U.S. Redesignates 25 Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Listing is based on groups' activities over the past two years
Secretary of State Colin Powell has redesignated 25 groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said October 2. Boucher said in a prepared statement that the initial terrorist designations were made in 1997 and 1999 and were set to expire October 3. "By re-certifying them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and publishing that decision today in the Federal Register, we preserve the U.S. Government's ability to take action against them in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended," Boucher said.
Following is the text of Boucher's remarks
October 2, 2003 The Secretary of State redesignated 25 groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under U.S. law on October 2, 2003. The initial designations of these groups in 1997 and 1999 are due to expire on October 3, 2003. By re-certifying them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and publishing that decision today in the Federal Register, we preserve the U.S. Government's ability to take action against them in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. 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. The Secretary made this decision in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury after a thorough review of these groups' terrorist activities over the past two years. With this redesignation, the number of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations is 36. As we carry on the global campaign against terrorism, we hope this list will help to isolate these terrorist organizations, to choke off their sources of financial support, and to prevent their members' movement across international borders. The 25 groups being redesignated today are: Abu Nidal Organization Abu Sayyaf Group Armed Islamic Group Aum Shinrikyo Basque Fatherland and Liberty Gama'a al-Islamiyya HAMAS Harakat ul-Mujahideen Hizballah al-Jihad Kahane Chai Kurdistan Worker's Party Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization National Liberation Army Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- Shaqaqi Faction Palestinian Liberation Front -- Abu Abbas Faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command al-Qa'ida Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Revolutionary Nuclei Revolutionary Organization 17 November Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front Shining Path The 11 previously designated groups that remain on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations are: Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade 'Asbat al-Ansar Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Jaish-e-Mohammed Jemaah Islamiya Lashkar-e-Tayyiba Lashkar I Jhangvi Real IRA Salafist Group for Call and Combat United Self-Defense Forces/Group of Colombia
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