BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ADDING another twist to the ongoing dual citizenship saga, Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas has accused Lindsay Grant of trying to mislead persons on the status of his US nationality.
Grant, the Leader of main opposition party the People’s Action Movement (PAM), presented a certificate allegedly verifying his loss of US citizenship at a press conference earlier this month. He allowed media personnel present to examine the document, but said he would not disseminate it for public scrutiny until the government produced certain outstanding reports.
SKNVibes was able to view the document, entitled “Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States”, at that time. It was signed by US Embassy Officer Jamal Al Mussawi and stated that Grant voluntarily took the oath of renunciation on June 29, 2009 before a Consular Officer.
However, at his monthly press conference yesterday (Aug. 26), Douglas produced a document that he claimed was a genuine certificate of renunciation and challenged the PAM Leader to come clean about his dual nationality.
“I am told the press was not very insightful at a recent press conference when what appeared to be a certificate was presented. I believe what was missing from the certificate [Grant] showed was that critically important stamp in the left-hand upper corner of the document. For personal edification, this is a genuine certificate of renunciation of US nationality. It is a genuine document sent to my office from someone who has renounced his US citizenship,” Douglas explained.
He added, “I have also been told by authorities that [the certificate] must be accompanied by cancelled passports. Those have not been shown to the press. You cannot afford to fool people by bringing incomplete documents and claiming you have renounced your citizenship when you know you have not. I challenge Mr. Grant to show his certificate so we can see if it has the stamp.”
The dual citizenship debate heated up in July when Parliament passed the National Assembly Elections Amendment Act 2009, which mandated that political candidates seeking nomination to the National Assembly must swear an oath and present proof they only hold citizenship of the Federation. PAM supporters saw the move as a swipe against Grant and his Deputy Leader Hon. Shawn Richards, who were still US citizens at the time.
The opposition party has vowed to challenge the new law within the coming months. SKNVibes attempted to contact Grant, but was told he was off-island on vacation.
