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| Arabia |
| No deal with Comoros to take Kuwait stateless: Minister |
| 2016-06-21 |
| [Al Ahram] Kuwait's foreign minister said Monday that a deal to grant thousands of stateless people in the Gulf emirate Comoran nationality had not been struck despite recent reports. Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah, in comments published in the Al-Qabas daily newspaper, denied rumours circulating in Kuwaiti media on the agreement. "If we sign an agreement with any country, the foreign ministry is obliged... to complete the necessary legal procedures in accordance with the constitution," the minister said. Comoran External Affairs Minister Abdulkarim Mohammed said in Kuwait last month that his country was ready to consider taking thousands of stateless people denied citizenship there. Local media in Kuwait recently suggested that a deal was in the works and reported scams involving large sums charged for assistance in obtaining Comoran citizenship. More than 110,000 stateless people, locally known as bidoons, have been living in Kuwait for decades claiming the right to citizenship in the oil-rich emirate and the generous welfare benefits that accompany it. But the government describes them as "illegal residents" and says only 34,000 qualify for consideration for citizenship. Impoverished Comoros consists of three islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of just under 800,000 people, nearly all of them Sunni Moslems. Despite the country's distance from the Middle East and North Africa, it is a member of the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... as well as the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Several years ago, Comoros offered thousands of bidoons in the United Arab Emirates citizenship in exchange for generous aid packages in a deal similar to the Kuwait proposal. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 "Stateless"? Is that an euphemism for Palis that have worn out their welcome? |
| Posted by: Nguard 2016-06-21 15:10 |
| #1 Impoverished Comoros consists of three islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of just under 800,000 people, nearly all of them Sunni Moslems. i.e.: Muslims without oil |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-06-21 15:06 |