‘Govt firm on pledge to naturalize 4,000 bedoun’

Panel categorizes beneficiaries

KUWAIT CITY, April 15: The government remains committed to its promise to naturalize 4,000 Bedouns by the end of the year, especially since the National Assembly has approved the proposal, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting sources.

Confirming that the parliamentary Human Rights and Bedouns Committee recently discussed the issue with representatives of the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) and other concerned authorities, sources said priority will be given to Bedoun militarymen who hold legal documents proving that they were in Kuwait before 1965. Other beneficiaries of the decision include those who work in the oil sector, those with Kuwaiti relatives and the children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis.

Sources clarified the decision does not cover those excluded from the 1965 Census or those who failed to register the necessary data in the office of the mayor of the area where he currently resides. Sources said the committee has stressed the need to naturalize those who fulfilled all the conditions without any obstacle.

In an unrelated development, the Iraqi Embassy in Kuwait has vehemently denied allegations that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has forwarded to the Kuwaiti government the names of 37,000 Bedouns; most of whom are suspected allies of the Mahdi Army.

The embassy asserted there is no truth in the statement made by MP Mashari Al-Husseini who hurled false accusations against Al-Maliki.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed the National Assembly committees have approved a number of proposals, including the child rights act and patients bill; but rejected the request to lift the immunity of MPs Maasouma Al-Mubarak, Safaa Al-Hashem and Abdul Hamid Dashti on grounds that the cases filed against them have malicious intent.