Ferry hijackers await moves

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33451, 5 February 1974, Page 13

Ferry hijackers await moves

< X Z.P A. Reuter—Copyright' SINGAPORE, February I. The marathon ferry hijacking in Singapore Harbour entered its fifth day today with no apparent sign of a break in the deadlock between four armed guerrillas and the Government over how to get them out of the country.

A police launch todav took newspapers and a brown leather bag believed to contain food to the ferry and officials chatted with one of the guerrillas for about five minutes.! Two more guerrillas could be seen watching from the bridge of the 100 ft interisland ferry Laju. The hijackers, who are holding three crew hostages, yesterday thanked the Government for an offer to fuel the boat and let them sail to wherever they were heading when intercepted last Thurs-, day, but said that they would still prefer to fly to an unspecified Arab country. They commandeered the boat after failing to blow up Shell oil storage tanks on an offshore island. Only one civilian was injured in rhe inci'dent and the guerrillas, who, (say that they are members of (the Japanese “Red Army” and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (P.F.L.P.). have since assureo authorities that their mission in Singapore is over. A Government spokesman told a press conference that

night bag possible containing explosives, they wanted to (see a detailed plan of how ithey would be taken from the I ferry to a plane. | The spokesman said that Ithe Government was working !on a preliminary plan, but declined further comment. The guerrillas have issued , no ultimatums over the weekend and. with dailv supplies of food — including some Japanese and Moslem-stvle > dishes—cigarettes and new»1 papers, they seem content to ' wait for better terms. ; The Government has from * almost the beginning pro- ■ mised them safe passage out I of Singapore and the spokesman yesterday reiterated that > this offer was genuine. The ferry, which has now .Irun out of fuel after several -Idays of manouevring against ) the harbour currents inside a 3 tight cordon of police an. ■, navy boats, was lying at ai“ i chor early today about onl d mile and a half off centra! (Singapore.

the problem was to find a plane to take them away and an Arab Government willing to accept them. The gunmen themselves have already reijected Damascus, Aden and Bagdad, but have not said why. The spokesman said that the Government had begun a diplomatic search for en Arab Government willing to admit the men, both through its own embassies and through the good offices of the Japan ese Embassy in Singapore, i whose Ambassador, Mr Toki chiro Uomoto, has been pei sonally called in by the hi jackets to negotiate with them. Another hitch in the negotiations appeared to be a reluctance on the part of tb<guerrillas to surrender their weapons — a condition which Mr Uomoto described as vital in' a proposal to them on Saturday offering to obtain air transportation and nece sary visas for them The guerrillas replied that before giving up their armwhich are believed to include a hand gun each and an over-