UK Government declares new international terrorists

The 21 proscribed organisations include the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Basque separatist group ETA, and the Sri Lankan group the Tamil Tigers. All the organisations are based outside the UK, and the vast majority of them have never been active in this country. According to the Home Office, groups like ETA threaten "Collateral Damage [...]to [...] UK citizens who go to Spain, and businesses". If parliament passes the proscription orders then solidarity actions with liberation struggles which support those banned organisations - such as fundraising, speaking at meetings or just wearing a T-Shirt - could lead to jail sentences in the UK. To be continued....

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.

Full list of 21 banned "terrorist" organisations

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.

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)