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Bassil warns against the collective granting of citizenship to children of Lebanese women
29-8-2017
In coordination with involved departments and under the patronage of Minister Gebran Bassil, the foreign ministry organized a workshop last Friday to expound on the law restoring Lebanese citizenship to immigrants. Minister Bassil on the occasion criticized the norm allowing president of the republic before the end of his term to impart citizenship to some persons, wondering why this is not a weekly routine by the head of the state to give citizenship to a what he called a “deserving” person of Lebanese origin who does not hold one? He referred to many foreign businessmen of Lebanese origin, or Palestinians, Syrians and Iraqis who were brought up and lived for nearly 50 years on Lebanese territory. Bassil laid bare his objection to any collective move in this direction, a mass influx, asylum or naturalization, pressing for revoking the collective naturalization decree of the year 1994. He clearly said he is against the law allowing Lebanese mothers to pass nationality to their children and other family members in a collective manner. He pointed to dozens of Palestinians who wish to get the Lebanese citizenship, a thing “we totally disapprove,” he maintained, as it is contrary to the principle of rejecting permanent settlement and naturalization of Palestinians as stipulated in the Constitution. However, Bassil explained, should there be a Palestinian living for over a hundred years in Lebanon, is integrated in society but detached from the right of return of Palestinians and has contributed largely to the welfare of the Lebanese nation, the Lebanese State can then treat him as any citizen in any country in the world, as he put it. On giving Lebanese women the right to pass nationality to their children, Bassil said he was never critical of it, however, “we advise against any collective activity in this matter to avoid attempts of masked naturalization threatening the identity of Lebanon. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, August 26, 2017)
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- العربية
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