U.S. terrorism sanctions come into force against JI

U.S. terrorism sanctions come into force against JI

Agencies, Washington/Jakarta

United States terrorism sanctions against Jamaah Islamiyah (JI),
the Southeast Asian Islamist militant group suspected of
involvement in this month's deadly Bali bombing, came into force
on Wednesday as the State Department designated it a "foreign
terrorist organization."

"We hope these steps put Jamaah Islamiyah out of the terrorism
business," Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a statement
announcing economic and travel sanctions on the group.

The designation, which now applies to 35 organizations, places
a freeze on any assets the group may have in the United States,
bars it from raising money here and denies U.S. visas to members.

Jamaah Islamiyah was also placed on a U.S. blacklist that
affects monetary transactions outside the United States that
involve U.S. banks and other financial institutions, the Treasury
Department said in a notice on its website.

Meanwhile, the United States and Australia will lobby the
United Nations to declare Jamaah Islamiyah a terrorist group by
recalling its alleged involvement in bombings across Southeast
Asia and a plan to crash a plane into Singapore's airport,
according to a confidential report.

The two countries hope an international campaign to root out
and cut off financial and other support to the Southeast Asia-
based group would follow a UN declaration that it is an al-Qaeda
ally, said a Philippine official, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

In Jakarta, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said
that as soon as Jamaah Islamiyah was put on the UN list of
terrorist groups, the Indonesian authorities would put the group
under surveillance.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on
Tuesday in Jakarta that as a member of the United Nations (UN)
Indonesia was obligated to comply with resolution No. 1390/2002
regarding terrorist groups.

"We are obligated to freeze, without delay, all economic
resources of the organizations and to prevent the entry or
transit of any person related to these groups," Marty said.

"We also have to stop all activities that may be related to
military operations of these organizations," he added.

U.S. and Australian officials have circulated a confidential
report on Jamaah Islamiyah's history, key leaders and terrorist
plots and strikes in the last two years to support a petition
asking a UN Security Council committee to brand the group a
terror organization, said the Philippine official.

In Canberra, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he was
confident the United Nations would support his call to declare
Jamaah Islamiyah a terrorist group, on mounting evidence it
played a role in the Bali bomb attack on Oct. 12 that killed more
than 180 people, many of them Australians.

"I will be staggered if the United Nations refuses to list
this (group) as a terrorist organization," Howard told Brisbane
radio station ABC on Wednesday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration, a staunch
ally of the U.S.-led global war on terrorism, supports the
petition, said her press secretary, Ignacio Bunye.

The group, which aims to create an Islamic state encompassing
Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern Philippines, "has cells
operating throughout Southeast Asia," said the two-page report
relayed by Australia to the Philippine government, a copy of
which was obtained by The Associated Press.

"JI's aim of replacing democratically elected governments by
unlawful means poses a serious threat to individual countries and
the peace and security" of the region, it said.

The report named an Indonesian cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, as
one of Jamaah Islamiyah's top leaders, along with compatriots
Fathur Rohman al Ghozi and Riduan bin Isamuddin, also known as
Hambali.

Bashir, who has denied any wrongdoing, was arrested last week
on suspicion of involvement in several church bombings that
killed 19 people in Indonesia two years ago.

The report, citing a plan called Jihad Operations in Asia that
it said was uncovered by authorities in Solo, Indonesia, said
Jamaah Islamiyah plotted to bomb the American embassies in
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in December 2001. Other targets
included the diplomatic missions of the United States, Australia,
Israel and Britain in Singapore, along with U.S. and Singaporean
defense establishments, the report said.

The plot was foiled with the arrests of 13 alleged Jamaah
Islamiyah members, according to the report.