Saudi to crack down on terror financiers

Saudi Arabia has committed to crack down on groups posing as charitable organizations in the Philippines but acting as fund-raisers to bankroll terror attacks, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales revealed yesterday.

Gonzales said Saudi authorities have also promised to cooperate closely in the efforts to identify similar groups posing as charitable organizations based in Jeddah.

"What they’re (Saudi authorities) saying is that we should not be stopping (Saudi-based) charitable foundations from operating in the country and undertaking socio-economic projects in Mindanao but they said they will definitely act on those which are fronts and funders of terrorist groups in the country," he said.

The oil-rich kingdom made the commitment after the US Treasury Department tagged the Philippine and Indonesian branches of International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) as fund-raiser for the al-Qaeda terror network to finance terror attacks of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah.

Aside from the Philippines and Indonesia, the Saudi-based Islamic charity organization has operations in more than 20 countries in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

Gonzales arrived from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday where he had a meeting with Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Secretary-General of the National Security Council, to forge closer cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

The meeting was a follow up on the agreement between President Arroyo and Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud last May for the two countries to forge closer ties in the fight against terrorism.

Gonzales said the Saudi authorities had agreed to crack down on fronts of Islamic militants.

Gonzales said a high-level Saudi delegation is expected to arrive in the country in the coming weeks to finalize the proposed counter-terrorism agreement that would include intelligence sharing and mechanism for cooperation.

He said Saudi Arabia is "very much interested" in forging close ties with the Philippines in the area of counter-terrorism.

"(Because) our region is home to Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world," Gonzales said.

"Terrorism is a global threat and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wants to be at the forefront in the fight," he said. "The Philippines and Saudi Arabia may be geographically apart but these terrorist groups do not recognize borders."

On Aug. 4, the US Treasury Department came out with a report tagging the IIRO as a front of al-Qaeda.

The treasury department sought to freeze the assets of one of its ranking officials, Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, for allegedly financing Islamic militant groups.

The IIRO offices in the Philippines raised money for the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

The IIRO’s offices in Indonesia, on the other hand, have funneled money to foundations affiliated with the JI regional terror network and have helped to finance training facilities for use by al-Qaeda associates, the department alleged.

Ricardo Blancaflor, Executive Director of Malacañang’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force, earlier said the IIRO no longer operates in the country as he admitted that the information may not be updated.

The IIRO reportedly established its branch in the Philippines in 1988.

The IIRO established its branch in Marawi City and was incorporated in 1993 by Saudi businessman Mohammad Jamal Khalifa, who is married to one of the sisters of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Khalifa reportedly married a local lass, Alice Yabo, in an effort to justify his stay in the country but fled as soon as authorities had sensed his illegal activities.

Authorities said Khalifa had moved money to finance the supplies of the Abu Sayyaf. He was the regional director of the IIRO in the Philippines.