The New Balkans: Bigotry and Terror
1. Remaking of the Balkans? (by M. Bozinovich)
2. A New Wave of Terrorism in the Balkans? (by Ivelina Puhaleva)
3. UN adds Bosnian charity director to al Qaeda list (Reuters)
SEE ALSO:
Greece deems threat from Bosnian Arabs
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2003/december/12_18_1.html
Bosnia Compensates Terror Suspects (by Anes Alic)
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1&NrArticle
=11373
Bosnia, 1 degree of separation from Al-Qaeda
http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our15.shtml
CRG: War on terrorism skipped the KLA (by James Bissett)
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2003/December_29/2.html
=== 1 ===
> http://www.serbianna.com/columns/mb/016.shtml
Remaking of the Balkans?
By M. Bozinovich
Immediately following the massacre of Jews in Turkey, Serbian special
anti-terror units (SAJ) swarmed upon the western embassies in Belgrade.
An especially tight security was established around the Israeli embassy
and that security still remains.
During the week of the Turkish massacre, a group of unidentified
middle-eastern men has been arrested in Pancevo, a city 6 miles to the
north of Belgrade. Additionally, Serbian army hospital (VMA) has also
been placed under strict security although the hospital chief Dr. Zoran
Stankovic has downplayed the new tight security rules as a “rudimentary
and usual procedure” for a military institution.
Moreover, last Saturday a “suspicious” character was arrested in front
of the US Embassy in Belgrade after concerned citizens tipped off the
Serbian security forces of his “weird” behavior.
Serbian government remains silent over their increased security
activities and has not commented nor publicly acknowledged that they
have even been done. The only statement by the Serbian police (MUP) has
been that it comments only through public statements and will not
answer any questions to the media.
Recent unusual behavior by the Serbian anti-terror SAJ units, and the
government silence about it in particular, indicates that the
intelligence in Serbia believes that a credible terrorist threat exists
that can strike western interests and Serbia itself.
Could a rising Islamic terrorism in the Balkans precipitate a change in
the military alliances in the Balkans, away from Islamic governments
such as in Kosovo that acquiesce to terrorism and towards the
reform-minded ones in Belgrade or Skopje?
Rising Terrorist Threat in the Balkans
The rising terrorist concern in Serbia comes on the heels of a recent
report by the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and
Unconventional Warfare claiming that since “mid-August 2003, radical
Islamist leaders elevated the role of the terrorism infrastructure in
the Balkans as a key facilitator of a proposed escalation of conflict
into the heart of Europe, Israel and the United States."
According to the report, al-Qaeda has appointed Shahid Emir Mussa Ayzi
to run special recruitment operations in the Balkans. Ayzi is veteran
of Afghanistan with close bin-Laden and Taliban ties.
The head of the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and
Unconventional Warfare, Yossef Boddansky, claims that the al-Qaeda
recruitment of Balkan Muslims occurs around the Islamist mosques whose
numbers are rapidly expanding in Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania and Macedonia.
These mosques enjoy a high level of security because the Albanians who
run these regions get valuable terrorist training from the Islamists.
Says Boddansky: "the Islamists assist the local terrorists in preparing
for launching spectacular terrorism into the major cities of Serbia and
Montenegro, with Belgrade and Nis believed to be the top targets."
Since Boddansky’s September report, an anonymous US officer has
disclosed to the Reuters news agency that among the many terrorists
arrested in Iraq one also finds Albanians. Furthermore, an anonymous US
security officer in Kosovo has disclosed to the Christian Science
Monitor that Kosovo is controlled by Albanian mafia receptive of
al-Qaeda presence.
Immediately following the Turkey massacre, moreover, an unspecified
threat has triggered an elevated security response by NATO in Kosovo.
"We now know that a specific threat has been made toward international
organizations within Kosovo," Wing Commander Chris Thompson of KFOR
said in a news Conference in November.
In the midst of NATOs heightened alert, or despite it, Kosovo president
Ibrahim Rugova immediately denounced any possibility of an al-Qaeda
attack as impossible. Speaking in Athens he insisted there were no
people linked to extremists in Kosovo. "But this [allegations of
terrorist cells] is unfounded… It could be that some people spread such
allegations to destabilize Kosovo," Rugova told the Greek newspaper
Kathimerini.
