Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Iraq president says US travel ban ‘a shock’, calls for review

915853
915853
minus
plus

BAGHDAD: President Fuad Masum said on Wednesday that his American counterpart Donald Trump’s decision to ban Iraqi citizens from entering the United States was “a shock” and called for it to be reviewed.


Masum is the latest in a string of Iraqi officials to condemn Trump’s executive order last week barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from US entry for at least 90 days, a move billed as an effort to make America safe from radical terrorists.


Iraq’s inclusion among “the countries whose citizens are prohibited from travelling to the United States is a shock to us”, Masum said in a statement.


He called on the US “to be just to people fighting terrorism with the blood of their sons and their resources on behalf of the whole world, including the United States”.


Iraqi forces are more than three months into a massive operation to retake Mosul, the country’s last city in which the IS militant group holds significant ground.


They have been fighting against IS with the support of a US-led international coalition for more than two years.


Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made a similar case on Tuesday, saying Trump’s travel restrictions punished “people who are sacrificing, who are fighting terrorism”.


And Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said: “We reject... the decision”.


Iraq’s parliament had voted to back reciprocal restrictions on Americans if Washington does not change course.


Iran-born actress plans trip to Oscars: Iranian actress Bahar Pars, who stars in a Swedish film nominated for a 2017 Academy Award, said she plans to attend the February 26 award ceremony in Los Angeles despite the travel ban.


“Yes, I will travel,” she said on Wednesday. “It would be much more powerful to stand there in person than to stay away.”


Pars has a lead role in “A Man Called Ove,” a dramatic comedy nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. It tells the story of a cantankerous widower, played by Rolf Lassgard, who experiences a change in life when Pars’ character and her family become neighbours.


Libyan officials criticise ban: Libya’s UN-backed government has criticised the ban.


The executive order by Trump comes at a time of uncertainty over US policy in Libya, which remains mired in the chaos that followed the Nato-backed 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.


Trump’s travel ban has angered some Libyans, including students studying or planning to study in the United States. GNA Foreign Minister Mohammed Siyala called it an “unjust decision” that should be reviewed.


“These actions represent racial discrimination on the basis of religion and are incompatible with human rights,” he told local TV station Libya’s Channel.


Authorities in eastern Libya have made no formal comment, though a member of the eastern parliament, Youssef al-Fakhri, said that despite Libya’s political and security problems, the measure was “not appropriate”.


The order appeared to put in jeopardy the participation of Libyans invited to a February 16 conference titled “Libya-US Relations 2017: New Vision, Hope and Opportunities”.


The event, co-hosted by the National Council on US-Libya Relations, lists Libyan speakers including two former prime ministers and the head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC). Several speakers are loyal to or connected with eastern-based factions.


“We are clearly concerned with the risk of denial of entrance to some of our key speakers and participants from Libya,” Hani Shennib, the council’s president, said in an email.


UAE says travel ban an internal affair: The United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister said on Wednesday that the travel ban was an internal affair not directed at any faith, a more measure reaction than others from the region.


“The United States has taken a decision that is within the American sovereign decision,” Sheikh Abdullah said at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Abu Dhabi.


“There are attempts to give the impression that this decision is directed against a particular religion, but what proves this talk to be incorrect first is what the US administration itself says ... that this decision is not directed at a certain religion.” — Agencies


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon