MPs welcome decision to return some citizenships

Cabinet reinstates nationalities of six families: Reports

By B Izzak

Several opposition lawmakers yesterday welcomed the government’s decision to reinstate a number of revoked citizenships, including those of opposition figure and former MP Abdullah Al-Barghash and his family members. Reports said the Cabinet in its weekly meeting yesterday decided to return revoked citizenships to six families, including Barghash and 57 members of his family.

According to the reports, Barghash and his family members will get their citizenships as they were before they were revoked almost three years ago, allegedly for obtaining them with false documents. Along with Barghash, the government revoked the citizenships of another opposition figure, a pro-opposition TV owner and an Islamist preacher. Opposition groups, activists and human rights bodies strongly criticized the move, amid calls for reinstating all the revoked citizenships.

A large number of candidates in the November parliamentary polls made the issue of the revoked citizenships one of their top priorities. After the election, opposition MPs, who won almost half of the seats, pressed the government to reinstate the revoked citizenships. But the breakthrough came after a group of lawmakers met HH the Amir over two months ago, and the meeting resulted in an agreement to return the citizenships.

The government immediately formed an independent committee to study cases of all those who had their citizenships revoked. The committee submitted its first report last week.

Islamist opposition MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said the pressure of the grillings of the prime minister helped to accelerate the process of reinstating the citizenships. He congratulated those who got their citizenships back and said others will follow.

MP Khaled Al-Otaibi called on the government to end this issue and return all the citizenships. The lawmaker thanked HH the Amir and said he and other MPs will press for the return of all revoked citizenships. Opposition MP Jamaan Al-Harbash congratulated those who got their citizenships and said others will be returned. Opposition MP Mohammad Hayef praised the cooperation between the Assembly and the government and said they are looking for others to get their citizenships back too.

Supervisor of the National Assembly MP Nayef AlMerdas said yesterday the Assembly’s office has decided to hold more Assembly sessions to finalize debating the state budgets and budgets of state institutions. He said the Assembly will hold an additional session on Thursday and two sessions weekly and the possibility of a third one on Thursdays. He said the office has not decided when the Assembly will start its summer recess. Under the law, the assembly cannot end the sessions before approving the state budget.