UAE 'suspends granting visas' to citizens of 13 Muslim countries: How true is the news?
Reports stating that the UAE has stopped issuing visas to citizens of Arab countries are still of interest to social media leaders, amid conflicting news about the validity of this decision and its reasons.
The Reuters news agency had quoted a source describing it as al-Mawla 'that the UAE had suspended the issuance of visas to citizens of 13 countries, most of them from the Arab world, for security reasons.
The source did not clarify these security considerations, but said that the ban would continue for a limited period.
Reuters relied on a document it said was distributed to the UAE-owned business complex.
The document includes "a circular from the Ministry of Immigration for companies to start implementing the decision to suspend applications for obtaining work or visit visas for citizens of countries in the Middle East and North Africa as of November 18," according to Reuters.
According to the document attributed to the UAE business complex, the decision included citizens of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Yemen, in addition to Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kenya and Pakistan.
Numerous questions and interpretations about the UAE 'suspending granting visas' to citizens of 13 Muslim countries
And quickly, Arab tweeters picked up the news circulating between Mosaddegh and a skeptic.
The news was a cause for many questions and interpretations.
Tweeters feared the economic repercussions of that decision - if correct - on the citizens of the included countries.
A team of commentators suggested that the reason for the decision was political, if they considered that "the move is an attempt by Abu Dhabi to settle political scores with its opponents in the region."
Some say that the decision was issued against citizens of countries that share common denominators. In Tunisia and Libya, parties and personalities close to Turkey participate in the rule, while in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon parties loyal to Iran are active while Somalia hosts a Turkish military base.
But some others questioned the reason for including Kenya and Algeria on the list, especially since the latter was known for its neutral stances on many issues, such as the Libyan crisis, according to their saying.
On the other hand, tweeters linked the decision to "normalization agreements" with Israel, and some spoke of "reports indicating the exclusion of pro-Palestinian activists in the Emirates."
While some believed that the decision was linked to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in those countries, they defended Abu Dhabi's right to protect its national security and the health of its people.
Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, the Emirati politician, known for his proximity to the ruling circles, commented: "In the time of Corona, all countries have green, yellow and red lists, and the motive may be security or due to other reasons."
While one of them tweeted, "A decision that has nothing to do with Corona ... Why do those countries in particular think they are related to political reasons, but for fear of some actions that might happen because of the normalization agreements?"
Also, some warned against taking the news out of context with the aim of serving certain political agendas, as they said.
What is the truth about the UAE 'suspending the granting of visas' to citizens of 13 Muslim countries ??
Yesterday, Thursday, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports that Algeria has been mentioned in the list of countries whose citizens are prevented from obtaining entry visas to the UAE.
A statement by the Algerian Foreign Ministry described the news circulating as false, adding that "the UAE authorities have confirmed their complete denial of these reports and that suspicious parties are behind them."
In parallel, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement, that it had not been officially informed of the decision to stop the Emirati authorities preventing entry visas for its citizens, explaining that it was "following the matter through diplomatic channels."
While the Iranian representative office in the Emirates stated on Twitter that "after the competent Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs official asked, they were informed that the visa ban for 13 countries is temporary."
Last week, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the UAE had stopped granting new visas to its citizens and citizens of several other countries.
The ministry added that holders of valid visas will not be affected by the new restrictions and can enter the UAE, adding that it believes that the matter is related to the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
While that data seemed sufficient to some to remove the ambiguity, it increased the confusion of others who circulated a picture issued from Dubai Airport that includes a list of the countries mentioned above.
The BBC tried to contact the government complex in the Dubai Free Zone, but has not yet received a response.
It was not clear if there were exceptions to the ban.
BBC
