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The EU Must Join Canada in Designating Hizbullah a Terrorist Organization
(National Post-Canada) Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird - The time has come for the European Union to join Canada in designating Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. Since it reared its ugly head in 1982, Hizbullah has become one of the most technically advanced terrorist groups in the world. It is a grave threat to security and stability in the Middle East and beyond. Hizbullah killed over 300 soldiers and civilians with the 1983 suicide bombings of the U.S. and French barracks in Beirut. In 2011, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indicted Hizbullah members for their involvement in the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There are strong indications that Hizbullah was behind the July 2012 bombing of a tourist bus in Burgas, Bulgaria, killing one Bulgarian and five Israelis. A Hizbullah operative also has been found guilty of planning a similar attack on Israeli tourists in Cyprus. Hizbullah is also helping Syria's Assad regime in its bloody war on its own people. These are not our friends. A terrorist designation is more than a label: It criminalizes financing to the group. Moreover, it's about sending a strong political message that the international community is united in its rejection of terrorist activities. Canada designated Hizbullah as a terrorist entity in 2002. It is time for the EU to stand up with its allies and designate Hizbullah for what it is, and thereby remind the world that terrorism will not be tolerated.