The "Free South Moluccan Youth's" was a name used by a group of second-generation Dutch extremists of Indonesian descent. While the "Free South Moluccan Youth's" moniker was only used for one attack in December 1975, it is suspected that group members initiated several additional terrorist actions without utilizing the organization's name. <P><br /><br />The members of the organization were mainly the children of Indonesian immigrants who fled their country after supporting Dutch colonial rule during Indonesia's war of independence in 1949.  These immigrants came from the Moluccan Islands in eastern Indonesia, and supported the Dutch with the expectation that Molucca would be granted independence at the conclusion of the war.  Despite having never set foot on their homeland, the "Free South Moluccan Youth's" carried out their attacks to pressure the Dutch government in to recognizing an independent Moluccan state.<P>  <br /><br />On December 2nd the "Free South Moluccan Youth's" seized a train bound for Amsterdam near the town of Beilin.  The extremists killed two people in the siege and held 50 hostages for 12 days.  On December 14th, the hijackers surrendered to authorities and were imprisoned.  Two days after the train siege began a second group of Moluccan extremists stormed the Indonesian Consulate in Amsterdam and took dozens of hostages.  After several days, these attackers also surrendered to the police.  In both cases, the attackers demanded independence for the Moluccan Island group, the release of imprisoned comrades in Dutch jails, and safe passage out of the Netherlands.<P><br /><br />On May 23, 1977 South Moluccan terrorists, in two separate actions, seized an express train near Groningen and occupied a school in Bovensmilde.  The attackers demanded the release of their comrades who had been imprisoned after the 1975 attacks. On June 11th, Dutch troops stormed the train and the school in simultaneous operations and freed the hostages at both locations. Six of the nine terrorists and two hostages were killed in the assault on the train. There were no casualties at the school. The seven surviving terrorists were taken into custody by Dutch authorities. After trial they were sentenced in September 1977 to prison terms ranging from six to nine years. An eighth defendant, charged with assisting in planning the operations, received a one-year sentence.<P><br /><br />Although the "Free South Moluccan Youth's" name was only used for the 1975 train attack in Beilin, it is likely from the similar tactics and demands that the continuing attacks were perpetrated by organization members, albeit it without explicitly using the organization's name.   Since 1978, Moluccan terrorism has abated in the Netherlands, as most citizens of Moluccan descent have been fully integrated in to Dutch society. <br />