Ashcroft Asks State to List Nine Groups as Terrorists, Ban Members

July 22, 2002
By Christopher Newton Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General John Ashcroft asked the State Department on Monday to list nine foreign groups and companies as terrorist organizations. The listing would prohibit any noncitizen members from entering the United States.

Under a broad anti-terrorism law President Bush signed last year, groups that finance or support terrorists can be listed as terrorist organizations. The State Department has final authority over which groups are included on the list.

The list, which already includes 39 groups, is aimed specifically at keeping group members from entering the country. The government has another list of alleged terrorist groups whose assets it has sought to freeze.

Some of the nine suggested by Ashcroft for listing have been under U.S. surveillance for months.

"Designating these nine groups as terrorist organizations will help secure our borders against those who would come to the United States to commit terrorist acts or to raise funds to finance terrorist operations," Ashcroft said.

"Americans have always welcomed the freedom-loving people of the world to our shores. But terrorists must not be allowed to use our hospitality as a weapon."

The groups proposed for by Ashcroft for listing:

Al Taqwa Trade, Property and Industry Co. Ltd.

Bank Al Taqwa Ltd.

Nada Management Organization

Youssef M. Nada & Co. Gesellschaft

Ummah Tameer E-nau

Loyalist Volunteer Force

Ulster Defence Association/Ulster Freedom Fighters

Afghan Support Committee

Revival of Islamic Heritage Society

The Justice Department did not disclose why all of the groups were under suspicion, but some have been publicly accused of having ties to terrorist groups.

In November 2001, a U.S.-coordinated sweep in Liechtenstein against Osama bin Laden's alleged financial network included a search of Al Taqwa Trade, Properties and Industry Co. Ltd., government officials have said. Bin Laden is the alleged head of the al-Qaida terror network, which the government blames for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Al Taqwa is linked to a company based in Lugano, Switzerland, that the United States said is suspected of being affiliated with bin Laden.

The Ulster Defence Association is Northern Ireland's largest outlawed anti-Catholic group. The group has claimed responsibility for a wave of attacks on Catholics. The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a Protestant, pro-British group that the government believes takes in $3.1 million a year through criminal activity.

Ummah Tameer-e-Nau is a charity organized by former Pakistani nuclear scientist Sultan Bashiruddin Mehmood. U.S. officials have said Mehmood is suspected of links to Islamic extremists and met with bin Laden twice in Afghanistan.

According to a U.S. Treasury statement, the Afghan Support Committee and the Pakistan branch of the Kuwaiti-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society have portrayed themselves "as legitimate charitable enterprises . . . but defrauded well-meaning contributors by diverting money donated for widows and orphans to al-Qaida terrorists."

On the Net:

State Department's terrorist organizations list: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/9014.htm

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGADHD0WY3D.html