UGANDA: STATELESS ASIANS APPLY TO ENTER UNITED STATES AS EXPULSION DEADLINE DRAWS NEAR.

Record ID: 337855

  • Title: UGANDA: STATELESS ASIANS APPLY TO ENTER UNITED STATES AS EXPULSION DEADLINE DRAWS NEAR.
  • Date: 20th October 1972
  • Summary: 1. GV EXT. U.S.Embassy in Kampala 0.10 2. CU U.S. emblem 0.13 3. SV INT. Asians in hallway(5 shots) 0.32 4. SCU Asian being interviewed & filling out forms (3 shots) 0.54 5. SV Applicant being finger-printed 1.02 Initials SGM/1952 SGM/2005 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 4th November 1972 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kampala, Uganda
  • Country: Uganda
  • Reuters ID: LVA7BLAQGYD5S7XOGE2XI2TW9FJ8
  • Story Text: With the airlift of Asians to Britain well underway, concern is now turning to the stateless Asians who cannot prove British or Ugandan citizenship.

    Estimates of the number of stateless Asians vary between 5,000 and 12,000.

    By Thursday (19 October), less than three weeks before the November 8 expulsion deadline, only about 2,000 had registered with the inter-governmental committee for European migration. The committee directs stateless Asians to countries which have said they are prepared to accept them.

    The United States Embassy in Kampala has so far processed about 100 of the 1,000 Asians it is willing to admit. Canada had issued visas to about 700 stateless Asians and India has accepted about 500.

    On Thursday, President Idi Amin extended the expulsion order to include Asian nationals of Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania. He said these people had been removing from Uganda the money and property of Asians already facing deportation.

    Its thought the number involved could total one thousand.

    SYNOPSIS: American Embassy staff in Kampala are interviewing Asians who cannot prove British or Ugandan citizenship and are now stateless persons.

    The United States has said it will take one thousand Asians.

    So far only about one hundred have applied to live in America and officials are concerned that there will be a sudden late rush. Estimates of the number of stateless Asians in Uganda vary from five thousand to as many as twelve thousand.

    However by last Thursday, only about two thousand had registered with an international committee which directs the stateless Asians to countries, like the United States, which have offered to take them. The reticence of the remaining stateless Asians is causing concern with the deadline for their expulsion less than three weeks away.

    This leaves Embassy officials little time to process stateless Asians who now apply for entry.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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