The grenade attack and Klein’s threat to kill the hostages convinced the police to withdraw and seek safety on the ground floor. Klein examined his stomach and returned to the conference room to show Carlos the wound. Carlos patted him on the head and directed him to assist with the hostages. Stepping to the window Carlos looked down at the street where the police command units were assembled. He then ordered the sixty-three hostages to be split into three separate groups, “Liberals and semi-liberals,” “criminals” and “neutrals.” The “Liberals” consisting of the delegates from Algeria, Kuwait, Libya and Iraq, were told to stand against the windows that faced the street. Beside them, Yussef stacked the explosives and connected them to electronic timers. The “neutral” delegates representing Venezuela, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ecuador and Gabon were directed to stand on the opposite side of the room.
Sheikh Ahmed Yamani
The final group of “criminals,” from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Qatar were assembled before Carlos. Stepping towards Yamani, Carlos asked, “Do you know me?”
“Very well,” Yamani answered.
Carlos then announced in Arabic that he was the head of the Palestinian commando whose main targets were Iran and Saudi Arabia. He told them that if they cooperated they would not be harmed. He then called for a British secretary to write a message of demand for the Austrian authorities. The note, in English was short and direct: -
To the Austrian Authorities
We are holding hostage the delegations to the OPEC conference.
We demand the lecture of our communiqu? on the Austrian radio and television network every two hours, starting two hours from now.
A large bus with windows covered by curtains must be prepared to carry us to the airport Of Vienna tomorrow at 7.00, where a full- tanked DC9 with a crew of three must be ready to take us and our hostages to our destination.
Any delay, provocation or unauthorized approach under any guise will endanger the life of our hostages.
The Arm of the Arab Revolution
Vienna 21/XII/75
In addition, Carlos dictated a seven-page communiqu? in French extolling the “virtues” of the Palestinian cause and demanded, among other things, the relaunch of Arab unification. When the documents were finished, Carlos ordered the secretary, Griselda Carey, to take them to the authorities. She was also directed to assist the wounded Leopolder to leave the building on the condition that the police agreed to stop firing at the terrorists. Leopolder agreed and the pair made their way out of the foyer on to the street.
After interviewing the secretary and learning about the separation of the delegates and the explosives, the Austrians had no choice other than to begin negotiations.
While he waited for an answer to his demands, Carlos played “mind-games” with the hostages. After freeing another secretary who had become hysterical, Carlos taunted his captives and left a loaded pistol on a table next to several of the ministers while still retaining his machine-gun. The delegates later recalled that they believed that Carlos was trying to tempt them to grab for the weapon so that he would have justification for killing them.
As Carlos played his sick games, Klein’s condition was deteriorating. Belaid Abdessalam, who was also a doctor, examined Klein and agreed to relay a message to the authorities demanding that Klein be taken to hospital for urgent treatment. Carlos then emptied Klein’s pockets and told Abdessalam to take him out of the building. When the pair reached the foyer, Klein was asked in German if he was a hostage.
Klein replied, in broken English – “My fight name is Angie,” before collapsing. He was conveyed to hospital where surgeons discovered that the bullet had torn through his colon, pancreas and duodenal artery. They were amazed that he had been able to function with such a serious wound.
The negotiations began with Carlos demanding that the Libyan ambassador to Vienna be appointed as mediator but was advised that he was out of the country. The negotiations stalled until Riyadh Al-Azzawi, the Iraqi Charge D’Affaires, offered his services, which proved acceptable to both parties. When Al-Azzawi made first contact with the terrorists he was told by Carlos, “Tell them I’m from Venezuela and my name is Carlos. Tell them I am the famous Carlos, they know me.” Through the mediator Carlos restated his demands. As well as the plane and crew, he wanted a radio, 25 meters of rope and five pairs of scissors. He also demanded that Klein be released from hospital in time to make the trip.
When Al-Azzawi told Carlos that Klein was on life support and could not be moved for a month, Carlos consulted with his companions and told the mediator, “I don’t care if he dies on the flight, we came together and we’ll leave together.”
At 6.22 that evening, the first concession was made and the communiqu? that Carlos had penned, was broadcast. Other broadcasts followed at two-hourly intervals. An emergency cabinet meeting was called at midnight to assess the situation. In view of the killings that had occurred and faced with the prospect of many more, Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and his cabinet agreed to accede to the terrorist’s demands on the condition that all OPEC employees were to be released prior to the groups departure. On hearing the news Carlos was livid and shouted at the mediator that he was the one who decided who should be released. Within minutes, Carlos changed his mood drastically and agreed to the terms, telling Al-Azzawi that he had already decided to release the employees well before the Chancellor’s request.
