Entebbe ordeal recalled

Press, 13 April 1988, Page 1

Entebbe ordeal recalled

By

GLEN PERKINSON

Conditions aboard the hijacked Kuwaiti airliner now in Cyprus will be miserable and the terrorists will be tormenting the hostages, says a Christchurch man held; hostage in the 1976 Entebbe hijacking, i Mr Colin Hardie, held hostage for more than 24 hours at the Ugandan airport, said his heart went out to the remaining hostages aboard the Kuwait Airways 747 stranded at Larnaca Airport. He said that if the conditions were the same aboard |the Kuwaiti jet as they were aboard the hijacked plane at Entebbe it would be unbearable for the

hostages. [J He 1 (also believed that, if negotiations with the hijackers broke [down, the| plane should be stormed to release the hostages. If this hijhckihg succeeded, it would; [fuel more air terrorism, he said. I 1 Mr | Hardie j said that if the plane’s toilets; | had not been emptied the cabin would reek. There | might' be| no toilet paper, no water, and Ithe hostages might I be ill without I care. • I Any; supplies' that reached the I craft would be ‘[‘snaffled” by the I terrorists. || ■ j i|’; . [ I I ; “That is the nature of hijackers,” he said. | I

' Mr Hardie also 'said that by mow the hijackers would have got riel of unwanted hostages. The “hard core” remaining i captive would 1 be those with {whom the terrorists had a complaint. He said that hostage morale would be very low. i “Terrorists like this are fanatii cal — life means nothing to i them. They will be needling the i hostages [and breaking their morale. Those who; need medication I will be funning out or have run I out. | J ! “The ' conditions will be unbearable. The just won’t know what could happen next.” ; [: ii ■ , ■ -