The Australian government introduced a bill to parliament to outlaw the radical Lebanese Islamic group Hezbollah which it says poses a terrorist threat to Australians. The government is trying to circumvent current legislation which prevents it from banning a group unless it has been listed as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council. Attorney-General Daryl Williams introduced the bill to the lower House of Representatives early Thursday following two months of wrangling among government and opposition parties about how to overcome the legal obstacles. Hezbollah, a militant Shiite movement backed by Syria and Iran, is a mainstream political party in Lebanon, with elected members in parliament, and has not been targeted for UN sanctions. But Canberra wants action against the group since it threatened to kill Australians over the country’s role in the recent war on Iraq. Full Story
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