Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has continued to spread, with Iraq becoming a fertile ground for al-Qaeda supporters while anti-terror responses have been weak, a group charged with monitoring the implementation of UN sanctions against terrorist organizations said Monday.
While the group cited some progress in freezing assets of and banning travel by members of al-Qaeda and the former militants in Afghanistan, the Taliban, it said governments failed to cooperate in providing information regarding those members.
"Without a tougher and more comprehensive resolution -- a resolution which obligates states to take mandated measures -- the role played by the United Nations in this important battle risks becoming marginalized," the group said in a report.
The group, known as the "Committee on Sanction on al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their associates," was created by the UN Security Council in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the US.
The council ordered a freeze of assets and a travel ban on al-Qaeda and Taliban members. The monitoring group has listed 371 names and organizations belonging to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and has demanded governments provide information on 272 individuals for the purposes of asset freezing and travel ban. But it said governments have been reluctant to meet the request.
It said Iraq has become "readily accessible to followers of al-Qaeda."
"With such large numbers of foreign and non-Muslim troops involved [in Iraq], it is proving an ideal `battleground' for followers of Osama bin Laden's inspired `World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders,'" the report said, referring to the US-led coalition force in Iraq.
The monitoring group tried to visit several Middle Eastern countries in September to write the report. But Saudi Arabia denied entry to the group. In Kuwait, the group sought information about the al-Qaeda-related Wafa Humanitarian Organization, but was told that the organization did not exist.
Yemen failed to provide names of those detained in the attack against the USS Cole in 2000. In Egypt, the group was told that Cairo had not received a UN letter requesting information on individuals on the list of al-Qaeda suspects.
The report said it received little cooperation in Jordan, Syria and Morocco.
It said governments in some countries were not aware of UN resolutions demanding information and cooperation in fighting global terrorism.
Al-Qaeda was suspected of maintaining assets in 83 countries, but only 21 countries have reported freezing those assets. The total assets frozen amounted to US$75 million with the US accounting for US$70 million.
Governments have been asked to provide information on asset freezing, but the report said they have been vague on the mechanism and structures put in place to identify and investigate banking institutions that may harbor those assets.
The UN arms embargo on al-Qaeda and the Taliban has not been fully carried out, either. The report said, "States' description of the [embargo] measures ... are more telling from the information they do not provide than from what they do provide."
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
‘ILLEGAL RULING’: The KMT and the TPP slammed the Constitutional Court judgement, saying it contravened the law and was trying to clear the way for a ‘green dictatorship’ The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers. The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 20 last year passed amendments stipulating that no fewer than 10 grand justices must take part in deliberations of the Constitutional Court, and at least nine grand justices must agree to declare a law unconstitutional. The Executive Yuan on Jan. 2 requested that lawmakers reconsider the bill, but the Legislative Yuan, under a combined majority of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party
RSS