Asean to come up with own terror list

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will come up with its own list of terrorist groups and individuals in the region that would allow governments to block their funding and movements, Ambassador Benjamin Defensor said yesterday.

Defensor, who is the Philippines’ Special Envoy on Counter-Terrorism and chairman of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Counter-Terrorism Task Force (APEC-CTTF), said the move to proscribe or ban terror groups would be a consequence of the adoption of the ASEAN Anti-Terrorism Convention this week.

"The convention says ‘let’s share and exchange information.’ So, when you talk about information exchange, it includes the list of terrorist supporters but this list is already existing because our intelligence community, as well as Malaysia, Indonesia, are already exchanging notes," Defensor told reporters after a televised roundtable discussion with President Arroyo on ASEAN security in Malacañang.

The proscription, he said, would allow governments to coordinate in freezing assets and bank accounts used in terror financing and improve coordination among ASEAN members.

Many ASEAN members share common and porous borders and waters, allowing terror groups to move freely across countries.

He said governments, including those outside ASEAN, have been coordinating in the fight against terror, including exchanging information on extremist groups and individuals.

"Even before ASEAN, APEC or the United Nations meet, intelligence agencies meet. Military and defense officials meet separately from diplomatic groups and come up with this list and they coordinate together and ratify that (these are) considered terrorists in the world," Defensor said.

He pointed out that the United States, the European Union and the UN have their own list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).

The US and EU lists include the Philippines’ communist New People’s Army and the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group operating in the south.

During the roundtable discussion, Mrs. Arroyo noted that the Philippines share a "common sea with Indonesia and Malaysia" so there is a need to work together.

She noted that in 2001, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, drafted a declaration against terrorism. Thailand and Vietnam joined later.

"But the declaration was not binding and now we will have a (anti-terrorism) convention, we will have commitments in the fight against terror," Mrs. Arroyo said. — Paolo Romero