Australia: Hezbollah Listed As A Terrorist Organisation
Australia is one of the latest countries to list all of Hezbollah, a political party and an armed wing, as a terrorist organization. Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, told the parliament that there is no place “for violent, hateful ideologies” in the country.
Hezbollah is a Shiite and Iran-backed group that has considerable power in Lebanon. The militant movement was founded in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war, and it fought another bloody war with Israel in 2006.
As Middle East Monitor picks up, the Movement is said to have sent fighters in Syria’s civil war to support the Assad regime and is accused of blocking the investigation into the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion.
For Karen Andrews, it “continues to threaten terrorist attacks and provides support to terrorist organizations,” adding that its militia has been listed as a terrorist organization in Australia since 2003.
Other Western governments have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, but some have been reluctant to sanction its political wing, fearing it could complicate the relationship with Lebanon.
Back in May, the United States called on governments worldwide to take action against Hezbollah, and last month, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Lebanon while blaming Hezbollah for damaging Riyadh-Beirut relations, and influencing the decisions of the Lebanese State.
Canberra also labeled the Neo-Nazi group, “The Base” as a terrorist organization. Andrews said the “violent, racist, neo-Nazi group” is known by security agencies to be planning terrorist attacks. This group is also considered a terrorist organization by Canada and the UK.
She said, “listing these organizations sends a very strong message that Australia condemns the use of terrorism to achieve political, ideological or religious objectives.” “There is absolutely no place in Australia for violent extremism,” the Minister voiced. “There is no cause, religious or ideological, that can justify killing innocent people.”
Andrews ended up by stating that there is a threat of terrorism in Australia and across the world and that since 2013, the government has allocated more than $69 million to countering violent extremism programs. Prior to this announcement, Australia classified 26 groups as terrorist organizations, including ISIS and Boko Haram.