TERRORISM FINANCE: JI-4 PRENOTIFICATION: NEW

S E C R E T WELLINGTON 000288 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2016 TAGS: EFIN ETTC KTFN PREL PTER NZ SUBJECT: TERRORISM FINANCE: JI-4 PRENOTIFICATION: NEW ZEALAND'S RESPONSE REF: A. STATE 56381 ¶B. STATE 50398 ¶C. STATE 41362 ¶D. STATE 40404 ¶E. STATE 40313 ¶F. STATE 39886 (U) Classified by Acting DCM Katherine B. Hadda. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) The New Zealand government has decided to co-sponsor a request to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee to list four Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders: Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, Gun Gun Rusman Gunawan, Taufik Rifki and Abdullah Anshori (ref C and F). ¶2. (C) Taha McPherson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Security Policy Division informed post April 13 of the decision made by the government's ministers. McPherson said the decision also would be conveyed to New Zealand's UN mission and to the Australian government. Australia's High Commissioner in New Zealand, John Dauth, on April 11 met with Ministry officials and urged them to co-sponsor the submission to the UN committee. ¶3. (C) McPherson noted that the delay in the request to the UN committee (ref B) gave New Zealand officials the time they needed to run the issue through their interagency process. Particularly since New Zealand co-sponsored the UN request to designate JI itself, the officials considered from the beginning the co-sponsorship of the JI leaders' listing to have merit, McPherson said. He added that the month taken to respond to our request for co-sponsorship (ref F) reflects New Zealand's cumbersome interagency process. ¶4. (C) Post is especially grateful to Treasury for providing additional information that helped the New Zealand government officials reach their decision. McCormick