M.I.A. STALLS WEDDING UNTIL IMMIGRATION ISSUES ARE SOLVED
M.I.A. refuses to have a "quickie wedding" to mend her immigration
woes in America - because she dreams of a grand ceremony when she
marries fiance BENJAMIN BRONFMAN.
The London-born hip-hop star has previously been locked out of her
adopted America over visa issues, brought about by controversial
comments she has made about conflict in her parents' native Sri Lanka
and her father's alleged links to terrorist group the Tamil Tigers,
but now she's back in New York she has been advised not to leave until
the immigration problems are solved.
And she's not taking the easy route to get a green card by planning a
wedding to Bronfman, the father of her 16-month-old son Ikhyd.
She tells Fader magazine, "That's what they want me to do, but I'm
not going to lose my integrity for that s**t... I actually want a nice
wedding. I'm not going to blow that.
"If they're gonna kick me out, it's going to be a fight, it's an
important fight to have."
In the meantime, M.I.A., real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, insists
immigration officials are mistaken about her father: "He negotiated
peace processes, brought in the new army, and when he goes to Sri
Lanka, the government gives him security against the Tigers."
(KL/LAFR/ZN)