US says Libya, Sudan curb support for ‘terrorism’
By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday Libya and Sudan reduced support for “terrorism” last year but remained on the U.S. list of state sponsors of such violence along with Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba and Iraq.
Releasing its annual “Patterns of Global Terrorism” report, the State Department praised the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in the U.S. led “war on terrorism” launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.
The report found that the number of international “terrorist” attacks fell to 190 in last year from 198 in 2002. The number of resulting deaths dropped to 307, including 35 U.S. citizens, from 725, including 27 U.S. citizens.
The report said Washington had made “significant progress” in combating such violence, and that it was vital to keep up international support to fight groups like Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network that is blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We must sustain and enhance the political will of states to fight terrorism,” said Cofer Black, the State Department’s top counterterrorism official. “This fight will be of uncertain duration, but additional deadly attacks are certain.”
Advocacy groups believe countries like China, Russia and Uzbekistan have used the U.S.-led “war on terrorism” as a pretext to crack down on separatists and violate human rights.
“The war has been misused by repressive governments around the world to justify crackdowns on legitimate dissent,” said Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch, citing China’s treatment Uighur separatists, Russia’s brutal campaign in Chechnya and Uzbekistan’s detention and torture of political prisoners.
The U.S. list of seven “state sponsors” remained unchanged. Iraq is still cited despite the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein last year because there is no new government in place to renounce terrorism formally.
“Several of the seven designated state sponsors of terrorism — most notably Libya and Sudan — took significant steps to cooperate in the global war on terrorism and the liberation of Iraq removed a regime that had long supported terrorist groups,” the report said. “Nevertheless, the other state sponsors — Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria — did not take all the necessary actions to disassociate themselves fully from their ties to terrorism in 2003.”
Libya curbed support for international terrorism but still has contacts with “past terrorist clients,” the report said, noting Tripoli last year took responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation for the 270 victims.
Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday said he wanted Libya removed from the list as soon as possible, and that he was not aware of any residual contacts with terrorists.
The report said Sudan’s counterterrorism “cooperation and information sharing has improved markedly” with the United States, but it said unspecified “areas of concern remain.”
As in past years, the report said Iran remained the most active state sponsor off terrorism, accusing its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence and Security of planning and supporting “terrorist” acts.
It painted a mixed picture of Tehran’s record against al Qaeda, saying Iran provided “virtual safe haven” to some of its members while detaining others whom Iran declined to identify.
The report accused Syria of giving political and material support to groups the United States deems “foreign terrorist organizations,” including Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad, which it said continue to operate from Syria.
The State Department report said Cuba continued to refuse to extradite suspected “terrorists” from its territory while North Korea had “not taken substantial steps to cooperate in efforts to combat international terrorism.”
Inclusion on the list bars the countries from getting U.S. arms exports, controls sales of items with military and civilian applications, limits U.S. aid and requires Washington to vote against loans from international institutions.