Meanwhile and to the contrary of what the Kosovo Albanian president
claims, English reporters from the Sunday Mirror have infiltrated a
cell of Muslim extremists in Kosovo and bought enough of the explosive,
Semtex, to blow up over 40 passenger airplanes. In their report, the
Mirror claims that the reporters have established contact with the
“deputy commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Niam Behljulji,
known as Hulji. The group were trained by Bin Laden's men.”
Since then, reports have been made that Hulji has been assassinated by
al-Qaeda because of an obvious security compromise of their
organization in Kosovo.
Despite the massing evidence of al-Qaeda presence in Kosovo from
military and security sources as well as the media, the officials that
run Kosovo appear ready to cover up terrorist threats.
The Mirror report, for example, tells a story of a cover up when their
reporters informed the British police in Kosovo of the location of the
buried Semtex explosive. During the retrieval of the buried explosives
the “Finnish bomb disposal squad… told us the hill had been mined
during the war.”
The more senior officials that run Kosovo, however, altogether deny all
allegations of terrorist threats in this Serbian province. Speaking in
Bulgaria, the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations
Secretary-General in Kosovo Jean-Christian Cady said that “contrary to
what is sometimes said, Kosovo is not a safe haven for organized crime
and terrorism”.
Speaking during the recent regional conference on cooperation in the
fight against organized crime in Belgrade, however, Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Zivkovic echoed what is only sometimes said by noting
that "terrorists are still being sheltered." in Kosovo and added that
the UN, unlike in Bosnia, has demonstrated lack of will in cracking
down on it.
Yet Bosnia itself appears under increasing terrorist pressure. Serbian
independent Weekly Telegraph reports that a string of Serbian border
villages on the Muslim side of Bosnia have been overtaken by bearded
middle-easterners demanding ransom from the locals.
Changing Alliances?
NATO Chief’s recent visit to Belgrade may be an underscore to the
increasingly overt Western cooperation with Belgrade. Speaking to the
Serbian military academy, Lord Robertson was asking the future generals
of Serbia to let bygones be bygones and that in the interest of
security Serbian military should accept NATOs extended hand.
Immediately following Robertson’s visit to Serbia, Belgrade government
announced its expectation to join NATOs Partnership for Peace in May
2004.
The visit and the announcement follow Washington’s recent decision to
reexamine American military alliances throughout the world because of
the changed structure of security threats to the West.
Meanwhile, NATOs unwillingness to crack down on terrorists in Kosovo
suggests that the alliance may be expecting someone else close to the
alliance to do that.
In fact, early last summer Italian general in Kosovo suggested that
Serbian military could partake in Kosovo patrols along with NATO as a
way to uphold the Resolution 1244 that governs the conduct of the UN
administration in the Kosovo province. The general, however, underlined
that “presently” it would be impossible because Serbia is not
associated with NATO. In May of 2004 this apparent obstacle will be
eliminated.
Moreover, the warming of the West-Belgrade relationship may be what was
behind Serbia’s recent rather vociferous and a stern rejection of the
UN plan for future of Kosovo. After reviewing the UNs proposal, the
Serbian government declared it "unacceptable in its current form as a
way to solve the Kosovo crisis" claiming that "none of the objections
and suggestions could be seriously considered".
Finally, Washington’s backing of the Democratic Party candidate Boris
Tadic for the upcoming elections in Serbia also alludes to the
Western’s desire to reconstruct its military alliance in the Balkans.
While not compromised by political and financial scandals during the
DOS era, Boris Tadic was, more significantly for Washington, a former
Defence Minister that purged the Milosevic-era generals from the
Serbian military and replaced them with his own men.
Indeed, nationalist Radicals, still riding high from their recent
strong showing in the polls, may have gotten the typical massage to
move out of the Tadic’s way. “Ultra-nationalist leader whose Radical
Party is expected to win strong support in this month's general
election was hurt in a car crash on Wednesday but his life was not in
danger.” noted Reuters.
As a favorite method of a Balkan political disposal, another political
car crash once again demonstrates that practicing politics in the
Balkans is indeed a dangerous business.
=== 2 ===
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22335
A New Wave of Terrorism in the Balkans?
By Ivelina Puhaleva for Southeast European Times in Sofia - 12/12/03
The wave of bombings in Istanbul has placed Southeast Europe at the
heart of the fight against terrorism. With a population of 15 million
and a key position in the region, the city has the kind of media
presence eagerly sought by violent extremists.
