Who bombed the Hilton? (38 page)

Enter the Ananda Marga

1
‘A Note on Anand Marg [sic]', 11/5/76. Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8132. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

2
Wood, J,
Report of the inquiry held under section 475 of the Crimes Act,
1900 into the convictions of Timothy Edward Anderson, Paul Shaun [i.e. Shawn] Alister and Ross Anthony Dunn at Central Criminal Court, Sydney, on 1st August, 1979
, 3 Vols. NSW Govt Printer, Sydney, 1985, Section B, p. 74.

3
ibid., pp. 74–83.

4
‘A Note on Anand Marg [sic]', op. cit., p. 3.

5
ibid., p. 4.

6
ibid., p. 5.

7
Gupte, Pranay,
Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi
, Penguin Books, 2012.

8
ibid.

An Australian campaign of terror

1
Toms, ‘Precis of Incidents Which Have Occurred in New South Wales Involving Ananda Marga'. Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

2
ibid.

3
Wood, J, op. cit., Appendix F ‘Chronology — A background to the Inquiry', p. 3.

4
ibid., p. 3.

5
Duff will be convicted on a slightly lesser charge the following year. See Wood, J, op. cit.: ‘Subsequently, John William Duff, a member of the Ananda Marga, was charged with offences arising out of this incident. He was convicted on counts under the
Crimes (International Protected Persons) Act 1976
, but acquitted of charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and breaking and entering and inflicting grievous bodily harm.' (
Duff v. R.
(1979) 28 A.L.R. 663.) Duff was found ‘guilty of three offences which, according to the learned trial judge's ruling and direction to the jury, were alternative counts to the first three counts in the indictment. The appellant was convicted of the offences of attack on the person of Iqbal Singh (IS), of attack on the liberty of IS and of attack on the liberty of Darshan Kaur Singh, offences which were created by s. 8(2) of the
Crimes (Internationally Protected Persons) Act 1976.
The court (Connor J.) imposed a sentence for each offence of three years imprisonment with hard labour, the sentences to be cumulative.'

6
‘Ananda Marga: a sect revered, yet dreaded in its homeland',
Sydney
Morning Herald
, 19 September 1977, p. 6.
See also
‘Indian envoy's nephew tells of chase by three men',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 22 September 1977, p. 2.

7
‘ASIO ran agents within the Ananda Marga', Holdich, R, Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,
Complaint by Mr Richard John Seary against the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation: Final Report
, op. cit., p. 12.

8
Toms, ‘Precis of Incidents Which Have Occurred in New South Wales Involving Ananda Marga', Hilton bombing records. Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.
See also
‘Ministerial Representations from the Consul General of India, Caltex House, 167–187 Kent Street, Sydney, to the New South Wales government, Premier's Department, concerning recent incidents and malicious damage occasioned to Indian government installations' Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

9
Wood, J, op. cit., p. 4.

10
Toms, op. cit.

11
‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Letter Demanding Money Sent to [Redacted]', Report compiled by Krawczyk/Helson. Running sheets. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

12
Toms, op. cit.

13
ibid.

14
‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Threatening Letter Received By [Redacted] on 4 October 1977'. Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

15
Letter from Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to Premier Neville Wran. Running sheets. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

16
ibid.

17
ibid.

18
‘Ministerial Representations from the Consul General of India, Caltex House, 167–187 Kent Street, Sydney, to the New South Wales Government, Premier's Department, concerning recent incidents and malicious damage occasioned to Indian Government installations', Hilton bombing records. Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

Abhiik Kumar

1
National Foreign Assessment Center, Central Intelligence Agency, August 1978, International Terrorism in 1977: A Research Paper. Retrieved 11/2/16 from <
www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/89801/DOC_0000689061.pdf
>

2
‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Interstate Report Submitted Concerning The Identity of Jon Hoffman Now Known As Jason Holman
Alexander Aust Leader of Ananda Marga', Hilton bombing records. Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

3
‘Activities of the Ananda Marga in New South Wales'. 21/9/77. Krawczyk/Watson. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

4
Confidential. P. 2. Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

5
(Interview with former Ananda Marga member by ASIO?), Hilton bombing records. Running sheet 1(a)/18, 15.11.77, (interview conducted 24–27.10.77). Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

6
ibid. The italics are mine.

7
(Untitled and Undated briefing from NYC Police Intelligence Unit), Hilton bombing records. Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8132. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

8
‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Information Received from ASIO re. their interview with [redacted]', sheet 1(a)/19. Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

9
‘Report on Ananda Marga' p. 1 [A12909, 1848], Submission 1848, 1978 Cabinet Records — Selected Documents, ‘Legal and security issues', p. 322, National Archives of Australia.

10
ibid., p. 324.

11
ibid.

12
ibid., p. 323.

13
ibid., p. 322.

14
ibid., pp. 324–325.

15
ibid.

16
ibid., p. 325.

17
ibid., p. 326.

18
ibid., p. 327.

19
ibid., p. 328.

