Icelandic Passport for Bobby Fischer 

Reykjavík, 23 February 2005

At a meeting yesterday with the Directorate of Immigration (UTL) Ms. Hildur Dungal, CEO, told our committee members, that the Icelandic Authorities had just decided after an advice from the Althingi to grant Bobby Fischer a special foreigners’ passport which would allow him to travel to western Europe, e.g. the Schengen countries. This decision comes after some four weeks of lengthy considerations over his request for Icelandic citizenship at the Parliament.

The General Committee of Althingi concluded that it would be right to put Bobby’s request for a citizenship on hold for the time being while other possible means to get him released from his detainment in Japan over an invalid US passport, which was revoked behind his back, would be tried out fully. Iceland’s foreign minister, Mr. Oddsson, had already in December granted Bobby a residence permit. But travel documents is what counts, not political declarations. Hopefully this important move will break the deadlock of this absurd affair and generate Bobby’s release after seven months of hardship for the former world champion in confinement at Narita airport immigration camp.

In spite of the official formality of this case, it seems in fact to have been a battle between Bobby Fischer and the United States, driven by some politically incorrect views of Bobby on the events of 9/11 2001 and on the influence of Jews in America today, affecting negatively the Palestinian people among other negative influences. After Iceland offered Bobby Fischer a residency, the US protested immediately at a special meeting with the Icelandic Minister of Foreign affairs. After that meeting the Icelandic officials were stopped from continuing the inevitable paperwork and passport issuance that should have followed the kind offer right away.

The picture used in Fischer's Icelandic passport

When a stalemate had lasted for more than a month, Bobby Fischer requested a formal citizenship that took the whole case to a new and a higher level. Now the Icelandic Parliament was suddenly put in the position of answering the question whether it wanted to involve the country formally into the matter or deny Mr. Fischer citizenship. After weeks of discussion in the Parliamentarian Committee that deals with citizenships, it gradually seemed more and more likely that when taking the matter to a formal vote in the floor, a majority of the parliamentarians would vote in Bobby’s favour. Instead of taking the case that far, the Icelandic Government finally decided it would be better for it's relation with Japan and USA to give Bobby an Icelandic ID number and a valid passport to travel to Iceland, where he had already been offered a residency.

If this measure to help Bobby Fischer out does not work the Althingi will proceed with citizenship. Citizenship by parliamentary degree is granted twice a year, next time in April. Bobby's Icelandic passport has now already been processed and will be sent by a diplomatic mail to the Icelandic Embassy in Tokyo and handed over by the Ambassador in due course.

Saemi Palsson, Bobby´s old friend and bodyguard, with another member from our group as a second will be traveling to Japan in a couple of days with the intention to escort Bobby Fischer to Iceland, hopefully next week.