Mansour Says EU Decision over Hizbullah 'Unfair' and 'Political'
Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said on Thursday that the EU's decision to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing is “unjust,” pointing out that it was based on a political decision and not security fears.
“The government should convene and assume it's responsibilities to confront the decision,” Mansour said in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.
“The decision wasn't based on investigations related to Burgas blast last year as they haven't ended yet,” the official said.
Bulgaria had already announced that an Australian and a Canadian linked to the military wing of Hizbullah had aided the still unidentified bomber, who was killed at the scene of the July 18, 2012 attack at the Black Sea airport of Burgas.
Israel blamed Iran and its Lebanese "terrorist proxy" Hizbullah for the bombing, the deadliest attack on Israelis abroad since 2004 and the first in a EU member state.
It took Bulgaria six months to make what it called a "justified conclusion" that Hizbullah was behind the attack.
More than a year on, the investigation is still bogged down by lengthy procedures for collecting witness testimony from Israel and legal assistance reports from abroad.
The case, however, played a role in the European Union decision on July 25 to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing as a terrorist organization.
Mansour noted that the Gulf Cooperation Council's decision against Hizbullah and that of the EU were issued successively, “which indicates that there is a systematic campaign targeting Hizbullah.”
“We are not in confrontation with the EU or the GCC. Lebanon has ties with them is based on respect and harmony,” he said.
“we cannot yield to every decision that targets Lebanon.”
The GCC decided to adopt several measures against Hizbullah members in the council's member-states as a response to the party's involvement in the Syrian crisis.
The Council recently announced that member states will consider Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and will look into the activities of the party's members in the Gulf region.
Hizbullah fighters spearheaded a devastating 17-day assault on the Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border which culminated on Wednesday with its recapture from the rebels.
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