20
ibid., p. 327.

21
Sydney Morning Herald
, 14 January 1978, p. 6.

It all goes quiet

1
Last reported attack of 1977: ‘An Indian Diplomat was stabbed and seriously wounded on Embassy Row here last night by an assailant wielding two knives in a bizarre attack that investigators believe may have political overtones.'
See
‘Attack on Indian Tied to Politics: Diplomat knifed on Embassy Row',
Washington Post
, 29 November 1977, p. 1.

2
Holdich, R, Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,
Complaint by Mr Richard John Seary against the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation: Final Report
, op. cit., p. 12.

3
Special Branch Report ‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Information Received From A Reliable Source Concerning Paul Maurice O'Callaghan And An Unknown Female Attending A V.S.S. Training Camp at Anandapalli', 6/1/78. Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

4
Special Branch Report ‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Documents Taken Possession Of On Sunday The 29th January, 1978. At Crosslands, U.K.K. Camp', 31/1/78, Sheet 1(a)40, Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4.Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

5
Special Branch Report ‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Document Obtained From U.K.K. Camp At Crosslands On Sunday 29th January 1978', 31/1/78. Sheet 1(a)45, Running sheets marked 1(a)1 –1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

6
Special Branch Report ‘Ananda Marga Inquiry — Documents Taken Possession Of On Sunday The 29th January, 1978. At Crosslands, U.K.K. Camp', 31/1/78, Sheet 1(a)40, Running sheets marked 1(a)1–1(b)45. Item no. 9/8113.4. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

7
ibid.

8
ibid.

9
Holdich, R, Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,
Complaint by Mr Richard John Seary against the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation: Final Report
, op. cit., p. 12.

10
ibid., p. 14.

11
Tedeschi, Mark, 1989, ‘Summary of the Crown Case Against Timothy Edward Anderson', p. 16. Notes supplied to the author by Mark Tedeschi.
See also
Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,
Complaint by Mr Richard John Seary against the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation: Final Report
, op. cit., p. 34.

12
‘DET SEN CST HENDERSON — identifies photographs of Jason Holman Alexander as Abhiik', Hilton bombing records. Circumstantial Evidence re. Anderson. Item no. 9/8112.2. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Papers. New South Wales State Records.

13
‘Notes of Conversation between Detective Sergeant Jackson and Timothy Anderson at the Central Police Station on 30th June 1978', Statements. Item no. 9/8113.1. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Papers. New South Wales State Records.

‘The blast that shook Australia'

1
‘Terrorism', editorial,
Sydney Morning Herald
, 14 February 1978, p. 6.

2
‘Police Chief sacking — inquiry on',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 2 February 1978, p. 6.

3
Tom Molomby is particularly good at providing a thorough introduction to this kind of thinking. See Molomby, Tom, ‘Background',
Spies, Bombs and the Path of Bliss
, Potoroo Press, Sydney, 1986, pp. 1–6.
See also
‘Wran drops inquiry on ASIO charges',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 15 February 1978. p. 1 and ‘Wran backs down', editorial,
Sydney Morning Herald
, 15 February 1978, p. 6.

4
A fascinating overview of the newspaper's history can be found in Amos, Jessica, ‘The
National Times
: bastard of a paper', University of Wollongong Thesis Collection, University of Wollongong, 2005.

5
Kelly, P, Leitch, D, Summers, A, Clark, A, Hickie, D and Whitton, E, ‘The blast that shook Australia',
National Times
, 20–25 February 1978, p. 7.

6
ibid., p. 8.

7
ibid., p. 12.

8
‘Cowardly killer that knows no innocents: Australia in Bomb Club',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 19 February 1978, p. 102.

9
‘Aid for children of bomb victims',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 18 February 1978, p. 1.

10
‘“Ring Us” plea to bomb warning man',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 16 February 1978, p. 1.

11
‘Police frustrated in bomb investigations',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 18 February 1978, p. 2.

12
Marks was contracted to act as a consultant. Mr Justice Hope conducted a review of all protective security. ‘Security gets a shake-up to combat terrorism',
Sydney Morning Herald
, 24 February 1978, p. 1.

Thursday 16 February 1978

1
‘Cowardly killer that knows no innocents: Australia in Bomb Club', op. cit., pp. 55, 102.

2
‘Information Received From [Redacted] Possible Suspect Slavko Puskic — Re. Hilton Hotel', Hilton bombing records, Statements, 17/2/78. Item no. 9/8132. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

3
‘Telex Message no. 2130 Received From [Redacted]', Hilton bombing records, Statements, 17/2/78. Hilton bombing records, Running sheets extra. Item no. 9/8132. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.

4
‘Record of Interview Between Detective Sergeant BJ Borthwick and [Redacted] Taken At The Criminal Investigation Branch, Sydney, on the 21st February, 1978', Hilton bombing records, Statements, 21/2/78. Item no. 9/8113.1. Records relating to the Hilton bombing. Cabinet Office. New South Wales State Records.