Uproar over invite to Hezbollah
The United States has called on the Government to refuse entry to representatives of the Lebanese terror group, Hezbollah, and Iraqi insurgents who have been invited to take part in a conference in Dublin, sharing a platform with members of the Green Party as well as Labour's Michael D Higgins.
The conference is being organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement at the Royal Dublin Hotel on October 13.
The organisers have invited Ibrahim Mussawi, of Al-Manar TV, which is the propaganda wing of Hezbollah -- the group responsible for last year's rocket attacks on Israel which prompted the bombardment of Lebanon.
Hezbollah and its propaganda wing advocate the destruction of Israel.
The fact that Fianna Fail's partners in government are participating in the event could lead to diplomatic problems with the US whose companies based here employed more than 100,000 people.
Hezbollah and its TV station are included in the list of organisations banned from the United States as terrorism sponsors. A spokesperson for the US State Department said on Friday: "We take it very seriously when we decide to designate an organisation like Al-Manar as a terrorist entity and put them on a list of banned groups from the United States.
"We would hope that our allies and friends around the world would take similar action. It's up to Ireland to decide who comes into their country but, from a US perspective, Hezbollah prior to 9/11 was responsible for more American deaths through terrorism than any other terrorist group."
Speakers listed for the conference include Green Party Senator Dan Boyle and Labour's Michael D Higgins. Literature distributed for the conference bills it as an "International Anti-War conference" in support for "those who fight the illegal occupation of their country".
Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter said yesterday that he is seeking a meeting with Minister of Justice Brian Lenihan to petition him to deny entry to both Mussawi of Al-Manar and the Iraqi Al Sadr MP Dr Qusay Abdulawahab Al-Suhail.
Mr Shatter denounced Al Manar TV as "a forum for anti-Semitic vitriol". He said it was "extraordinary" that Irish TDs and Senators from the Green Party and Labour were prepared to stand on the same platform as a "Hezbollah propagandist".
He said: "Al-Manar spouts the type of anti-Jewish propaganda that was last seen in the 1930s in Germany. It is hardly 'anti-war' since it celebrates the activities of Hezbollah, including attacks on Israeli civilians.
"The question then about this conference is how can it be 'anti-war' when one of its invitees belongs to a station that openly supports Hezbollah violence not just against Israelis but its fellow Lebanese citizens."
Hezbollah, which is sponsored by both Syria and Iran, is believed to have participated in the attacks on Lebanese political leaders, including the murder of former President Rafiq Harriri.
Asked about the participation of Michael D Higgins, a Labour Party spokesperson said: "Michael D Higgins has enormous experience of the situation in the Middle East and has been a consistent opponent of terrorism in all its forms. Eamon Gilmore has every confidence in Michael D's judgement."
