*EPF405 10/02/2003
Text: U.S. Redesignates 25 Foreign Terrorist Organizations
(Listing is based on groups' activities over the past two years) (500)

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:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
October 2, 2003

Statement by Richard Boucher, Spokesman

Redesignation of Foreign Terrorist Organizations

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

(end text)

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

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