Bassil Says Labeling Hizbullah as Terrorist 'Unacceptable'
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Sunday that declaring Hizbullah as a terrorist group at the Arab League was “unacceptable,” pointing out that Lebanon has already expressed reservation on that labeling.
In an interview to the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily Bassil said: “Describing the party as terrorist does not comply with the Arab treaty to combat terrorism.”
“Hizbullah has been ranked in the United Nations and it has a broad representation of Lebanese. It enjoys mass parliamentary and ministerial blocs,” pointed out Bassil.
“We have agreed to the terms of the rest of the resolution. It was normal not to accept describing the party as a terrorist,” added the Minister.
Bassil reiterated saying that “Beirut condemns the attacks against Saudi missions in Iran and denounced any interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries.”
The Arab League on Friday declared Iran ally Hizbullah a "terrorist" group, after Gulf monarchies adopted the same stance over the movement's support for the regime in Syria's war.
The move reflects the worsening tensions between Shiite Iran and the six-nation Sunni-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia is a key member.
It comes a month after Riyadh cut ties with Tehran following demonstrations in which its embassy and a consulate were torched, in the wake of the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Friday's decision was endorsed by the majority of foreign ministers of the pan-Arab body except for Lebanon and Iraq which expressed "reservations".
In January, GCC member Bahrain said it had dismantled a "terror" cell allegedly linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hizbullah.
Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations also accuse Iran of supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to destabilize their own regimes.
They also denounce its alliance with the Syrian regime and Hizbullah while support rebels who have been fighting since 2011 to topple the Damascus government and President Bashar Assad.
On March 2, the GCC -- which also includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- declared Hizbullah a "terrorist" group.
It was the latest step taken by Gulf states against Hizbullah, which has lawmakers in Lebanon's parliament.
It came days after Saudi Arabia in February halted a $4 billion program for military supplies to Lebanon in protest against Hizbullah.
After that announcement, Saudi Arabia urged its nationals to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling there, with Qatar and Kuwait later issuing similar advisories.
The United Arab Emirates banned its citizens from traveling to Lebanon.
The United States, Canada and Australia have listed Hizbullah as a "terrorist" group. The European Union has also blacklisted its military wing.
Source: Naharnet
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