"All must see with eyes wide open that the problem of terrorism is not
local, it recognises no colour," said Ismet Sever, deputy chairman of
the Union of Bulgarian and Turkish Businessmen, who lives in Istanbul.
"I think it is not by accident that twice in a week Istanbul was shaken
by terrorist attacks."
Turkey has been fighting terrorism for 40 years. In the 1960s and 1970s
against leftist extremists, in the 1980s and 1990s against attacks by
the Kurdish Separatist Party, and since the beginning of the new
century against the terrorism of Islamic fundamentalists. Meanwhile,
the country has remained steadfast in its duties and obligations as a
member of NATO, supporting operations in Somalia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and in Afghanistan. Many observers consider Turkish
solidarity with its Western and Alliance partners as the main reason
Islamic terrorists have targeted it.
The two bombings in Istanbul coincided with NATO's decision to appoint
Turkish representative Hikmet Cetin -- a former parliament speaker and
foreign minister -- as high civil commander of the peacekeeping forces
in Afghanistan.
In the bloody aftermath of the November bombings, Turkish authorities
immediately announced their determination to find anyone connected to
the terrorist plot. The EU sided with Turkey and unexpectedly welcomed
Turkey's aspirations to join the European family.
Within days, investigators had uncovered details of al Qaeda
recruitment and training activities in the Balkans. A Romanian
newspaper reported that some of these terrorist activities were
financed and undertaken within Europe.
Three Balkan states -- Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey -- held a
tripartite meeting after the Istanbul bombings, aimed at outlining
common measures to combat terrorism. But Turkey went further, following
the trail of some explosives used by the suicide bombers. A report in
the Romanian daily Gardianul cites two unnamed chemical factories, one
in Bulgaria and one in Romania. The Bulgarian one would have been
advantageous to the terrorists because of its proximity to Turkey, the
paper suggests. It describes the Romanian factory as the property of
businessmen who had left Turkey.
Bulgarian authorities say all preventive measures were taken, that the
secret services were working in close co-operation with their Western
colleagues and that no terrorist or banned Islamic organisations acted
on Bulgarian territory.
Fundamentalist groups, as well as separatists that had until recently
carried out more or less local activities, have started to claim
affiliation with al Qaeda. They have attempted to rationalise their
attacks by blaming Turkey for its relations with the United States and
Israel.
As a result, Turkey now seems to be caught "between the devil and the
deep sea" -- the unpredictable devil of global terrorism and the deep
sea of its European aspirations.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
=== 3 ===
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=26219&order=priority&style=headlines
Reuters
December 30, 2003
UN adds Bosnian charity director to al Qaeda list
UNITED NATIONS -- Tuesday – The United Nations
yesterday added the director of a Bosnian charity to
its list of individuals whose assets should be frozen
due to suspected ties to Osama bin Laden or his al
Qaeda network.
Safet Durguti, 36, was added to the U.N. list at the
request of the United States and Saudi Arabia. While
he was born in Orahovac, Kosovo, his nationality is
unknown, the United Nations said.
The goal of the U.N. list, which is maintained by a
U.N. Security Council committee and currently has more
than 300 names of businesses, individuals and
organizations, is to deprive suspected extremists of
the money and other resources they need to carry out
attacks.
Putting groups and individuals on the list obliges the
United Nations' 191 member-nations to freeze their
funds and other assets and block their movements.
Durguti is the director of a charity called Vazir,
based in the Bosnian city of Travnik.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have concluded that
Vazir was simply another name for the Al-Haramain
Islamic Foundation, a Saudi-based charity that was
placed on the U.N. list in March 2002, the U.S.
Treasury Department said last week.
Vazir was formed in May 2003 as an association for
sports, culture and education but was based in the
same business space as Al-Haramain, it said.
The United Nations also added Hochburg AG, a company
based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, to its list.
The firm is a successor to a company called the Ba
Taqwa For Commerce And Real Estate Company Ltd, whose
assets were ordered frozen in 2002.
Hochburg and BA Taqwa share the same business
registration number, and records in Liechtenstein show
that BA Taqwa was renamed Hochburg AG early in 2002,
the U.S. Treasury said.
