23 October 2002
O'Neill Says Joint Terrorist Designation Sign of Commitment
(Views action as a first step in anti-terrorism fight in Asia) (500)
The United States and its allies in Asia and Europe have demonstrated
an international commitment to fighting terrorism by jointly moving at
the United Nations against an extremist Islamic organization, Treasury
Secretary Paul O'Neill says.
In an October 23 statement O'Neill said that the United States,
Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries asked the
U.N. to add Jemaah Islamiya (JI) to the list of terrorist entities.
Under U.N. Security Council resolutions all member countries are
required to block the financial assets of such organizations.
O'Neill said that in recent days finance ministers from Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries agreed on an action plan aimed
at fighting terrorist financing in Asia. The action against Jemaah
Islamiya, he added, is the first step in the realization of the plan.
Jemaah Islamiya is a radical Islamic organization that has allegedly
established its presence in several Asian countries. JI members
recently arrested in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines have
revealed that their organization is linked to al-Qaeda, according to a
State Department statement.
Following is the text of the statement:
(begin text)
STATEMENT BY SECRETARY PAUL O'NEILL ON DESIGNATION OF JEMAAH ISLAMIYA
(JI)
The joint action taken today by the United States, Australia,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and other Southeast Asian and
European allies demonstrates an international commitment to combating
terrorism and to disrupting terrorist financing in Southeast Asia. We
are joining these countries today in notifying the United Nations that
JI should be added to the consolidated list of terrorist-related
entities and individuals pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolutions
1267 and 1390. The U.N. listing requires all Member States to block
the assets of this organization and sends a signal to JI and other
like-minded terrorists and supporters that the international community
will not tolerate the support of terrorist groups in Southeast Asia
and other regions of the world. There will be no safe haven anywhere
in the world for money that kills.
Because the majority of the funds that fuel terror are not found in
the United States, we have focused our attention on building a
worldwide wall that cuts off access to funds for terror organizations.
In this case, the U.S. government has worked closely with our allies
to address the terrorist threat in the region. We met recently with
APEC Finance Ministers in Los Cabos, Mexico, to discuss steps that
should be taken to address terrorist financing in the region. This
action is a critical first step in a long-term process to fulfill the
APEC Finance Ministers' Action Plan on Terrorist Financing, which
resulted from that meeting.
Today's joint action is a clear indication of the regional and
worldwide commitment to disrupt terrorism by attacking the financial
underpinnings of groups like JI. As we and our partners around the
world isolate JI from its funding sources, we intend to deprive them
of the resources they need to carry out their acts of terror. We will
be relentless in the pursuit to bankrupt terrorist groups that
threaten our safety and the well being of our allies abroad.
(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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