European Union foreign ministers are set to decide Monday whether or not to add the military wing of Lebanon's Hezbollah to its black list of terrorist groups, diplomatic sources said Thursday.This next sentence is telling:
A meeting of EU ambassadors broke up with no agreement on adding the powerful Shiite militia to the list as "a small number of member states" remained opposed, said an EU diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
"Ministers will discuss the issue on Monday," said the source, referring to scheduled talks in Brussels between the bloc's 28 foreign ministers.
Unanimity is required to add the Lebanese group to the dozen people and score of groups currently subject to an EU asset freeze -- including Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Colombia's FARC guerrillas.
Another diplomatic source told AFP that Ireland and Malta were holding out but that Austria appeared to have dropped objections to the push led by Britain, France and the Netherlands. The positions of the Czech Republic, which has changed government, and Slovakia were unclear.
"We are near a consensus," the source said.
Several countries have objected that it is difficult to separate Hezbollah's military and political wing, which is in government. They also fear destabilizing politically fragile Lebanon as the Syrian crisis across its border deteriorates.Got that? Since it is obvious that Hezbollah is fully a terrorist organization, and that the distinction between "military" and "political" wings is nonsense, they are using that as a reason not to ban a terror group
Meanwhile, Lebanon is formally asking the EU not to place Hizballah on the terror list.
Lebanon President Michel Suleiman tasked caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to Ask the European Union not to name the Shiite militant Hezbollah group a terrorist organization.Now Lebanon has an excellent interactive web series that shows in detail Hizballah's terror activities worldwide.
The presidency described Hezbollah as “one of the main components of the Lebanese society.”
On Wednesday, Al-Arabiya reported that the EU is leaning towards “unanimously” approving putting the military wing of the Lebanese Shiite party on the international terrorist list , a move it has long avoided despite U.S pressure.
The move was bolstered by Germany’s policy change after long resisting calls to list Hezbollah for fear it could destabilize Lebanon.
Germany said it was pushed toward declaring Hezbollah a terror group by the 2012 attack in the Black Sea resort of Burgas in Bulgaria.
On Wednesday, Bulgaria’s interior minister said new evidence has bolstered its case implicating Hezbollah in the bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists, the bus driver and alleged attacker.