*EPF503 08/09/2002
Text: Philippine Communist Party Designated Foreign Terrorist Group
(State・s Powell announces decision August 9) (980)

The Communist Party of the Philippines, whose military branch is known as the New People・s Army, was designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) August 9 by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

In a statement, Powell said the group was founded in 1969 with the aim of overthrowing the Philippine government by guerrilla warfare. It strongly opposes U.S. presence in the country and has killed Philippine and U.S. citizens, he said.

The designation makes it illegal to provide material support to the group, requires U.S. financial concerns to block the group・s assets, and makes the group・s non-U.S. members inadmissible to the United States, according to the statement. This brings the total number of FTOs to 34.

Following is the text of Powell・s announcement and a revised list of foreign terrorist organizations:

(begin text)

Designation of a Foreign Terrorist Organization
Secretary Colin L. Powell Washington, D.C.
August 9, 2002

Today we are taking another important step in our continuing efforts to combat global terrorism. I am announcing the designation of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People・s Army (CPP/NPA) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, as defined under U.S. law. I made this decision in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury after an exhaustive review of this group's violent activities.

The CPP, a Maoist group, was founded in 1969 with the aim of overthrowing the Philippine government through guerilla warfare. CPP s military wing, the New People s Army, strongly opposes any U.S. presence in the Philippines and has killed U.S. citizens there. The group has also killed, injured, or kidnapped numerous Philippine citizens, including government officials.

By designating the CPP/NPA as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and publishing that decision in the Federal Register, we impose measures against these terrorist groups in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, which was originally enacted as part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. This law makes it illegal for persons in the United States or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to provide material support or resources to these terrorist groups; it requires U.S. financial institutions to block assets held by them or their agents; and it makes representatives and members of these groups, if they are aliens, inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances, removable from the United States.

With today's designation, the number of Foreign Terrorist Organizations is now 34. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business. I hope this list will draw the attention of foreign governments around the world to this group and to the other FTOs. I also hope it 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)

Fact Sheet
Office of Counterterrorism
Washington, DC
August 9, 2002

Foreign Terrorist Organizations

1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
2. Abu Sayyaf Group
3. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
4. Armed Islamic Group
5. 'Asbat al-Ansar
6. Aum Shinrikyo
7. Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
8. Gama a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)
9. Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement)
10. Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
11. Hizballah (Party of God)
12. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
13. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)
14. Al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad)
15. Kahane Chai (Kach)
16. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
17. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)
18. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
19. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
20. National Liberation Army (ELN)
21. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
22. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
23. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
24. PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)
25. Al-Qaida
26. Real IRA
27. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
28. Revolutionary Nuclei (formerly ELA)
29. Revolutionary Organization 17 November
30. Revolutionary People s Liberation Army/Front (DHKP/C)
31. Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
32. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
33. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
34. Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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