Wijster was the site of the
1975 Dutch train hostage crisis. In 1949,
Indonesia became independent, and the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was disbanded. The islands of
Ambon,
Buru, and
Seram had fought on side of the Netherlands. They were opposed to a
Java-dominated Indonesia, and proclaimed the
Republic of South Maluku which resulted in an attack by Indonesia. In 1951, 12,000 refugees from South Maluku were temporarily resettled in the Netherlands. They started to feel betrayed, because it developed into permanent exile. On 2 December 1975, the train from
Groningen to
Zwolle stopped in a field near Wijster. Seven South Moluccans had seized the train and killed the driver. The Dutch government was reluctant to negotiate, and the hijackers tried to kill a passenger, however he managed to escape and after being shot at, pretended to be dead. During the twelve days which followed, two more passengers were shot.
Johan Manusama, the former president of the Republic of South Maluku, managed to persuade the hijackers to surrender. In 1976, the hijackers were sentenced to 14 year imprisonment. ==Education==