Media Release
FA154 - 24 October 2002
Extensive Support for Australia's Request for UN Listing of Jemaah
Islamiya
Last night in New York, Australia submitted a formal request to the
United Nations Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee that Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI) be listed as an entity related to al-Qaida. This is
the first time Australia has requested such a listing and reflects
the Government's commitment to combatting terrorism and our particular
concerns about the activities of JI.
Our submission included evidence of JI's links to al-Qaida and of
JI's involvement in international terrorist activities.
JI is an extremist Islamic organisation with cells operating throughout
South East Asia. We have identified some of the key figures within
the organisation and their links to al-Qaida. We have also provided
evidence of the organisation's capability and intent to conduct terrorist
attacks, including the frustrated plot to bomb the diplomatic missions
of the United States, Australia, Israel and the United Kingdom in
Singapore and admissions by JI members of helping to plan and finance
terrorist bombings in the Philippines and Indonesia.
I am pleased with the extensive support our request for listing has
received. At this stage, 43 countries have indicated that they will
join or support us in requesting the listing, and are writing to the
1267 Committee. They include Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore,
the Philippines, Brunei, Burma, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, all 15 EU members, the United States,
Mauritius and Turkey, among others.
I also welcome the United States' announcement on 23 October that
it has designated JI as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. This allows
the U.S. to take a broad range of financial and other measures against
JI and its members.
A 48 hour "no objections" period will now ensue. If none of the15
members of the Security Council lodges an objection, the listing will
take effect at 4.00pm on 25 October (New York time). I am confident
that the listing will proceed smoothly.
All UN Member States will then be obliged to take measures against
JI, including freezing of funds and other assets, banning sale or
transfer of arms and weapons, military equipment, technical advice
or training, and preventing the entry and transit of individual members
of JI.
Australia has already put in train the process of proscribing JI
in our domestic regulations for asset freezing, including gazetting
JI as a terrorist entity under the Charter of the UN (Anti-terrorism
measures) Regulation 2001.
Media inquiries: Chris Kenny (Ministerial) +61 02 6277 7500 / Lyndall
Sachs (Departmental) 02-6261 1555
Local Date:
Sunday, 05-Jul-2009 05:39:38 EST
