April 9, 2015, 9:12 am
Decisions issued earlier on the
cancellation of the citizenship of some people were in line with the law, says
Ministry of Interior’s Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Passports
Affairs Major General Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah. In a statement on ‘Good Morning
Kuwait’ radio program, Al-Jarrah pointed out such decisions were taken only
after thorough verification of falsified documents through which some people
obtained citizenship illegally; hence, the need to strip them of their
nationality.
He said results of DNA tests
showed these people do not belong to any Kuwaiti family and nobody has been
treated unjustly in this regard, asserting he is ready for a public debate with
anybody who claims otherwise. He argued other countries also have stateless
people (Bedouns) and Kuwait is the third among GCC countries in terms of the number
of Bedouns.
He stressed that Bedouns included
in the 1965 Census are eligible for citizenship. He added the ministry will
start distributing e-passports before the year ends while a study is being
carried out to change the format of the nationality card and the proposal will
be presented soon to the interior minister.
In a related development,
Al-Jarrah revealed several questions regarding the situation of Bedouns were
raised in Wednesday’s National Assembly session by MPs Mohammad Al-Tanna and
Faisal Al-Duwaisan, who asked Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid and
State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdallah which authority
oversees the activities of the Central System for Remedying the Status of
Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) and the names of its staff.
Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdallah
apologized for the inability to respond to the queries of Al-Duwaisan,
asserting the questions should be directed to the Fatwa and Legislation
Department. Al-Duwaisan then retorted: “Is it logical that the CSRSIR has been
working for the past four years without knowing the ministry under which it
belongs?” Al-Tanna interjected saying, “I directed a question to the interior
minister on the activities of many officers regarding purchase of fake
passports by some Bedouns and I am still waiting for their response.” He added,
“The Bedoun file is worrisome locally and internationally. Is it reasonable to
see families of Bedouns holding passports issued by Eritrea and Zimbabwe and
sold to them with the knowledge of the officers?”
if these people are born in Kuwait, why doesn't the Kuwaiti government just give them the kuwati citizenship, I mean, in the states, if you are born in the states you get a passport, it doesn't matter whether or not your related to an American family or not. In my personal opinion, I think that's the way it ought to be.
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