‘80,000 of 110,000 Bedouns have no hope of getting Kuwaiti citizenship’ - They must correct their status: Maj-Gen Sheikh Mazen - ARAB TIMES
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KUWAIT CITY, April 5 2016
: Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Passports Affairs at the Ministry of Interior Major-General Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah said 80,000 of the 110,000 Bedouns have no hope of getting the Kuwaiti citizenship, reports Al-Anba daily. He noted these people must correct their status at a time tremendous efforts have been exerted by the Kuwaiti authorities to close this file once and for all.
Al-Jarrah added there are 32,000 Bedouns who may obtain the Kuwaiti citizenship but not necessarily, particularly with regards to those who have security restrictions. He stressed it is not possible to grant the Kuwaiti citizenship to those who are known to have cooperated with the aggressors putting at risk the security and safety of the State of Kuwait. Al-Jarrah went on to say those who have corrected their status will be given the privilege to sponsor themselves. He also spoke about Comoros which has offered to step in and solve the problem of Bedoun.
This is in addition to another country, he said, which he did not identify but is expected to be done soon. Al-Jarrah explained the initiative taken by these two countries to solve the problem of the Bedoun does not mean 80,000 Bedoun will be deported to Comoros or another State, but these two countries shall only issue IDs and passports for these people.
Al-Jarrah stressed there must be some kind of solution to the problem because Kuwait will not accept any pressure from either the US or elsewhere to grant Kuwaiti nationality to undeserving people. He reiterated granting citizenship is an indisputable sovereign issue.
Aware
Al-Jarrah added every Bedoun is fully aware of his/her origin, so people who hide their nationalities in the hope of getting the Kuwaiti nationality are mistaken because only people who deserve will be naturalized.
Al-Jarrah affirmed that the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) was established to find a mechanism to solve this issue in public interest and not as understood or imagined by some — to naturalize the Bedoun.
Major-General Al-Jarrah said the General Department for Citizenship and Travel Documents put control on the issuance of passports under Article (17) to prevent such documents being abused. However, he said these passports are issued to people who actually need them.
Al-Jarrah also rubbished rumors which have spread recently that those who are affiliated to Hezbollah will be deported. He added these rumors are baseless. However, he added, those who violate the residence laws are being deported on a daily basis. Kuwait, he said, welcomes all who seek to live in the country in peace without getting involved in political issues and remain committed to the law.