1. Remaking of the Balkans? (by M. Bozinovich)
2. A New Wave of Terrorism in the Balkans? (by Ivelina Puhaleva)
3. UN adds Bosnian charity director to al Qaeda list (Reuters)
SEE ALSO:
Greece deems threat from Bosnian Arabs
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2003/december/12_18_1.html
Bosnia Compensates Terror Suspects (by Anes Alic)
http://balkanreport.tol.cz/look/BRR/
article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=9&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1&NrArticle
=11373
Bosnia, 1 degree of separation from Al-Qaeda
http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our15.shtml
CRG: War on terrorism skipped the KLA (by James Bissett)
http://news.serbianunity.net/bydate/2003/December_29/2.html
=== 1 ===
> http://www.serbianna.com/columns/mb/016.shtml
Remaking of the Balkans?
By M. Bozinovich
Immediately following the massacre of Jews in Turkey, Serbian special
anti-terror units (SAJ) swarmed upon the western embassies in Belgrade.
An especially tight security was established around the Israeli embassy
and that security still remains.
During the week of the Turkish massacre, a group of unidentified
middle-eastern men has been arrested in Pancevo, a city 6 miles to the
north of Belgrade. Additionally, Serbian army hospital (VMA) has also
been placed under strict security although the hospital chief Dr. Zoran
Stankovic has downplayed the new tight security rules as a “rudimentary
and usual procedure” for a military institution.
Moreover, last Saturday a “suspicious” character was arrested in front
of the US Embassy in Belgrade after concerned citizens tipped off the
Serbian security forces of his “weird” behavior.
Serbian government remains silent over their increased security
activities and has not commented nor publicly acknowledged that they
have even been done. The only statement by the Serbian police (MUP) has
been that it comments only through public statements and will not
answer any questions to the media.
Recent unusual behavior by the Serbian anti-terror SAJ units, and the
government silence about it in particular, indicates that the
intelligence in Serbia believes that a credible terrorist threat exists
that can strike western interests and Serbia itself.
Could a rising Islamic terrorism in the Balkans precipitate a change in
the military alliances in the Balkans, away from Islamic governments
such as in Kosovo that acquiesce to terrorism and towards the
reform-minded ones in Belgrade or Skopje?
Rising Terrorist Threat in the Balkans
The rising terrorist concern in Serbia comes on the heels of a recent
report by the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and
Unconventional Warfare claiming that since “mid-August 2003, radical
Islamist leaders elevated the role of the terrorism infrastructure in
the Balkans as a key facilitator of a proposed escalation of conflict
into the heart of Europe, Israel and the United States."
According to the report, al-Qaeda has appointed Shahid Emir Mussa Ayzi
to run special recruitment operations in the Balkans. Ayzi is veteran
of Afghanistan with close bin-Laden and Taliban ties.
The head of the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and
Unconventional Warfare, Yossef Boddansky, claims that the al-Qaeda
recruitment of Balkan Muslims occurs around the Islamist mosques whose
numbers are rapidly expanding in Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania and Macedonia.
These mosques enjoy a high level of security because the Albanians who
run these regions get valuable terrorist training from the Islamists.
Says Boddansky: "the Islamists assist the local terrorists in preparing
for launching spectacular terrorism into the major cities of Serbia and
Montenegro, with Belgrade and Nis believed to be the top targets."
Since Boddansky’s September report, an anonymous US officer has
disclosed to the Reuters news agency that among the many terrorists
arrested in Iraq one also finds Albanians. Furthermore, an anonymous US
security officer in Kosovo has disclosed to the Christian Science
Monitor that Kosovo is controlled by Albanian mafia receptive of
al-Qaeda presence.
Immediately following the Turkey massacre, moreover, an unspecified
threat has triggered an elevated security response by NATO in Kosovo.
"We now know that a specific threat has been made toward international
organizations within Kosovo," Wing Commander Chris Thompson of KFOR
said in a news Conference in November.
In the midst of NATOs heightened alert, or despite it, Kosovo president
Ibrahim Rugova immediately denounced any possibility of an al-Qaeda
attack as impossible. Speaking in Athens he insisted there were no
people linked to extremists in Kosovo. "But this [allegations of
terrorist cells] is unfounded… It could be that some people spread such
allegations to destabilize Kosovo," Rugova told the Greek newspaper
Kathimerini.
