ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Australia, Intelligence and SecurityAum Supreme Truth (Aum)A cult (also know as Aum Shinrikyo and Aleph) establishedin 1987 by Shoko Asahara, the Aum aimed to takeover Japan and then the world. Approved as a religiousentity in 1989 under Japanese law, the group ran candidatesin a Japanese parliamentary election in 1990. Overtime, the cult began to emphasize the imminence of theend of the world, and stated that the United States wouldinitiate Armageddon by starting World War III with Japan.The Japanese government revoked its recognition of theAum as a religious organization in October 1995, but in1997, a government panel decided not to invoke the Anti-Subversive Law against the group, which would haveoutlawed the cult. A 1999 law gave the Japanese governmentauthorization to continue police surveillance of thegroup due to concerns that Aum might launch futureterrorist attacks. Under the leadership of Fumihiro Joyuthe Aum changed its name to Aleph in January, 2000, andclaimed to have rejected the violent and apocalyptic teachingsof its founder. (Joyu took formal control of the organizationearly in 2002 and remains its leader.)Organization activities. On 20 March, 1995, Aum memberssimultaneously released the chemical nerve agent sarinon several Tokyo subway trains, killing 12 persons andinjuring up to 6,000. The group was responsible for othermysterious chemical accidents in Japan in 1994. Its effortsto conduct attacks using biological agents have beenunsuccessful. Japanese police arrested Asahara in May1995, and he remained on trial facing charges in 13 crimes,including 7 counts of murder at the end of 2001. Legalanalysts say it will take several more years to conclude thetrial. Since 1997, the cult continued to recruit new members,engage in commercial enterprise, and acquire property,although it scaled back these activities significantly in2001 in response to public outcry. The cult maintains anInternet home page. In July, 2001, Russian authoritiesarrested a group of Russian Aum followers who hadplanned to set off bombs near the Imperial Palace in Tokyoas part of an operation to free Asahara from jail and thensmuggle him to Russia.The Aum’s current membership is estimated at 1,500to 2,000. At the time of the Tokyo subway attack, the groupclaimed to have 9,000 members in Japan and up to 40,000worldwide. The Aum’s principal membership is located inJapan, but a residual branch comprising an unknownnumber of followers has surfaced in Russia.❚ FURTHER READING:ELECTRONIC:Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook, 2002. (April 16, 2003).Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and SecurityTaylor, Francis X. U.S. Department of State. Patterns ofGlobal Terrorism 2001, Annual Report: On the recordbriefing. May 21, 2002 (April 17,2003).U.S. Department of State. Annual reports. (April 16, 2003).SEE ALSOTerrorism, Philosophical and Ideological OriginsTerrorist and Para-State OrganizationsTerrorist Organization List, United StatesTerrorist Organizations, Freezing of AssetsAustralia, Intelligenceand Security❚ ADRIENNE WILMOTH LERNERAustralia gained its status as a British Commonwealthnation in 1901. The nation is largely autonomous, buttechnically under the British monarch. A 1999 nationalreferendum sought to establish Australia as an independentrepublic, but Australians voted in favor of remainingpart of Commonwealth.Despite its location, Australia maintains close tieswith the United States and Great Britain, joining the Alliedefforts in World Wars I and II. Following the Second WorldWar, Britain and the United States aided Australia inreconstructing and modernizing its intelligence community.Australian intelligence services flourished in the early1950s, rapidly becoming one of the most advanced in theworld. The nation’s strategic location aided Cold Warintelligence and security efforts by providing a regionallocation from which to monitor the expansion of Communismand Soviet influence in Asia. Today, Australia’s strongintelligence community participates in international nonproliferationand anti-terrorism operations.Australia’s intelligence community is divided alongtraditional distinctions between civilian and military, domesticand foreign intelligence services. The Office of theAttorney General administers Australia’s main civilian,domestic, intelligence agency, the Australian Security IntelligenceOrganization (ASIO). Founded in 1942 as theAllied Intelligence Bureau, the agency was key to alliedintelligence and espionage efforts against Japan duringWorld War II. Many of Australia’s civilian intelligenceservices were disbanded after the war, but escalating ColdWar tensions prompted their reinstatement in 1949.Today,the ASIO is charged with the protection of nationalsecurity and focuses its operations on gathering and processingdomestic intelligence. Participating in ongoing counter-intelligenceoperations, the ASIO and the Australian71