*EPF304 03/27/2002
Text: State Department Adds Three Groups to Foreign Terrorist List
(Secretary Powell names three Middle Eastern groups) (760)

Secretary of State Colin Powell has added three Middle Eastern terrorist groups to the official "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" list, including the Palestinian militia group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the U.S. State Department announced March 27.

The other groups added to the list are Asbat al-Ansar and the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

"The Salafist Group for Call and Combat is an Algerian armed group dedicated to the overthrow of the Algerian government and the imposition of fundamentalist Muslim theocracy," he said during the regular State Department briefing. "It's an offshoot of the Groupe Islamique Armee -- the GIA, or Armed Islamic Group, which has conducted a terrorist campaign in Algeria for over a decade and which was already on our terrorist list."

Boucher said the other group, the Asbat al-Ansar, is a Sunni Muslim terrorist organization largely based in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and has been linked to al-Qaida. "This group is banned in Lebanon. The government of Lebanon has shared with us valuable information about the organization," he said.

In a written announcement of the new additions to the list, Powell said he hopes "this will leave no doubt that the United States considers terrorism to be unacceptable, regardless of any supposed political or ideological purpose."

The addition of these three brings to 33 the number of groups the State Department identifies as foreign terrorist organizations.

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. A 1996 federal law prohibits U.S. citizens from providing terrorist organizations with any financial or other assistance, and banks and other U.S. financial institutions must freeze their assets. In addition, their members are ineligible for U.S. visas.

Following is the text of Powell's announcement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
March 27, 2002

Statement by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell

Designation of Three Additional Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Today I am announcing the designation of three additional foreign terrorist organizations. They are: 'Asbat al-Ansar, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, whose imminent designation was announced last week, is also being designated under the authority of two executive orders blocking terrorist assets, effective today. The designations of these groups, which were published today in the Federal Register, make it unlawful for persons in the United States or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to provide material support or resources to these groups, require U.S. financial institutions to block assets held by the groups, and makes representatives, members, and supporters of the groups ineligible for visas. I designated these three groups, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, after an exhaustive review of these groups' violent activities.

Today's designations bring to 33 the number of groups on the list of foreign terrorist organizations designated. Beyond the legal ramifications of these designations, I hope this will leave no doubt that the United States considers terrorism to be unacceptable, regardless of any supposed political or ideological purpose.

(end text)

Following is the list of terrorist organizations:

(begin text)

Foreign Terrorist Organizations
State Department Office of Counterterrorism
Washington, D.C.
March 27, 2002


1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
2. Abu Sayyaf Group
3. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
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)

(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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