EU draws closer to adding military wing of Hezbollah to terror list

BRUSSELS: The EU is closer than ever to listing Hezbollah?s military wing as a terrorist organization after Germany?s change of heart on the issue Berlin had long resisted calls to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization for fear it could destabilize Lebanon and the greater region around it.

But German diplomats said Wednesday their country would throw its weight behind a British drive to put the armed wing of Hezbollah on the EU?s list of terrorist organizations.

Britain said Tuesday it wanted the EU to add Hezbollah?s military wing to its terror list over evidence that the Iranian-backed militant group was behind a bus bombing in Bulgaria in July that killed five Israelis and their drive.

The EU is reassessing whether to declare Hezbollah?s military wing a terrorist group, a move it has long shied from despite pressure from the U.S.

Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said several thousand Hezbollah fighters were taking part in the conflict in Syria, with active support on the ground from Iran.

Any change in EU policy on Hezbollah would need unanimity among the 27 EU member nations and has so far been impossible to achieve.

Still, Germany was confident change was imminent. ?I expect the necessary consultations within the EU can now be rapidly brought to a conclusion,? German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in Amman on the sidelines of a meeting on Syria.

Adding the military wing to the EU?s terror list would impose sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes on the group?s members and severely hamper its operations in the EU. Hezbollah?s links to the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad have also increasingly raised concern.

Hezbollah?s growing role in the Syrian conflict was highlighted recently when 31 of its elite fighters were killed and 70 others were wounded in the battle for the Syrian town of Qusair near the border with Lebanon.

?The sense of urgency comes from Syria,? said Sylke Tempel of the German Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Berlin.

She added that the presence of Hezbollah fighters in Syria ? and their apparent successful performance in combat ? had led Western governments to ponder ?what if Assad is going to win? and ?what if Hezbollah is a factor in making Assad win or at least not lose.? Any EU change in policy on Hezbollah would be discussed officially in the first week of June.

One problem, however, might result from the overlap of people involved in both Hezbollah?s activities as a legitimate Lebanese political party and the group?s armed wing, a diplomat from a major EU country said in Brussels.

Some countries would therefore prefer to sanction specific individuals instead of the entire military wing, said the diplomat, who demanded anonymity because he was speaking before the official announcement.

Action on Hezbollah is further complicated by its pivotal role in Lebanese politics. France, a key EU player on foreign affairs, and several other EU nations have United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where the Shiite group enjoys wide support. German troops patrol off southern Lebanon?s coast to enforce a weapons embargo.

Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/May-23/218053-eu-draws-closer-to-adding-military-wing-of-hezbollah-to-terror-list.ashx

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