By Bill W. Cooper
The United States of America (USA) State Department says there is no official list of countries currently facing sanctions to be placed on travel restrictions fo now.
“First of all, there is no list. What people are looking at over these last several days is not a list that exists here that is being acted on,” Tammy Bruce clarified.
Spokesperson Bruce emphatically stated, “There is a review, as we know, through the President’s executive order, for us to look at the nature of what’s going to help keep America safer in dealing with the issue of visas and who’s allowed into the country.”
“But what has been touted as something that is an item through the State Department just simply isn’t the case. So, that’s not something that I can certainly talk about regarding something that doesn’t exist, but certainly, when that review is done, we’ll have something that we can discuss,” he assured.
This clarity comes amid growing concerns regarding reports that Liberia and several other countries have been placed on a “yellow tier” status, potentially facing travel bans if they fail to address specific issues raised by the U.S.
The U.S. State Department, through its spokesperson, prompt pronouncement is allayed fears and provided clarity on the U.S. government’s position.
Bruce’s assertion followed a recent report from the New York Times that the United States government has placed Liberia on a “yellow list” alongside 21 other countries to face a potential travel ban, including visa restrictions, among others.
According to the report, countries on this list are given a 60-day window to address specific concerns raised by U.S. authorities, and if these nations fail to meet the outlined requirements, they could face travel bans that would restrict their citizens’ ability to enter the United States.
The outlined requirements are for these countries to comply with the U.S. on the sharing of information about incoming travellers, security practices surrounding passport issuance, and prevention of citizenship sales to individuals from countries subject to U.S. travel restrictions.
The situation has since raised serious concerns amongst the citizenry, with many of them expressing their dismay over the report, thus calling on the government to act swiftly to address the situation.
But the government, through Foreign Affairs Minister Sarah Beysolow Nyanti, has since expressed her doubts over the authenticity of the highly reported potential travel ban to be imposed by the United States government on Liberia.
Appearing before the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Minister Nyanti also emphasized the importance of verifying information before reacting, but noted, “We understand and have read the news circulating on social media, but with what we have done since taking over, I don’t think Liberia will be placed on U.S visa restrictions.”
“Let be clear here: seeing information on the internet or news reports in the New York Times doesn’t constitute the authenticity of the information. However, we have begun engaging our Embassy in the U.S. to validate this information,” she said.
The Foreign Minister Nyanti also stated that U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Mark Toner, when contacted by the government, informed her that he has no information as it relates to Liberia’s potential Visa Restrictions.
“We immediately contacted the US Ambassador, the government through the ambassador to ascertain as to the validity of what was being promoted on social media. As of the weekend, the Ambassador indicated to me that he had no information about this and would seek more clarification,” she added.
