Bahrain urges EU to blacklist Hizbollah

Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa yesterday called on the European Union to add Lebanese group Hizbollah to a list of terrorist organisations. “Iran is exercising state terrorism,” he said in an interview with the Dubai-based Sky News Arabia at the conclusion of a ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi.

 “Many OIC states, including Bahrain, have suffered from terrorism backed by Iran, which supports terrorist organisation such as Hizbollah,” he said. The top Bahraini diplomat went on to call on the EU and other world countries “to classify Hizbollah as a terrorist group, following the British suit”. On Thursday, Britain’s parliament voted to officially label Hizbollah as a “terrorist group”.

As of next Monday, membership in - or support for - the group will be considered a criminal offence in the UK, carrying sentences of up to ten years in prison. Both Hizbollah and Iran have denounced the British decision to classify the Lebanese group as a terrorist organisation.

The British government’s decision means being a member of, or inviting support for, Hizbollah will be a criminal offence, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Until now, the military wing of the Lebanon-based group has been outlawed in Britain, but not its political arm. The group maintains a formidable military force that rivals the Lebanese army.

It is also a powerful political force that takes participated in elections, has members in parliament and the government, and dominates the country’s politics. The US and others accuse the group of destabilising the region through its military intervention in Syria on the side of President Bashar Al Assad’s government. The British ban comes as the United States is increasing its pressure on Hizbollah, placing several sets of sanctions on the group and its regional backer, Iran.

Last week, the US ambassador to Lebanon described what she labelled as Hizbollah’s “growing” role in the new Lebanese Cabinet as a threat to the country’s stability.