London, Oct 28: Britain's government today proposed adding four groups to its list of banned terror organizations, including the southeast Asian group suspected of involvement in the Bali bomb attack and the ruthless Philippine extremists Abu Sayyaf. Home secretary David Blunkett issued a draft order which would outlaw Jemaah Islamiyah, suspected in the Oct 12 attacks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, under the Terrorism Act of 2000.
The order, which must be debated and approved by Parliament, would also proscribe the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and the tiny Lebanon-based Palestinian militant group Asbat al-Ansar. The Terrorism Act bans 21 alleged international terror groups, making membership in and support of them illegal.
"Recent events have served as a stark reminder that the danger posed by global terrorism has not gone away," Blunkett said in a statement.
"Proscription is not a power to be used lightly. The government has always kept the list of proscribed organizations under constant review and after taking all the relevant factors into account, I am satisfied that these four groups should now be added to it," he continued. Jemaah Islamiyah _ the name means Islamic group _ is believed to be seeking a Muslim super-state in southeast Asia and is accused of being linked to the al-Qaida terror network.
The Islamic movement of Uzbekistan seeks to overthrow the government of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who launched a crackdown on unauthorized expressions of Islam in 1998. Bureau Report