SUBSCRIPTION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 MUHARRAM 17, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net One in every Defiant Burgan Bank North London five people Catalans vote to open $353m nightmare as in Kuwait on breakaway rights issue Arsenal and ‘mentally3 ill’ from Spain7 next21 Sunday Spurs19 lose Govt to offer bedoons Min 08º Max 27º Comoros citizenship High Tide 00:42 & 14:50 Low Tide MP slams move, says lawmakers were misled 08:16 & 20:10 40 PAGES NO: 16338 150 FILS KUWAIT: Tens of thousands of stateless people in Ghanem: Audit Kuwait will be offered citizenship of the impoverished BERLIN MARKS FALL OF WALL African nation of Comoros to end their decades-old Bureau received problem, the government said yesterday. The stateless people - known as bedoons - would be granted “special no graft cases applications for Comoros’ economic citizenship”, Kuwait’s interior ministry assistant undersecretary Maj By B Izzak Gen Mazen Al-Jarrah told Al-Jarida daily. Those who accept the offer would be given free residence permits KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al- in Kuwait, in addition to a series of incentives like free Ghanem said yesterday that the Audit Bureau has education and healthcare and the right to employment, informed him that it has not received any complaints Jarrah was quoted as saying. The process would start as from people regarding “suspicious transfers” or graft soon as an embassy for Comoros is opened in Kuwait in cases. Ghanem told reporters he received a report from the coming months. the bureau that it has received seven cases, but “none of But a lawmaker Faisal Al-Duwaisan, a member of par- them are related to the reported money transfers and liament’s human rights committee, described the move graft cases.” as “very grave” and vowed to file a motion to question Following reports and claims by certain opposition the prime minister if the government implements its figures about huge graft cases in June, the Assembly decision. He said the announcement means the govern- assigned the Audit Bureau to open its doors for people ment has been providing false information to lawmak- interested to file a case. The bureau was given the task ers suggesting that stateless people hold nationalities after former opposition MPs claimed that a number of of other countries. “If this is true, the government former senior officials were involved in money launder- should deport them to their home countries and not to ing and corruption cases worth tens of billions of dol- Comoros,” he said. lars. More than 110,000 stateless people were born and Meanwhile, Ghanem announced that the Assembly raised in Kuwait and claim the right to citizenship in the will hold a special session on Nov 20 to debate a series state. The government, which describes them as illegal of annual reports by the Audit Bureau on the budgets of residents, says only 34,000 qualify for consideration for government ministries and departments in which it citizenship. The rest are considered natives of other highlights a large number of violations. The speaker countries who either emigrated to Kuwait after the dis- said the session is an important move in public moni- covery of oil five decades ago or were born to these toring of government agencies and called on the gov- migrants. ernment to be prepared to answer questions by MPs on In the past three years, bedoons have held demon- the violations. strations to demand citizenship and other basic rights, But head of the budgets committee MP Adnan and police have dispersed them using force, arresting Abdulsamad said the session is simply “political propa- hundreds who are on trial for illegal protests and ganda” because the Audit Bureau reports were pub- assaulting police. A Kuwaiti lawmaker in April proposed lished in newspapers even before reaching the budgets to send stateless people convicted of breaching public committee. Ghanem described as “rumors” from the BERLIN: People attend a central event to commemorate the “Fall of the Wall” at the Brandenburg Gate security and protesting to a camp he suggested should same sources reports about an imminent decision to yesterday. The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov 9, 1989 was marked with numer- be built in the desert. Comoros is an archipelago state dissolve the Assembly. ous events. — AP (See Page 10) located off eastern Africa and is a member of the Arab Continued on Page 13 League. — AFP KSHR slams ‘absconding’ reports No transfer of commercial visit visas By B Izzak and A Saleh study the entire issue. Under existing laws, businessmen and Meet focuses KUWAIT: The Kuwait Society for Human establishments have the right to report to Rights (KSHR) yesterday strongly con- the police that any of their expatriate work- on financing demned the so-called “absconding” reports ers has left work without permission and being filed by businessmen against their according is declared “absconding”. Dossari expatriate workers, saying the issue is said that the residence permit of the work- of terrorists being misused to exploit workers. Head of er is considered “cancelled” immediately MANAMA: Bahrain’s foreign minister urged world lead- the Public Authority for Manpower Jamal after the absconding report is filed. The ers yesterday to do more to cut off funding for terrorist Al-Dossari meanwhile announced that issue has opened the door for exploitation groups and prevent them from profiting from illegal there are absconding reports against by businessmen, which reached the businesses. Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa made 12,000 expatriate workers, adding that a degree of blackmail against payment of the comments at the start of a meeting in the Bahraini government committee has been set up to Continued on Page 13 capital, Manama, aimed at bringing together financial experts to improve the fight against extremist fundrais- MUSCAT: US Secretary of State John Kerry (right), former EU top diplomat ing. He urged delegates to set a path to ensure that Aleppo girl star of Catherine Ashton, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (left) and Omani Foreign financial institutions and charities cannot funnel funds Minister Yussef bin Alawi pose for a photo yesterday. — AFP to terrorist groups, and “put an end to their ability to smuggle goods and extort funds from commercial show on Syria war enterprises.” Iran, US, EU tackle The head of the US BEIRUT: A nine-year-old girl has become lence, despite daily bombings and severe Treasury Department’s the star of a YouTube comedy that shortages. The 30-episode eponymous effort to undermine the depicts with bittersweet humour the show, shot on location in the city which differences in Oman Islamic State’s finances, harsh reality of everyday life in rebel-held was once Syria’s economic hub, stars only David Cohen, last month areas of Syria’s Aleppo. Rasha plays the children playing adult roles and has been MUSCAT: With two weeks to a deadline wider war in the volatile Middle East. The estimated the group was role of “Umm Abdo al-Halabiya”, a house- viewed by tens of thousands of Internet for a breakthrough deal, senior envoys of discussions, between Iranian Foreign earning about $1 million a wife who must make do in a city devas- users. Iran, the United States and European Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, US day from black market oil tated by more than three years of vio- Continued on Page 13 Union met in Oman yesterday to tackle Secretary of State John Kerry and EU stumbling blocks in efforts to defuse the envoy Catherine Ashton, aim to put veri- sales alone. It also gener- standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. fiable limits on Iran’s uranium enrich- Sheikh Khalid ates cash from criminal Reiterating Iran’s official line, Ali Akbar ment work - and any other potential path enterprises such as extor- Velayati, a top aide to Supreme Leader to a nuclear weapon - in return for a tion, bank robbery and kidnapping for ransom. Only a Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by gradual lifting of sanctions. small amount of its funding is believed to come from Iranian media as saying the Islamic The negotiations at a luxury hotel outside donors. Republic would not abandon its nuclear appeared to be intense. The Iranian, US The one-day gathering follows a meeting in Paris in “rights” but was committed to the nego- and European delegations met from September in which diplomats from around the world tiations under Khamenei’s leadership. 11:30 am to 2:30 pm local time, broke for pledged to fight Islamic State militants “by any means US President Barack Obama also lunch and consultations, and then necessary”. It includes representatives from several Arab warned that a “big gap” remained. “Are resumed three-way talks just before 6 nations, Western countries including the United States, we going to be able to close this final pm. Iran denies any secret nuclear Britain and France, as well as China and Russia. gap so that (Iran) can re-enter the inter- weapons agenda, saying it wants peace- International bodies such as the World Bank and the national community, sanctions can be ful nuclear energy only, but has refused International Monetary Fund also participated. slowly reduced and we have verifiable, to curb enrichment capacity and has Meanwhile, Kuwait is a vital partner in the interna- lock-tight assurances that they can’t been hit by damaging US, EU and UN tional effort to eradicate terrorism, dean of the diplo- develop a nuclear weapon?” Obama told Security Council sanctions as a result. matic corps and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Bahrain Sheikh CBS News in an interview broadcast yes- The thorniest unresolved issues are Azzam Mubarak Al-Sabah stressed yesterday.