Iraq Calls for Full Cancellation of Travel Ban

Rasa - Iraqi Foreign Minister called for a full cancellation of US President Donald Trump's new travel ban on Muslim-majority countries, though it welcomes lifting Iraq from the list.

News ID: 427978

Date: 08 March 2017 - 21:28

RNA - Trump signed a new executive order banning refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries, however it is actually a scaled-back version of the previous travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim nations the president rolled out in late January, CCTV reported.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari, who is participating in the ongoing Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, welcomed the new directive and called for full cancellation of the ban.

"It is a right decision to exclude Iraq but I expect the US government to lift the ban on the other six countries. We cannot let people from these countries assume the responsibility to fight terrorism. These nations should have been entitled to dignity and sovereignty and their people should have been respected. Democratic countries like the US are supposed to open up to them. Therefore I think it is a right direction to take Iraq off the list," said Jafari.

Under the new order, Iraqi was taken off the initial banned list for reasons that its government has launched new visa vetting and data sharing procedures and that it has been a long-term partner of Washington in combating the ISIL militants.

Except Iran, the other five of the six countries remaining in the revised ban, namely Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, are all Arab States. Delegates at the Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting voiced strong protest and reproach against the ban, claiming it undermines the foundation of their cooperation with the US instead of effectively combating terrorism.

"If there are any organizations involved in terrorist attacks, then the ban should target them instead of the majority of citizens from the countries in which terrorists are active. State-to-state relations should be established on consultation and cooperation but not on barring citizens of one country. We are living in an era of globalization that highlights cooperation and communication, so we hope the White House will reconsider the directive," said Mishaal bin Fahm Al-Salami, speaker of the Arab Parliament.

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