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.