UAE grants citizenship to 85 Yemeni dignitaries, social figures from Mahrah, Socotra
MAHRAH, Jan. 28 (YPA) -The United Arab Emirates (UAE) occupation forces in Yemen are reportedly trying to give Emirati citizenship to some 70 Yemenis from Mahrah and Socotra provinces, including influential personalities and social figures.
According to the sources, the UAE is currently working on to complete the process of giving citizenship to all members of the al-Farar tribe and the descendants of the last sultans of Mahrah and Socotra provinces, reaching about 70 members in total.
The move aimed to stand up against both the Supreme Council for the Sons of Mahrah, which has rejected Emirati colonisation of Mahrah and Socotra island, as well as the Qatari Sheikh Abdullah bin Issa bin Aafran, who is one of the most prominent sheikhs and personalities who has publicly denounced the presence of Saudi and Emirati occupation troops in the two Yemeni provinces.
The new campaign is part of the UAE occupation attempt in order to increase its influence in Mahrah province. Reports also say that Abu Dhabi seeks to naturalize all the inhabitants of Socotra who are already residing in the UAE, and that they have chosen about 15 influential figures on the island, including sheikhs, dignitaries and community figures in order to grant them the Emirati nationality.
Gaining the Emirati nationality is infamously hard, with around 81% of the UAE population being foreign expatriates with no citizenship rights. Even people born and raised in the Emirates usually only receive its nationality if both parents are Arab Emiratis.
The move to grant UAE citizenship, and the many financial and social benefits it brings, to high-ranking members of Yemeni society is therefore seen as a bribe aimed at attracting more collaborators for the UAE occupation.
The UAE has summoned dozens of Socotra, including the exiled Hadi’s governor of the island, to attend the opening of the AFC Asia Cup, which was hosted in the capital Abu Dhabi in January, while refusing to allow the presence of Hadi’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Nayef al-Bakri, or any other ministry agents, despite the participation of the Yemeni team in the tournament.
E.M