Combating terrorism

SCHEDULE 2

PROSCRIBED ORGANISATIONS

The Irish Republican Army

Cumann na mBan

Flanna na hEireann

The Red Hand Commando

Saor Eire

The Ulster Freedom Fighters

The Ulster Volunteer Force

The Irish National Liberation Army

The Irish People's Liberation Organisation

The Ulster Defence Association

The Loyalist Volunteer Force

The Continuity Army Council

The Orange Volunteers

The Red Hand Defenders

Note

The entry for The Orange Volunteers refers to the organisation which uses that name and in the name of which a statement described as a press release was published on 14th October 1998.

Section 1. International Terrorism

1. Japanese Ambassador's Residence Seized in Peru

(1) Outbreak of the Incident

At around 8:30 p.m. on December 17, 1996 (around 10:30 a.m. on December 18, Japan Time), members of a left-wing terrorist organization called Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (to be hereinafter called MRTA) used explosives and seized the official residence of the Japanese Ambassador to Peru. At the residence, the Japanese Ambassador was hosting a reception to celebrate Japanese Emperor Akihito's birthday inviting hundreds of people. The guests included Peruvian government officials, ambassadors and other diplomatic mission members as well as Japanese nationals residing in Peru. The group of 14 left-wing terrorists, led by Nestor Cerpa Cartolini, armed themselves with hand grenades and automatic rifles and took a record number of people as hostages \ about 700 persons. For more than four months, the group occupied the residence. Upon seizing the building, the criminal group made a four-point demand to the Peruvian government in a statement issued via local mass media. It demanded that the government "release all MRTA members now in prison," "provide escort and guarantee the safe exit route to the Central Amazon region for them," "change the government's economic policy" and "pay the ransom which they called 'war

tax".

(2) Brief Outline of MRTA Organization

MRTA was formed in or about 1982 in Peru to champion Marx-Leninist revolution. The organization embraced 1,000-2,000 members at the peak time, and has been funded by contributions from narcotics dealers, and money raised through abduction, robberies and intimidation of business corporations. MRTA had attacked European and the U.S. diplomatic establishments and Peruvian government agencies and abducted diplomatic mission members and Peruvian government officials. The number of MRTA activists decreased sharply as a result of thoroughgoing crackdown on terrorists by the government which had reinforced terrorists control laws and arrested leaders of terrorist organizations one after another. The members of MRTA were considered to number less than 100 when this incident happened.

The group of MRTA members set free a large number of women and the aged among the hostages about two hours after the outbreak of this incident. The group set free nine persons including The Canadian Ambassador to Peru; On the following day, or December 18, four Peruvians of Japanese ancestry on December 19; 39 people including ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps of various countries on December 20; 225 people including ambassadors from various countries on December 22. In the meantime, the group demanded the "release of imprisoned MRTA members" and others.

President Alberto Fujimori of Peru rejected all of their demands and demonstrated a resolute stance indicating that he might resort to force if the MRTA members harmed the hostages. Because the Peruvian Government refused to negotiate with the MRTA group at first, Michel Minning, the Peruvian delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Canadian Ambassador Anthony Vincent who was set free on the second day of the incident went to the Japanese Ambassador's official residence for talks with the MRTA group. On December 28, Peruvian Education Minister Domingo Palermo became the first Peruvian government official to enter the Japanese residence after the hostage incident broke out. He conducted negotiations with the MRTA members for about

three hours and a half, and on the same day 20 people including the Dominican Republic ambassador were freed.

The talks with the MRTA members had been virtually stalled when helicopters of the Peruvian Government menacingly circled low over the embassy building, while armored vehicles were deployed around the building. In addition, loud speakers positioned nearby blared military marches and other music numbers. The MRTA members replied with repeated warning shots from rifles. For a time, a very noisy and highly tensive atmosphere prevailed in the neighborhood of the ambassador's residence.

Under such circumstances, the safety of the hostages was a matter of serious concern. The terrorists refused to release any more hostages after freeing one Peruvian police officer on December 27. A total of 72 hostages were held in the ambassador's official residence until the incident was brought to an end.