Enroute to the airport
At 6.40 the following morning, a yellow postal bus with curtained windows, pulled up outside the rear entrance of the OPEC building. Shortly after, Carlos was standing brazenly beside the bus, as the hostages were loaded. After separating the employees that were to be freed, he provided a show for the television cameras by shaking hands with each of the hostages as they were released. When the remaining forty-two hostages were safely onboard, the bus drove towards the airport led by an ambulance and two police cars with flashing lights. Another ambulance carrying Klein, and a doctor who had volunteered to accompany him on the trip, had departed for the airport earlier.
As the convoy made it’s way through the morning traffic, Carlos could be seen clearly, standing at the window in the front of the bus next to the driver, waving at passers-by. Ironically, the sign on the front of the bus bore the legend, Sonderfahrt or Special Trip.
Loading the hostages
After arriving at the airport, the hostages were loaded on the Austrian Airlines DC9 but as Carlos prepared to board, Otto Roesch, the Austrian Interior and a former member of the Hitler Youth, stepped forward to shake hands with Carlos. The scene was captured by the press who ran it as a cover story the next day under the banner, “handshake of shame,” which brought worldwide criticism of not only Roesch but also the entire Austrian government.
Once on the plane, Carlos again separated the hostages, placing explosives under the seats occupied by Yamani, and Amouzegar and their deputies. Finally at 9.00am on Monday, 22 December, the plane took off, bound for Algiers. On the flight Carlos seemed to relax and chatted casually with Sheik Yamani and the other delegates. He later strutted along the aisle handing out his autograph. Taking advantage of his captors change in attitude, Yamani asked about their destination and was informed that after a brief stopover in Algiers, they intended to fly to Tripoli. Carlos seemed unperturbed that one of his hostages was the Libyan delegate and when Yamani raised the question he was told that the Libyan Prime Minister would be there to welcome them and would supply a plane to fly them to Baghdad.
Two-and-a-half hours after leaving Vienna, the plane touched down at El Beida airport outside of Algiers. Carlos left the aircraft unarmed and was greeted warmly by Abdel Aziz Bouteflika, Algeria’s Foreign Minister who escorted him to the VIP lounge. An ambulance was then supplied to take Klein to hospital for treatment. After a brief conversation with Bouteflika, Carlos agreed to release the thirty non-Arab delegates and officials. The others were told to remain on the plane. Despite the warm welcome they had offered him, the Algerian government refused to give Carlos another plane. In frustration, Carlos asked for the DC-9 to be refueled and the plane took off bound for Tripoli.
The reception in Tripoli was totally different from that in Algiers, with the Libyan’s refusing to supply a plane and demanding the release of the Libyan hostages. Aboard the aircraft, the situation became tense with Carlos threatening to shoot the hostages if he didn’t get his way. Finally, early on Tuesday morning Carlos released the Libyans and five other delegates. Anxious to procure a larger aircraft with greater range, Carlos then contacted the Saudi Arabian government who also refused to help while ever Sheik Yamani was held against his will.
Frustrated that his plan was unraveling, Carlos again ordered the plane to be refueled and gave orders to return to Algiers. As the plane approached Tunisia, the local air traffic controller called the pilot by radio and informed him that the plane was forbidden to land in Tunis even though a request for permission had never been made.
Carlos was angered by the message and ordered the pilot to make an approach to the airfield but Tunis control turned off the runway lights making a landing impossible.
Carlos at Algiers airport
Tired and stressed from nearly four days without sleep, Carlos directed the pilot to return to Algiers. At 3.40am the plane landed a second time at Dar El Beida airport where Carlos was greeted by Foreign Minister Bouteflika who was obviously unimpressed that he’d returned. A short discussion followed after which Carlos returned to the plane in a dark mood and informed his hostages that their fate would be decided after he met with his colleagues. Yamani watched as the terrorists talked in another part of the plane but was only able to ascertain that they were arguing about something.
As Carlos returned to speak with the ministers, they were wondering if they were about to die. Instead Carlos informed them, “We have finally decided to release you at Midday and with that decision your life is completely out of danger.” When Yamani asked why they couldn’t be released earlier, he was told that they should get some sleep first. Krocher-Tiedemann was obviously displeased with the decision to release the hostages and cursed Carlos loudly. They were about to bed down for the night when Carlos was summoned by the Algerians for more talks. He returned two hours later and told Yamani and Amouzegar, “I am leaving the plane now and you will follow me out in five minutes.”
After the allotted time elapsed, the hostages did as they were told and left the aircraft, wondering if it was about to explode. When they reached the safety of the VIP lounge they discovered that the terrorists were already there. As the hostages began to relate the details of their ordeal to Bouteflika, an angry Khalid approached them and grasped at his shirt. Thinking quickly, Bouteflika passed Khalid a glass of juice giving the Algerian police time to hold and search him. When they found a