VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBM #1874/01 3521309
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181309Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5739

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 001874 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/NCE - AARON JENSEN 
ALSO FOR S/CT AND TTIC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC PGOV PREL MOPS ECON NATO RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA: 2006 COUNTRY TERRORISM REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 175925 
 
¶1. This report provides Embassy Bucharest,s submission for 
the 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism. 
 
¶2.  Summary:  Romania continued to be a staunch ally in the 
global war against terrorism, providing a full range of 
political, diplomatic, and military support for U.S. goals to 
combat international terrorism, while simultaneously 
improving its own national capacity.  The Romanian 
government,s commitment to combat terrorism ranged from the 
deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, to 
strengthening its counter terrorism doctrine and laws, and 
making counter-terrorism a fundamental component of its 
National Security Strategy.  Romania hosted and participated 
in a wide range of regional and international initiatives to 
address terrorism and terrorism-related issues including 
terrorist financing.  End Summary. 
 
¶3. The government of Romania remains a staunch ally of the 
United States in the global war against terrorism, providing 
a full range of strategic and tactical support.  In 2006, 
about 1,500 Romanian troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan as 
part of coalition and NATO efforts to combat terrorism and to 
deny terrorists operational and political opportunities. 
President Basescu in 2006 reaffirmed his commitment to keep 
Romanian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for as long as they 
are needed.  Romania made available its airspace, ground 
infrastructure, and naval facilities to support U.S. and NATO 
forces engaged in the global war against terrorism.  The 
Romanian frigate "Regina Maria" deployed from September to 
November 2006, with NATO counter-terrorism forces in the 
Mediterranean Sea as part of Operation Active Endeavor. 
 
¶4.  The government of Romania strengthened its national 
policies as part of a strategic approach to combat terrorism. 
 Romania included proactive language on counter-terrorism in 
its National Security Strategy, in its National 
Anti-Terrorism Strategy, and in guidelines for preventing and 
combating terrorist financing activities.  Romania has 
ratified all UN counter-terrorism conventions, and is 
promoting other international and regional counter-terrorist 
initiatives and activities.  Romania continued to promote the 
Bucharest-based South East Europe Cooperation Initiative 
(SECI), a regional center that provides law enforcement 
training and intelligence sharing to prevent trans-border 
criminal activities, including terrorist-related activities 
for the 12 member countries in South Eastern and Central 
Europe. 
 
¶5.  In April 2006, Romania hosted the first meeting of 
counter-terrorism chiefs within the framework of the Regional 
Conference of Interior Ministers under the Brdo Process (the 
Brdo process is a regional initiative involving Interior 
Ministries from Central and Southern European states).  In 
October 2005, the Government of Romania released a list of 
over 250 individuals and legal entities suspected of 
committing or financing terrorist acts.  The 21 official 
agencies that form Romania,s National System to Prevent and 
Combat Terrorism routinely update this list based on 
information from the UN Security Council.  The list is 
compiled by the Ministry of Public Finance, which is 
responsible for monitoring and blocking the movement of 
terrorist funds. 
 
¶6.  The following chronicle highlights Romania,s 
counter-terrorist activities in 2005-2006. 
 
¶7.  Since 2000, Romania's National Office for Preventing and 
Combating Money Laundering has concluded 33 bilateral 
cooperation agreements.  In 2005, bilateral agreements were 
reached with Albania, Georgia, Colombia, Monaco, Portugal, 
Argentina, Estonia, Egypt, Republic of Moldova, Guatemala, 
Chile, and Latvia.  In 2006, bilateral agreements were 
reached with Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and Luxemburg.  Also in 
2005, Romania's Financial Intelligence Unit exchanged data 
with counterparts in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Switzerland, 
Greece, Italy, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, U.K., 
Holland, Spain, U.S., Turkey, Hungary, Venezuela, Brazil, 
Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Colombia, Guernsey, 
Latvia, Slovakia, and Taiwan. 
 
¶8.  In March 2006, the Romanian Parliament ratified the 
Cooperation Agreement between Romania and Switzerland on 
fighting terrorism, organized crime, narcotics and other 
transnational crimes. The Romanian Parliament also in March 
enacted Law 36/2006 strengthening prevention and punishment 
provisions against terrorist financing and money laundering. 
The Romanian Parliament in October 2006 ratified the UN 
International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of 
Nuclear Terrorism.  The Romanian Parliament in November 2006 
ratified two Council of Europe Conventions related to 
counter-terrorism: the Convention on the Prevention of 
Terrorism and the Convention on Money Laundering, and the 
Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of Criminal Proceeds. 
 
¶9.  In June 2006, a Romanian citizen, Ioan Les, was detained 
by Romanian intelligence agents near the town of Buzias in 
Western Romania, for allegedly planning an act of terrorism. 
According to Romanian authorities, the suspect was arrested 
in transit to Timisoara, where he planned to use a remote 
control device to blow up a car in the city center.  The 
suspect told investigators that his motive was to force 
Romania to withdraw its troops from Iraq.  Investigators 
linked the suspect to a Bosnia-based terrorist network.  The 
Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) placed Les under 
surveillance for several months after he allegedly made 
several threats via the internet threats to various entities, 
including CNN and Al-Jazeera television stations.  Les was 
charged under a 29-day preventive arrest warrant. 
 
¶10.  Omar Hayssam, a businessman with strong connections both 
with the Arab world and the now-in-opposition Social 
Democratic Party (PSD) was arrested on terrorism-related 
charges in 2005 for his involvement in the abduction of three 
Romanian journalists and another businessman in Iraq. Though 
prohibited from leaving the country, Hayssam fled Romania for 
Syria on June 30, 2006, following his conditional April 
release on medical grounds. As a result of the ensuing public 
scandal, the General Prosecutor, the Police Information 
Service chief, and both Internal and External Intelligence 
chiefs resigned. 
 
¶11.  On November 13, 2006, four Romanian-Muslim citizens were 
arrested in Iasi under suspicion of supporting Middle Eastern 
terrorist groups.  The four allegedly belonged to the "Muslim 
Brothers," an Al Qaeda-related terrorist cell. 
 
¶12.  On November 14, 2006, an Iraqi citizen Shaker A. Shaker 
was arrested in Bacau under suspicion of terrorist-related 
activities.  Romanian Intelligence Services had evidence that 
Shaker possessed a false passport, and that his real name was 
in fact Mahmoud Chaker, a former Iraqi Embassy diplomat. 
Shaker had been deported previously from Romania in 2003, 
along with 40 other Iraqi citizens, for planning terrorist 
attacks against Israeli interests in Bucharest. 
TAUBMAN