These two stories are unlikely to make big news, but they should.
Speaking in Amsterdam on Wednesday night, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Uri Rosenthal, urged fellow European Union members finally to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist entity. Rosenthal said ‘The Netherlands has made another appeal to European Union members to place Hezbollah on the EU list of terrorist organizations.’ Commenting on Hezbollah’s involvement in the violence in Syria Rosenthal added, ‘You see what happens when this organization is allowed to operate freely.’
Then earlier today the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, announced that his country is to suspend diplomatic relations with Iran and expel Iranian diplomats from Canada. Baird also announced that as of today the Canadian government is going to list Iran formally as a state sponsor of terrorism. ‘Iran is among the world’s worst violators of human rights’ he said. ‘It shelters and materially supports terrorist groups.’
Now that the Canadians and Dutch have led the way, will this country’s line on foreign terror entities operating out of the UK toughen up?
Perhaps it is something which Baroness Warsi might focus on now that she has been appointed William Hague’s number two at the Foreign Office?
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