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According to Paulo Casaca, the KRC’s website reported that the centre received the visit of Samir Kantar, a child murderer freed by Israel in July, along with other Hezbollah prisoners, in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
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BRUSSELS (EJP)---A member of the European Parliament has denounced the funding by the European Commission of the project of a Lebanese organisation which he said is run by Hezbollah.
The “Khiam Rehabilitation Centre” (KRC) project, which is part of the “European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights,” provides medical, social and psychological assistance to victims of torture, according to the EU Commission.
It is the biggest project financed by the Commission on the human rights budgetary line in Lebanon.
In an oral question, Paulo Casaca, a Portuguese Socialist MEP, said that he assembled “unequivocal evidence” that the project, which received 600,000 euros, “has nothing to do with promoting democracy and human rights.”
“This project is a false rehabilitation process covering up the mobilization and indoctrination process of former Hezbollah prisoners in Israel for getting back to their terrorist activities,” Casaca told EJP.
According to the MEP, the KRC’s website reported that the centre received the visit of Samir Kantar, a child murderer freed by Israel in July along with other Hezbollah prisoners, in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
“Does the Commission believe it is legitimate to spend EU taxpayers’ money on glorifying the basest kind of racism and fanaticism in the person of someone who has murdered children, apparently purely for being Jewish?” Casaca asked.
In its answer, the European Commission said “it condemns all forms of racism but does not link its financing of projects with an expectation that the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) concerned will systematically express opinions that are in line with EU external policy.”
“The EU supports diversity of opinion and the right of expression, as long as fundamental democratic principles are not violated. In this case the material displayed on the KRC website reflected the general tone of Lebanese press coverage of the release of the detainees, and indeed was largely based on newspaper reports.”