Page 172 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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148———German Red Army Faction

Further Reading such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP) and Carlos the Jackal (Ilich
Berger, Carol. “Exiled Sheikh ‘Is Behind Egypt’s Islamic
Revolt.’” Daily Telegraph, November 18, 1992, 18. Ramírez Sánchez).
Berger, Carol. “Islamic Militants Fire at Cruise Ship on The first major attack following the capture of the
Nile.” Daily Telegraph, April 10, 1993, 15. Baader-Meinhof leaders was the February 1975
Berger, Carol. “Muslims Hang for Attacking Tourists: kidnapping of West German politician Peter Lorenz
Egypt Faces Criticism Over Repression of Opposition.” by RAF members calling themselves the 2 June
Daily Telegraph, July 9, 1993, 14. Movement. Some experts view 2 June as a splinter
El-Dakhakhny, Mohamed. “Egypt Terrorists Want Leader group of the RAF. Lorenz was released in return for
Back.” Chicago Sun-Times, November 19, 1997, 3. five RAF prisoners. RAF’s next major attack, under-
Lockwood, Christopher. “Massacre by the Nile: The taken with the aid of the PFLP, was the June 27,
Killers.” Daily Telegraph, November 19, 1997, 3. 1976, hijacking of an Air France flight on its way
U.S. State Department. “Appendix B: Background from Tel Aviv to Paris. Diverting the plane to
Information on Terrorist Groups.” Patterns of Global Entebbe, Uganda, the hijackers demanded $5 million
Terrorism—2000. Released by the Office of the
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, April 30, 2001. http:// and the release of 53 terrorists and RAF leaders. The
www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2000/2450.htm. crisis was ended by a daring military operation by
Israeli counterterrorism forces; three hostages and
one Israeli soldier were killed. The success of the
operation made governments much less willing to
GERMAN RED ARMY FACTION negotiate with terrorists.
On September 5, 1977, the RAF kidnapped Hanns-
Martin Schleyer, a right-wing German politician, once
A descendant of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, again demanding the release of RAF prisoners and
the German Red Army Faction (RAF) perpetrated adding the demand that the prisoners be given free
some of the most devastating terrorist attacks of passage to the country of their choice. Negotiations
the 1970s and has remained a threat for more than dragged on for five weeks while the West German
20 years. government tried to find a country willing to take
The Baader-Meinhof Gang grew out of the German them. On October 14, 1977, in an effort to spur the
student movement of the 1960s; many students German government into action, the RAF hijacked a
believed that the West German government was fascist Lufthansa flight and diverted it to Kuwait; five days
and corrupt and wanted to replace it with communism. later, a raid by Grenzschutzgruppe 9, German antiter-
The name “Red Army Faction” had been adopted by rorist commandos, freed the hostages. As it became
the members of the Baader-Meinhof Gang in honor of clear that the government was not going to meet the
the Japanese Red Army soon after its formation; how- terrorists’ demands, several of the imprisoned Baader-
ever, this self-designation was at first largely ignored Meinhof leaders committed suicide, while the RAF
by the press and the public. Many of the gang’s lead- kidnappers killed Schleyer.
ers were arrested in the summer of 1972, including During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several
Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, but the group important RAF members were arrested or killed in
was by no means destroyed. gun battles with police. From December 1984 to
The German RAF took on a character different October 1986, the group carried out a string of attacks
from that of Baader-Meinhof. Whereas Baader- on U.S. Army bases and North Atlantic Treaty
Meinhof concentrated on bank robberies and Organization facilities in Germany; concurrently,
bombings, the RAF concentrated on hijackings, kid- the RAF engaged in an assassination campaign
nappings, and assassinations. While Baader-Meinhof against German leaders that killed eight and injured
was known for its fast-living communal lifestyle, the dozens. RAF continued with sporadic bombings
RAF was organized into separate isolated cells. through the 1980s, but support began to peter out with
However, many RAF attacks involved demands for the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent
both Baader-Meinhof and RAF prisoners to be reunification of Germany. During the 1990s, the
released. During the 1970s, some members were group made few attacks, while several of its remain-
involved with operations by other terrorists groups, ing leaders were arrested or turned themselves in. In