Courtesy Associated Press

The Government of Kenya says it is once again tightening security controls on Kenyans of Asian and Arab decent in response to the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon two weeks ago.

A directive from the immigration office in the coastal city of Mombasa, host to a large Muslim population, said applicants for birth certificates or passports must include their grandparents' national documents with their applications.

The grandparents' documents, it says, would serve as proof that the applicants are genuine Kenyan citizens. Similar restrictions were imposed two months ago but streets demonstrations by thousands of Muslims forced the government to rethink the policy.

Condemnation

The Council of Imams and Preachers has condemned the new action.

Secretary General Sheikh Mohammed Dor said the directive is only aimed at whipping up the emotions of Kenya's Asian and Arab population.

He said several members of theThe city said that beginning Wednesday it would be able to help 500 to 600 families each day with the process of getting death certificates for loved ones killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.

After two weeks of sifting through the rubble that was the World Trade Center, attention has shifted from finding survivors to helping those that are missing loved ones deal with the aftermath.

Steven Fischner, the city's criminal justice coordinator, said Tuesday that with the help of volunteer lawyers and cooperative judges the normal three-year process ``is going to be reduced in most cases to a few days.''

The meetings between lawyers and family members should last 30 to 40 minutes, said Rosemary O'Keefe, the commissioner of the ther further education or work.

But on Tuesday, the Minister in charge of Internal Affairs, Marsden Madoka, denied the move discriminated against people of Asian or Arab decent.

He said the government is merely carrying out its responsibility to ensure that non-citizens do not infiltrate the country and cause havoc.