Meanwhile and to the contrary of what the Kosovo Albanian president
claims, English reporters from the Sunday Mirror have infiltrated a
cell of Muslim extremists in Kosovo and bought enough of the explosive,
Semtex, to blow up over 40 passenger airplanes. In their report, the
Mirror claims that the reporters have established contact with the
“deputy commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Niam Behljulji,
known as Hulji. The group were trained by Bin Laden's men.”
Since then, reports have been made that Hulji has been assassinated by
al-Qaeda because of an obvious security compromise of their
organization in Kosovo.
Despite the massing evidence of al-Qaeda presence in Kosovo from
military and security sources as well as the media, the officials that
run Kosovo appear ready to cover up terrorist threats.
The Mirror report, for example, tells a story of a cover up when their
reporters informed the British police in Kosovo of the location of the
buried Semtex explosive. During the retrieval of the buried explosives
the “Finnish bomb disposal squad… told us the hill had been mined
during the war.”
The more senior officials that run Kosovo, however, altogether deny all
allegations of terrorist threats in this Serbian province. Speaking in
Bulgaria, the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations
Secretary-General in Kosovo Jean-Christian Cady said that “contrary to
what is sometimes said, Kosovo is not a safe haven for organized crime
and terrorism”.
Speaking during the recent regional conference on cooperation in the
fight against organized crime in Belgrade, however, Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Zivkovic echoed what is only sometimes said by noting
that "terrorists are still being sheltered." in Kosovo and added that
the UN, unlike in Bosnia, has demonstrated lack of will in cracking
down on it.
Yet Bosnia itself appears under increasing terrorist pressure. Serbian
independent Weekly Telegraph reports that a string of Serbian border
villages on the Muslim side of Bosnia have been overtaken by bearded
middle-easterners demanding ransom from the locals.
Changing Alliances?
NATO Chief’s recent visit to Belgrade may be an underscore to the
increasingly overt Western cooperation with Belgrade. Speaking to the
Serbian military academy, Lord Robertson was asking the future generals
of Serbia to let bygones be bygones and that in the interest of
security Serbian military should accept NATOs extended hand.
Immediately following Robertson’s visit to Serbia, Belgrade government
announced its expectation to join NATOs Partnership for Peace in May
2004.
The visit and the announcement follow Washington’s recent decision to
reexamine American military alliances throughout the world because of
the changed structure of security threats to the West.
Meanwhile, NATOs unwillingness to crack down on terrorists in Kosovo
suggests that the alliance may be expecting someone else close to the
alliance to do that.
In fact, early last summer Italian general in Kosovo suggested that
Serbian military could partake in Kosovo patrols along with NATO as a
way to uphold the Resolution 1244 that governs the conduct of the UN
administration in the Kosovo province. The general, however, underlined
that “presently” it would be impossible because Serbia is not
associated with NATO. In May of 2004 this apparent obstacle will be
eliminated.
Moreover, the warming of the West-Belgrade relationship may be what was
behind Serbia’s recent rather vociferous and a stern rejection of the
UN plan for future of Kosovo. After reviewing the UNs proposal, the
Serbian government declared it "unacceptable in its current form as a
way to solve the Kosovo crisis" claiming that "none of the objections
and suggestions could be seriously considered".
Finally, Washington’s backing of the Democratic Party candidate Boris
Tadic for the upcoming elections in Serbia also alludes to the
Western’s desire to reconstruct its military alliance in the Balkans.
While not compromised by political and financial scandals during the
DOS era, Boris Tadic was, more significantly for Washington, a former
Defence Minister that purged the Milosevic-era generals from the
Serbian military and replaced them with his own men.
Indeed, nationalist Radicals, still riding high from their recent
strong showing in the polls, may have gotten the typical massage to
move out of the Tadic’s way. “Ultra-nationalist leader whose Radical
Party is expected to win strong support in this month's general
election was hurt in a car crash on Wednesday but his life was not in
danger.” noted Reuters.
As a favorite method of a Balkan political disposal, another political
car crash once again demonstrates that practicing politics in the
Balkans is indeed a dangerous business.
=== 2 ===
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22335
A New Wave of Terrorism in the Balkans?
