Jordan Times
Sunday, June 15, 2008
'Nationality
certificate’ requirement from Iraqis dropped - ambassador
By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - Iraqis entering Jordan no longer need to
present the so-called “nationality certificate document”, along with their
passport, Iraqi ambassador to Jordan Saad Hayani said on Saturday.
The envoy told The Jordan Times that Prime Minister Nader Dahabi agreed to a
request made by his Iraqi counterpart Nouri Maliki, who was on a two-day visit
to the country.
The nationality certificate, which proves that the holder is an Iraqi national,
was issued to Iraqis before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
An Interior Ministry official previously told The Jordan Times that Jordan “has
the right to take all procedures to determine who should be allowed to enter the
country and who is not”.
The Jordanian side did not give further details on the reasons behind the
requirement, which Hayani described as “unnecessary”, but reports have said that
non-Iraqis took advantage of the chaos that followed the invasion and obtained
Iraqi passports.
A senior official acknowledged that the issue was raised during Maliki’s talks
in Amman on Thursday and Friday, but stopped short of confirming that a decision
has been taken in this regard.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian side officially informed their Iraqi peers that the
government extended a June deadline, whereby Iraqis holding “S” Series passports
were to be denied entry into the Kingdom.
The new decision allows Iraqis holding this category of passports to enter
Jordan until the end of December. The Ministry of Interior made the decision in
May. After the December deadline, only Iraqis with G-Series passports will be
allowed to apply for a visa to cross to the Kingdom.
The new passport was introduced last year after several Western and European
countries refused to accept the older passports, citing security concerns.
Substandard security features and a lack of control over production and issuance
make the “S” series passport extremely vulnerable to alteration, counterfeiting
and impostors, according to the US government.
During the talks with the Iraqi delegation, the two sides decided to renew an
oil agreement signed in 2006 for three years.
The senior official said yesterday that Jordan insisted that conveyance of Iraqi
oil should start “at once. There is no time for any delay”.
Under the original agreement, Baghdad agreed to provide the Kingdom with between
10 and 30 per cent of its daily oil needs of around 100,000 barrels at a
preferential price. But only “symbolic” land shipments made it to the refinery
due to security reasons.
The government official said that in the medium and long run, oil imports from
Iraq might be carried through other alternatives, including a pipeline that
could be linked to the Saudi one crossing Jordan or via sea. He said all options
are under consideration.
Dahabi said at a joint press conference with Maliki on Thursday that alternative
routes were being considered in case obstacles to the land shipments are not
removed.
Meanwhile, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Iraqi Finance Minister Bayan
Zubeidi as saying the Iraqi side did not discuss with Jordanian officials the
issue of assets frozen in Jordan belonging to Saddam Hussein’s son in law,
Hussein Kamel, who took refuge in Jordan in 1995 and was killed upon return to
Iraq. The minister was responding to reports claiming Jordan turned down an
Iraqi request to free the assets.
The two sides discussed Thursday the issue of debts Iraq owes Jordanian
businessmen, with Dahabi announcing that no decision has been taken in this
regard, pending the outcome of an meeting ad hoc joint panel.
“This issue is a leftover from the former regime and it has to be solved,” the
Iraqi premier said.