B. Japan-Peru Summit Talk and Start of "Preliminary Dialogue"

In search of a breakthrough for settling the incident, Japan and Peru held a summit meeting in Toronto, Canada, on February 1. The top leaders of Japan and Peru strongly criticized the whole incident as unacceptable to the international community and confirmed each other's will to make stepped-up efforts to settle the incident in a peaceful manner and release all hostages at the earliest date possible. They agreed that the Peruvian government would start "preliminary dialogue" with MRTA prior to the full start of direct talks between them. The negotiations between the Peruvian Government and MRTA representatives were conducted, in the form of "preliminary talks" since February 11. They were joined by a third party "Guarantors Committee consisting of Roman Catholic Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani who is the leader of religious circles in Peru, ICRC representative Minning and Canadian Ambassador Vincent. Japanese Ambassador to Mexico Terada joined the committee as an observer. The negotiations which were focused on terms under which the incident could be ended made a rough sledding with the MRTA representatives refusing to compromise their demands, which included "the release of imprisoned MRTA members." :

(4)

Rescue Operation

Under such circumstances, the Peruvian Government had a special squad of about 140 soldiers raid the residence at 3:23 p.m. on April 22, 1997 (at 5:23 a.m. on April 23, Japan Time). As a result, all but one \ a Peruvian supreme court justice of the 72 hostages, including 24 Japanese, were brought to safety on the 127th day of their captivity. As a result of the exchange of gun fire, besides the justice, two members of the Peruvian special unit died, and all the 14 MRTA terrorists were shot to death.

From the beginning to the end, the international community vehemently denounced the conducts of MRTA terrorists and supported the Peruvian Government which firmly adhered to its stance of never yielding to terrorism, threatening to use force if the MRTA terrorists should inflict damage to the hostages. On December 27, 1996, Chairman's Statement of the G7/P8 Countries was issued. The statement pledged the countries' determination to never to yield to terrorists, to seek immediate release of the hostages, to make the rescue of people's life the top priority objective and support the Peruvian Government's endeavor to settle this incident by peaceful means.

(6) Japan's Response

On December 18, 1996 (Japan Time), when the incident broke out, the Japanese Government set up an office of countermeasures in the Prime Minister's official residence to collect relevant information. On the next day, or December 19, the government established the "Headquarters to Cope with the Seizure of Japanese Ambassador's Residence in Lima" headed by the Prime Minister.

The National Police Agency, on the day of the outbreak of the incident, established a liaison office headed by the director general of the Security Bureau to be responsible round the clock for interdepartmental liaison within the government and gathering information. On the following day, the agency sent police officers to Peru and had them stay there till the end for reporting back the situation around the Japanese Embassy and gathering information as staffers of the local liaison office in Peru. The police also had them engage in consultations with the Peruvian authorities on steps to be taken to solve the incident as well as had them exchange information with foreign concerned. After the hostages were released, the National Police Agency sent more police officers to Peru in order to support the local liaison office and cooperate with the Peruvian authorities in conducting investigation. They aided the Peruvian authorities in the examination of the ambassador's residence and criminal identification activities by making available supplies and equipment and sorting out and analyzing materials collected at the scene. In Japan, the Metropolitan Police Department interviewed released Japanese hostages about the circumstances at the time of the incident in detail and analyzed materials supplied by the Peruvian authorities. Thus, it conducted investigations to determine violations of the "Law to Punish Compulsory Acts by Hostage Taking."

(7) "Lima Syndrome" Observed

A psychoanalyst sent to Peru as a member of the police team reported having observed the same psychological condition as have been identified as the Stockholm Syndrome" (note), a syndrome seen in many cases of hijacking and hostage taking. The specialist said the conditions which might be named "Lima Syndrome" developed during the incident.

The Lima Syndrome was explained as follows: "influenced by -hostages, criminals eventually wished to identify themselves with their hostages. Thus, they assimilated and studied the cultures of hostages, with the result that their hostility toward hostages was softened." The psychoanalyst theorized that this phenomenon, as it does not take place evenly among all the criminals, can delicately change the internal structure of the group of criminals and cause a crisis of their unity.

