Domineering and intimidation are two of the main challenges of the current international system of governance, which the United States dominates. In this system, there is almost no room for justice, and the notion is only an ornament used to cover up the domineering policies of the major powers.
‘Justice’ is always defined based on the interests of the global hegemons. Sometimes, acting in line with justice is in line with their interests and sometimes injustice is in line with their interests, but it is still called ‘justice’. This exemplifies the double standards applied by the major powers to the notion of justice.
The European Union’s recent decision to place Hezbollah’s military wing on its list of terrorist organizations was a clear example of unjust and domineering action. The governments of the U.S., France, Britain, and the Zionist regime made great efforts to persuade the EU to put the group on its list of terrorist entities, but Hezbollah’s massive popularity in the region as well as other parts of the Islamic world initially discouraged these governments from making such a move.
Sweden and Ireland were seriously opposed to the decision, saying that Hezbollah is an indispensable part of Lebanon’s national and political identity. The group is one of the main components of the country’s coalition government and enjoys huge popular support, especially in southern Lebanon, they said. It was also argued that any move to put the group on the terrorist list would seriously undermine relations between EU governments and Lebanon.
The proposal to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group was ratified by the EU after claims were made that the group was assisting the Syrian government’s offensive against the terrorists fighting in the city of al-Qusayr. This is ridiculous because southern Lebanon is exposed to a huge risk of a spillover of the violence from neighboring Syria, and Hezbollah believes it is responsible for defending the territory against any threats. How can this be called terrorism? Isn’t it a clear manifestation of intimidation and domineering in the international system of governance?
The EU’s recent decision will probably create more problems for its own member states than for the Lebanese resistance group.
The United States used everything at its disposal to pressure the EU to ratify the proposal.
In the first step, Hezbollah’s military wing has been listed as a terrorist group. This shows that the decision was very tentative and that a number of EU states were reluctant to ratify the initiative. In fact, the EU will be the main loser in this situation and Hezbollah will emerge victorious in the end.
Seyyed Morteza Nematzadeh is an expert on the Middle East who formerly served as Iran’s cultural attaché in Syria.
