
Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Five oil ministers and 31 other hostages were released, five oil ministers were kept.
The refueled plane left for
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, where there was trouble in acquiring another plane as had been planned. Carlos decided to instead return to Algiers and change to a
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
, a plane large enough to fly to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
nonstop. Ten more hostages were released before leaving.
With only ten hostages remaining, the Boeing 707 left for Algiers and arrived at 3:40 a.m. After leaving the plane to meet with the Algerians, Carlos talked with his colleagues in the front cabin of the plane and then told Yamani and Amuzegar that they would be released at mid-day. Carlos was then called from the plane a second time and returned after two hours.
At this second meeting it is believed that Carlos held a phone conversation with Algerian President
Houari Boumédienne Houari is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Persons Given name
*Houari Boumédiène, also transcribed Boumediene, Boumedienne etc. (1932–1978), served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 Decembe ...
, who informed Carlos that the oil ministers' deaths would result in an attack on the plane. Yamani's biography suggests that the Algerians had used a covert listening device on the front of the aircraft to overhear the earlier conversation between the terrorists, and found that Carlos had in fact still planned to murder the two oil ministers. Boumédienne must also have offered Carlos asylum at this time and possibly financial compensation for failing to complete his assignment.
On returning to the plane Carlos stood before Yamani and Amuzegar and expressed his regret at not being able to murder them. He then told the hostages that he and his comrades would leave the plane, after which they would all be free. After waiting for the terrorists to leave, Yamani and the other nine hostages followed and were taken to the airport by Algerian Foreign Minister
Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The terrorists were present in the next lounge and Khalid, the Palestinian, asked to speak to Yamani. As his hand reached for his coat, Khalid was surrounded by guards and a gun was found concealed in a holster. All the hostages and terrorists walked away from the situation, two days after it began.
Aftermath
In the years following the OPEC raid, Carlos's accomplices revealed that the operation was commanded by
Wadie Haddad, a founder of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. They also claimed that the idea and funding came from an Arab president, widely thought to be Libya's
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
. Fellow militants
Bassam Abu Sharif
Bassam Abu Sharif ( ar, بسام أبو شريف; born 1946 in Jerusalem) is a former senior adviser to Yasser Arafat and leading cadre of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was previously a member of the Popular Front for the Libera ...
and Klein claimed that Carlos received and kept a ransom between US$20 million and US$50 million from "an Arab president". Carlos claimed that Saudi Arabia paid ransom on behalf of Iran, but that the money was "diverted en route and lost by the Revolution". He was finally captured in 1994 in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, and is serving life sentences for at least 16 other murders.
In popular culture
Films
The 1997 film ''
The Assignment'' depicts the OPEC siege early in the film.
The 2010 Olivier Assayas-directed series
''Carlos'' documented the life of Ramírez Sánchez. The film won a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for Best Miniseries or Television Movie. Carlos was played by the Venezuelan actor
Édgar Ramírez.
References
Further reading
*
{{OPEC, state=expanded
1975 in Austria
OPEC
Hostage taking in Austria
Terrorist incidents in Austria
Palestinian terrorist incidents in Europe
Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1975
1975 murders in Austria