Full list of 21 banned "terrorist" organisations

Lemming | 01.03.2001 01:25

You may have heard by now that the Home Office has produced a list of 21 organisations they recognise as terrorists under the new Terrorism Act which was passed last week. It took me ages to find a complete list of all 21 organisations but I eventually found it at Altavista's news section.

Al-Qaida (Osama Bin Laden's organisation)
Egyptian Islamic Jihad
Al-Gama'at al-Islamiya (Egyptian militant group)
Armed Islamic Group (Algerian guerrilla group)
Salafist Group for Call and Combat (from Algeria)
Babbar Khalsa (seeking an independent Sikh homeland)
International Sikh Youth Federation
Harakat Mujahideen (seeking independent Kashmir)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (also Kashmiri)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (Pakistan-based Kashmiri group)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers)
Hizballah External Security Organisation (Home Office spelling)
Hamas Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO)
Islamic Army of Aden
Mujaheddin el-Khalq (Iran)
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Revolutionary Peoples' Liberation Party-Front (Turkey)
Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA (Spain)
17 November Revolutionary Organisation (Greece)

Now I'm not saying that any of the above organisations are worth supporting, but the Terrorism Act is just going to intensify the situation. For example, the Tamil Tigers threatened to pull out of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government if they were named, and they have been (see above).

Also the implications for democracy in the UK are disastrous - the main purpose of the Act is so that anyone who actively supports (very vague definition of that) a banned group will be liable for prosecution as an accessory to terrorism.

Useful links:

Altavista news story (where I got the list from)

http://news.altavista.com/scripts/editorial.dll?ei=2403626&ern=y&r404=1

Magna Carta Plus

http://www.magnacartaplus.org

Liberty

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk

Full text of the Terrorism Act

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000011.htm

Oppose the Terrorism Act

http://go.to/ta2000

Lemming
e-mail: lemming@grandtheftcyber.com
Homepage: http://go.to/ta2000

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

Hiz Bullies

01.03.2001 10:23

They seem to be predominantly Arab organisations. Has Britain embarked on an unholy Christian crusade...again?

Ali

Tonight Matthew I'm going to be ...

01.03.2001 12:53

Where is the Real IRA in all this?

Butterscotch

The Real Terrorists!

01.03.2001 16:18

Where is the military/industrial complex in this, who are terrorising the World with technologies you've only seen in a Spielberg film?

Hiz Bullies

Still Seperate rules for Ireland

01.03.2001 17:22

There are still a totally seperate set of rules for ireland. For example the real ira, the continuity ira, the orange volunteers and the red hand defenders are already proscribed organisations.

eyes

We're all terrorists now

01.03.2001 19:47

"First they came for the Islamic militants, and I did not speak out, for I was not an Islamic militant..."

Yes the old Prevention Of Terrorism Act already bans 13 Irish groups like the IRA and the UVF, bringing the total number of banned organisations to 34. Remember this is just the first list - the next one might include the ALF, the ELF, the Zapatistas, FARC, or even Class War or Movement Against The Monarchy!

The interpretation of terrorism as "any serious act against people, property or electronic systems to advance a political, religious or ideological cause" could include trashing a field of GM crops, dismantling a fighter plane or even taking down a web site with a DOS attack.

Here's a link to pretty good article from today's Guardian which briefly describes the support, if any, that the banned organisations have in the UK:

Lemming
mail e-mail: lemming@grandtheftcyber.com
Homepage: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4144220,00.html

The Final Act

02.03.2001 09:08

Jack (the last) Straw defines terrorism as "the use or threat of action" designed to "influence the government or to intimidate the public" ... So I have no right to try to influence the government, to stop threatening and intimidating the public with unecessary, stringent Draconian laws, like the New Terrorism Act. Bob Geldof would have been arrested under this act for forcing the government to 'Feed the World! BTW I'm wearing a 'Free Winston Sillcott T-shirt' does that count? Can I be arrested?

Oscar

American Govenment should have been included

03.03.2001 01:36

The biggest terrorist is the Bush regime. It should have been included on the list.

I see the PKK is on the so-called "terrorist" list. Why wasn't the Turkish government included because of its genocide against the Kurds?

IndianaGreen

Never forget

03.03.2001 10:44

There is one law for the just, and another for the wicked...exempt from all accountability. In my opinion the greatest act of terrorism of all time, was the bombing of Nagasaki...never remembered, lest we remember.

Elephant

Re: The Final Act

05.03.2001 17:21

The comment entitled "The Final Act" is mistaken as to
the Terrorism Act's definition of "Terrorism". Actions
taken to influence a government or intimidate the public
only become "terrorism" if they:

* involve serious violence against any person,

* involve serious damage to property,

* endanger a person's life, other than that of the
person committing the action,

* create a serious risk public health and safety, or

* are designed to seriously interfere with or disrupt
an electronic system.

This does seem to imply that various forms of direct action
such as destroying GM crops, building tunnels on land set
aside for roads or even organising a mass faxing of an
organisation's offices are "terrorism". Also any act
taken on behalf of a proscribed organisation is regarded
as an act taken for the purposes of terrorism.

Finally any movement involving armed struggle would
count as terrorism. Yes it's bad but not quite as bad
as regarding any act performed to influence a government
as terrorism.

James

James Hammerton
mail e-mail: james@tardis.ed.ac.uk
Homepage: http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~james

Terrorism Act

07.03.2001 17:50

This is not a complete list - all the Irish organisations previously banned under the PTA are also included.

Nancy
mail e-mail: nancy@chaos72.fsnet.co.uk

no - its worse

05.06.2001 22:42

By that definition police action for example is an act of terrorism. So too is voting - if you vote "xyz" you create a serious risk to public health and safety. The point is that the definitions are getting more vague - which gives more scope to play with.

Actions taken to influence a government or intimidate the public only become "terrorism" if they:

* involve serious violence against any person,

* involve serious damage to property,

* endanger a person's life, other than that of the
person committing the action,

* create a serious risk public health and safety, or

* are designed to seriously interfere with or disrupt
an electronic system.

Yes it's bad but not quite as bad
as regarding any act performed to influence a government
as terrorism.

jemima
mail e-mail: jem31@hotmail.com