(Note) The Stockholm Syndrome is the development of affinity between the hostages and criminals in a hold-out incident.

(8) Lessons Learned from the Incident

This incident was brought to an end by a raid of the ambassador's residence by the Peruvian special unit. It offered many lessons in terms of how to cope with terrorists in the future. The National Police Agency will promote various steps to cope with terrorism in the future by learning lessons from the incident in Peru. See 3 of Section 2 in this chapter "Japan's Future Measures against Terrorism. "

2. Japanese Red Army and "Yodogo" Hijacker Group

The Japanese Red Army was organized by Fusako Okudaira (Shigenobu), Tsuyoshi Okudaira and other former members of its predecessor, the Sekigunha faction of

Kyosando (Communist League), who fled to Lebanon. Since its organization, the Japanese Red Army has been engaged in terrorist activities in various parts of the world either in cooperation with Palestine guerrillas or single-handedly. The Japanese Red Army is among the most active of the international terrorist organizations.

Some of the members of the Japanese Red Army remain in Lebanon, a long-time base of their activities, while others have dispersed to various parts of the world and gone underground in order to build new bases of their activities. It was dealt a heavy blow as members of the Japanese Red Army were arrested one after another after 1995. It, no doubt, was hit even harder by the arrest of five members in Lebanon in February 1997.

The Sekigunha faction of Kyosando (Communist League) which was the predecessor of the Japanese Red Army, was dealt a devastating blow by the so-called "Daibosatsu-toge Incident" in which many members were rounded up while they were engaged in military training. However, in 1971, members of the Sekigunha faction, namely, Fusako Okudaira (Shigenobu) and Tsuyoshi Okudaira, left Japan for Beirut, established contact with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and started activities to organize the Japanese Red Army. They reinforced the organization by inviting to Lebanon Japanese Red Army sympathizers, such as Yasuyuki Yasuda, Kozo Okamoto, Kazue Yoshimura and Osamu Maruoka, who later became nucleus members of the group.

(b) Activities in the 1970s

In 1972, the year following the organization of the Japanese Red Army, three members, namely, Tsuyoshi Okudaira, Yasuyuki Yasuda, and Kozo Okamoto fired automatic rifles at random under the command of the PFLP at the Tel Aviv Lod Airport in Israel, injuring about 100 people, mostly tourists. Twenty-four of them were killed. Beginning with this Tel Aviv Airport incident, the Japanese Red Army perpetrated terrorist incidents one after another; occupying diplomatic establishments or hijacking in the "Dubai Incident? (1973), "the Hague Incident" (1974), "Kuala Lumpur Incident" (1975), and the "Dacca Incident" (1977). In the "Kuala Lumpur Incident" and "Dacca Incident, the Japanese Red Army demanded that their comrades who were detained in Japan be set free. It increased its strength by adding 11 members released by the Japanese Government.

After Dacca Incident, the Japanese Red Army stopped visible armed struggle and conducted publicity activities from its base in Beirut. In 1985, Kozo Okamoto who had been serving a prison term in Israel for perpetrating the "Tel Aviv Lod Airport Incident" was released in exchange for captives of the PFLP-QC (the General Command faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). He then joined the Japanese Red Army again.

In the meantime, terrorists incidents using bombs, such as "Jakarta Incident" (1986), "Rome Incident" (1987) and "Naples Incident (1988)," broke out at many places around the world, and the involvement of the Japanese Red Army in these incidents became clear from fingerprints of its members lifted from the scenes of these incidents.

In November 1987, Osamu Maruoka, who involved himself in the "Dacca Incident" and "Dubai Incident and smuggled himself into Japan was arrested. In April 1988, Yu Kikumura was arrested in the United States on suspicion of carrying pipe bombs with him, while in June 1988, Hiroshi Izumi, a suspect of the "Dacca Incident" was arrested by coordinated efforts of the Japanese and Philippine authorities. In this manner, members of the Japanese Red Army were arrested one after another.

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