Globalisation protesters to be allowed

Anti-globalisation demonstrators are welcome in Dubai as long as they are peaceful, said Major General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief.

"They are free to hold peaceful assemblies and express their views during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meeting to be held here next year," he told journalists during a weekly Ramadan majlis (meeting) hosted by the Dubai Press Club.

He said security for the demonstrators was the main condition of the organisers of the World Bank and IMF Governors Meeting in Dubai in September 2003.

The police chief warned that if they engage in any destructive activities that would disturb the public order, "then that's another matter altogether."

He said new projects totalling Dh128 billion have made the UAE attractive to foreign investors. The police chief said that the UAE can withstand the temporary economic downturn that may result from the possible U.S.-led war against Iraq.

"Any business goes through the normal up and down cycles, whether there's war or not," he said.

Colonel Saeed Matar bin Bleilah, Director General of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD), said that since Dubai is developing rapidly, it has to deal with both negative and positive effects.

"The Dubai government has faced challenges that come with development. We try to contain the negative repercussions and find solutions to them, especially on the labour front," he said.

"Sometimes there are fly-by-night companies who come here to make quick money and disappear, leaving many people jobless. This affects the labour market because the jobless workers stay without proper residency permits and their needs are not taken care of."

He said the new investments will offer jobs for Dubai residents and continue to create jobs and opportunities.

"The development sometimes overcomes the negative effect of unemployment. Here, we are not afraid of the negative social or security effects of unemployment because it is under complete control," he stressed.

"Dubai is setting an example of what a global city needs to be. These diverse people live and work here and become productive despite their different backgrounds," he said.

"These ongoing development projects create jobs. When there's no development, it means no new jobs are being created, expatriate workers will have to pack up their bags and go home," bin Bleilah said.

He stressed the need to amend some provisions in the Labour Law in order to avoid the problems associated with unemployment. Specifically, he cited the need to regulate and monitor the operation of job placement agencies that recruit people from overseas.

"We have to find those job recruitment agencies and make them accountable. There must be an organised way of recruiting workers," he said.

He also proposed that placement agencies be distributed among the contractors who can offer them specific jobs. "This is to ensure that when the contractors finish their projects, the workers are promptly sent back home," he explained.

He lamented that while the UAE allows many nationalities to visit the country without the need for a visa, some countries are very strict in giving UAE nationals entry visas.

On the issue of human rights, Maj. Gen. Dhahi said the police are proposing a new set of laws which will lead to the formation of a Human Rights Commission.

In the coming few days, the proposal will be referred to General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, for review and approval.