 BosniaÂ’s parliament was on Wednesday discussing the fate of dozens of former Islamic fighters who came to Bosnia to fight alongside Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-95 war and are now facing deportation.
| "Thanks for all your help. Now get the hell out!" |
A government commission has revoked 500 citizenships out of 1,300 that had been awarded to foreigners during and after the war, a move seen as part of an anti-terrorism drive urged by the United States. ParliamentÂ’s discussion of the commission report is expected to be largely a formality, but deputies can ask for changes to legal procedures in appeals against deportation where they feel they are unclear. Most former fighters left Bosnia after the Sept. 11 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
"Mahmoud, it's time to pull up stakes and head for Afghanistan!"
"72 virgins, here we come!" |
But those who stayed, mostly because of family ties, say they are innocents whose lives have been destroyed by political directives from abroad. “Bosnians have proclaimed that I am a threat to national security,” said Syrian-born Imad Al Husayn.
| "... just because I slap a few infidels around now and then. And maybe launder a little money here and there. And because I can produce a passport with nothing but a piece of charcoal and a half role of single-ply toidy paper..." |
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