10/05/2001 Text: Powell Identifies Foreign Terrorist Organizations Biennial listing includes 28 groups worldwide
The United States has issued its biennial report listing foreign
terrorist organizations subject to strict U.S. financial and visa
restrictions.
"Most of these groups -- such as HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad,
the Tamil Tigers, the FARC in Colombia, Basque ETA, and of course
Usama bin Ladin's al-Qa'ida organization -- have carried out murderous
attacks on innocent people since their last designation in 1999,"
Secretary of State Colin Powell said October 5 in a statement
accompanying the report.
Powell said the new listing would draw the attention of foreign
governments to these groups and encourage them to take action "to
isolate these terrorist organizations, to choke off their sources of
financial support, and to prevent their movement across international
borders."
The biennial report redesignates 25 terrorist groups from the 1999
report and adds three new ones: the United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia (AUC); the Real IRA group from Omagh, Northern Ireland; and
the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
Federal law requires that the State Department designate foreign
terrorist organizations every two years, though the secretary of state
has the latitude to add or remove organizations at any time. Under the
1996 law, U.S. citizens are prohibited from providing terrorist
organizations with any financial or other assistance, and banks and
other U.S. financial institutions must freeze their assets. In
addition, there are substantial visa restrictions.
President Bush September 24 ordered all assets of Usama bin Ladin's
al-Qa'ida network and 10 other terrorist organizations seized as part
of the U.S. counterterrorist campaign following attacks on the United
States September 11th.
The report noted these other effects of the Foreign Terrorist
Organization listing:
-- Deterring donations or contributions to terrorist organizations;
-- Heightening public awareness and knowledge of terrorist
organizations;
-- Signaling to other governments U.S. concern about terrorist
organizations; and
-- Stigmatizing and isolating designated terrorist organizations
internationally.
Two groups -- the Japanese Red Army and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement -- were removed from the list for a lack of significant
activity, Powell said. "This decision does not condone or excuse the
past terrorism carried out by these groups, nor does it suggest that
we now consider these groups to be legitimate," he said.
Two groups previously designated terrorist groups -- Kahane Chai and
Kach -- were combined into one and redesignated Kahane Chai, the
report said.
Powell said he consulted with Attorney General John Ashcroft and
Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill in an exhaustive review of these
groups' violent activities.
The 2001 Foreign Terrorist Organization report can be found on the
State Department Web site at:
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2001/index.cfm?docid=5258
Following is the text of Powell's statement:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
October 5, 2001
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL
Redesignation Of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Today I am taking an important step in continuing our efforts to
combat terrorism.
I am redesignating 25 groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under
U.S. law. The initial designations of these groups in 1997 and 1999
are due to expire on October 8. By re-designating them as Foreign
Terrorist Organizations and publishing that decision today in the
Federal Register, we continue the measures against these terrorist
groups in accordance with the provisions of the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act. This Act makes it illegal for persons in
the United States or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to provide material
support to these terrorist groups; it requires U.S. financial
institutions to block assets held by them; and it enables us to deny
visas to representatives of these groups. I made this decision in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the
Treasury after an exhaustive review of these groups' violent
activities over the past two years.
Every one of these groups has continued to engage in terrorist
activity over the past two years. Most of these groups -- such as
HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, the Tamil Tigers, the FARC in
Colombia, Basque ETA, and of course Usama bin Ladin's al-Qa'ida
organization -- have carried out murderous attacks on innocent people
since their last designation in 1999. Others -- such as the Abu Nidal
Organization, Aum Shinrikyo, and the Kurdish PKK -- have been less
active but have nonetheless continued to plan and prepare for possible
acts of terrorism. Still others -- such as the Egyptian al-Jihad and
the Gama'a al-Islamiyya -- have provided direct support for the
terrorist activities of Usama bin Ladin's network.
I did not redesignate two groups, the Japanese Red Army and the Tupac
Amaru Revolutionary Movement, because I determined that the statutory
criteria for redesignation had not been met. With respect to the
Japanese Red Army, we have maintained close watch and exchanged
information with other concerned countries, but we have not received
sufficient information during the past two years to justify
designation. This decision does not condone or excuse the past
terrorism carried out by these groups, nor does it suggest that we now
consider these groups to be legitimate. Terrorists in these
organizations remain accountable for their past crimes and will
continue to be subject to all other relevant U.S. laws, regulations,
and statutes. We remain concerned about their potential for renewed
terrorist activity and will continue to monitor them closely. If we
receive new evidence of terrorist activity, I will not hesitate to
redesignate these groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
With these actions today, our list of designated Foreign Terrorist
Organizations now stands at 28. As we embark on a long-term struggle
against terrorism, I hope this list will draw the attention of foreign
governments across the world to these groups and will encourage those
governments to take action, as we have, to isolate these terrorist
organizations, to choke off their sources of financial support, and to
prevent their movement across international borders.
(end text)
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