By Ivelina Puhaleva for Southeast European Times in Sofia - 12/12/03
The wave of bombings in Istanbul has placed Southeast Europe at the
heart of the fight against terrorism. With a population of 15 million
and a key position in the region, the city has the kind of media
presence eagerly sought by violent extremists.
"All must see with eyes wide open that the problem of terrorism is not
local, it recognises no colour," said Ismet Sever, deputy chairman of
the Union of Bulgarian and Turkish Businessmen, who lives in Istanbul.
"I think it is not by accident that twice in a week Istanbul was shaken
by terrorist attacks."
Turkey has been fighting terrorism for 40 years. In the 1960s and 1970s
against leftist extremists, in the 1980s and 1990s against attacks by
the Kurdish Separatist Party, and since the beginning of the new
century against the terrorism of Islamic fundamentalists. Meanwhile,
the country has remained steadfast in its duties and obligations as a
member of NATO, supporting operations in Somalia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and in Afghanistan. Many observers consider Turkish
solidarity with its Western and Alliance partners as the main reason
Islamic terrorists have targeted it.
The two bombings in Istanbul coincided with NATO's decision to appoint
Turkish representative Hikmet Cetin -- a former parliament speaker and
foreign minister -- as high civil commander of the peacekeeping forces
in Afghanistan.
In the bloody aftermath of the November bombings, Turkish authorities
immediately announced their determination to find anyone connected to
the terrorist plot. The EU sided with Turkey and unexpectedly welcomed
Turkey's aspirations to join the European family.
Within days, investigators had uncovered details of al Qaeda
recruitment and training activities in the Balkans. A Romanian
newspaper reported that some of these terrorist activities were
financed and undertaken within Europe.
Three Balkan states -- Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey -- held a
tripartite meeting after the Istanbul bombings, aimed at outlining
common measures to combat terrorism. But Turkey went further, following
the trail of some explosives used by the suicide bombers. A report in
the Romanian daily Gardianul cites two unnamed chemical factories, one
in Bulgaria and one in Romania. The Bulgarian one would have been
advantageous to the terrorists because of its proximity to Turkey, the
paper suggests. It describes the Romanian factory as the property of
businessmen who had left Turkey.
Bulgarian authorities say all preventive measures were taken, that the
secret services were working in close co-operation with their Western
colleagues and that no terrorist or banned Islamic organisations acted
on Bulgarian territory.
Fundamentalist groups, as well as separatists that had until recently
carried out more or less local activities, have started to claim
affiliation with al Qaeda. They have attempted to rationalise their
attacks by blaming Turkey for its relations with the United States and
Israel.
As a result, Turkey now seems to be caught "between the devil and the
deep sea" -- the unpredictable devil of global terrorism and the deep
sea of its European aspirations.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
=== 3 ===
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=26219&order=priority&style=headlines
Reuters
December 30, 2003
UN adds Bosnian charity director to al Qaeda list
UNITED NATIONS -- Tuesday – The United Nations
yesterday added the director of a Bosnian charity to
its list of individuals whose assets should be frozen
due to suspected ties to Osama bin Laden or his al
Qaeda network.
Safet Durguti, 36, was added to the U.N. list at the
request of the United States and Saudi Arabia. While
he was born in Orahovac, Kosovo, his nationality is
unknown, the United Nations said.
The goal of the U.N. list, which is maintained by a
U.N. Security Council committee and currently has more
than 300 names of businesses, individuals and
organizations, is to deprive suspected extremists of
the money and other resources they need to carry out
attacks.
Putting groups and individuals on the list obliges the
United Nations' 191 member-nations to freeze their
funds and other assets and block their movements.
Durguti is the director of a charity called Vazir,
based in the Bosnian city of Travnik.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have concluded that
Vazir was simply another name for the Al-Haramain
Islamic Foundation, a Saudi-based charity that was
placed on the U.N. list in March 2002, the U.S.
Treasury Department said last week.
Vazir was formed in May 2003 as an association for
sports, culture and education but was based in the
same business space as Al-Haramain, it said.
The United Nations also added Hochburg AG, a company
based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, to its list.
The firm is a successor to a company called the Ba
Taqwa For Commerce And Real Estate Company Ltd, whose
assets were ordered frozen in 2002.
Hochburg and BA Taqwa share the same business
registration number, and records in Liechtenstein show
that BA Taqwa was renamed Hochburg AG early in 2002,
the U.S. Treasury said.