Jordan Times
Monday, September 3, 2007
Iraqis will need visa to enter Jordan - gov’t AMMAN - Iraqis will soon require a visa to enter the Kingdom, a senior official said.
By Linda Hindi
The new procedure is meant to organise the flow of Iraqis to the country, Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh told The Jordan Times yesterday.
“Of the many alternatives that were being considered by the government, the visa option is the one that has been decided on…. This will hopefully organise entry for Iraqis into Jordan and make things easier,” he said.
Late last month, a security delegation from Iraq visited Jordan to discuss with the government about setting clear mechanisms for Iraqi nationals wishing to enter the Kingdom, according to the Iraqi officials.
They said Baghdad has suggested that an Iraqi must first go to the Iraqi foreign ministry to obtain permission to leave and provide reasons. From there, the ministry will forward their applications to Iraqi security forces who will, in turn, contact concerned authorities in Jordan for acceptance or refusal.
“The mechanism and procedures for this will be determined in the coming few days,” Judeh said.
Iraqi government spokesperson Ali Dabbagh told The Jordan Times in a telephone conversation from Dubai that rather than an official visa it is more like a “pre-approval” for those who will be allowed entry and decisions will be sent between governments electronically to different departments.
“We understand that the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad does not have the capacity to process visas for large number of Iraqis. Ultimately, Jordan will decide what criteria and how this will be implemented,” Dabbagh said.
The Iraqi senior official further explained that his government backs this type of system so that their nationals are respected and not subjected to deportation. “We only ask that all Iraqis are treated equally under the new requirements regardless of religion, sect or gender. We do not interfere in final decisions,” he said.
According to Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Saad Jasem Hayani, the Iraqi government is concerned with the many complaints from nationals who have travelled under “costly or very dangerous conditions” only to find out at the airport or Jordan border that they are denied entry. “Sometimes they remain stuck there for several days,” the envoy said.
“Iraqis must be able to know ahead of time if they will be allowed into the Kingdom. We requested the Jordan government a long time ago to either announce a clear set of rules [of entry] or impose a visa requirement,” Hayani told The Jordan Times.
But, according to an Iraqi journalist living in Amman, this type of decision would be a “calamity” for Iraqis who wish to flee violence in Iraq.
“When an Iraqi is running for his life, it is important that nobody knows, most importantly the Iraqi government,” Israa Sady said.
According to Sady, it is mostly Sunnis who are fleeing a Shiite controlled government, so to directly inform them would be outrageous.
“Iraqis would be afraid because with the current government there is no security, no stability, no assurances,” the reporter added.
She concedes that the reason the Iraqi government is behind “setting concrete rules” is to ease the burden on Iraqis but said there is wide speculation that this will also be a death trap for many.
Syria, a host of 1.5 million displaced Iraqis, has started a visa system to control Iraqi influx.
According to a BBC report, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem clarified that his government decided to start the work of entry visa system to Iraqi citizens as of September 10, to those who are going for economic, trade and educational purposes, said the BBC website report, citing a statement by the Iraqi foreign ministry.
Although Dabbagh is not fully aware of the details of the Syrian decision, he said the Syrian government was complaining from the flow of Iraqis so they decided to limit the entry and take “certain measures”.
“Whatever their decision is, we have to respect it and only wish that it will be the same treatment for all Iraqis.”