Upon arrival , all Moluccans were granted ' foreign status ' because they rejected Dutch nationality and insisted on a return to the independent Republic of the South Moluccas . As a result of the '' ' Indonesian Nationality Act of 1958 ' '' . most Moluccans in the Netherlands lost Indonesian citizenship and became stateless . In the 1970s , the number of Moluccans in the Netherlands had grown to 30,000 persons . Most of them still believed in an independent Moluccan Republic , and did not wish to obtain Dutch citizenship . After the 1975 Dutch train hostage crisis and other violent actions , the Dutch government decided to improve the situation of the Moluccans . It offered the Moluccans ( almost ) equal rights to Dutch citizens , without making them Dutch citizens . the Dutch government met the Moluccans in 1976 with a special law ( the so-called '' ' Wet betreffende de positie van Molukkers ' '' ) to equate the legal position of Moluccans residing in the Netherlands with Dutch citizens . Moluccans who fall under this law have no right to participate in elections , national and European . The third generation of Moluccans should get Dutch nationality by law
1975 Dutch train hostage crisis
1975 Dutch train hostage crisis
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