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The decision by the Dr. Denzil Douglas administration to remove the Place of Birth from St.Kitts-Nevis Passports was not at the request of the US Government as stated by the SKN Government through it’s Press Secretary .

In a Statement issued on Wednesday by US Embassy , Consul General Mark Bysfield  stated that contrary to the statement by the SKN Government Official  “ The United States has not requested any changes to passports issued by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.”

Hon. Byseild in his Press Statement went on to state that the US Government advised the Dr. Douglas led government that the removal of the Place of Birth will and has adversely affected St.Kitts-Nevis Citizens in getting Visas to travel to the US.

Consul Bysfield in his statement said “The U.S. government notified the St. Kitts and Nevis government that versions of the St. Kitts and Nevis passport that lack key elements of biographic data have caused the U.S. government to require additional documentation from applicants for U.S. visas to evaluate their eligibility. Because of the missing biographic data, holders of St. Kitts and Nevis passports who apply for U.S. visas have experienced delays in processing times.”

The startling revelation by the US Embassy and Consul General Bysfield has caused much outrage among citizens in St.Kitts-Nevis as the opposition’s contention that the Prime Minister’s  mishandling of the Citizenship by Investment Programme is causing undue attention and scrutiny to our citizens who seek Visas by the thousands to the US is in fact a credible statement that has now been confirmed by the US Government.

Leader of the powerful St.Kitts-Nevis Opposition Tri-Party alliance Team UNITY,  Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris in response to the release issued by the US Embassy stated “”To accommodate what the US Treasury advisory describes as “ILLICIT ACTORS” , in accessing our St.Kitts-Nevis passports has  brought our people, our born and bred citizens,  under increased scrutiny, long visa application delays, and possibly even  increased likelihood of  denial of US Visas , because the US could not determine the country of origin of our citizens. In other words, now when you travel with your SKN passport to the US or other countries, no one can be sure that you are really from SKN, or if two months ago you were a national of another country with another name.  So every immigration officer has their eyes on you with the mindset that you are an illicit actor or terrorist.”

 

The Opposition Alliance Leader promised that his Team UNITY government when elected will review the entire programme with a view to exceeding all international best practices to ensure the integrity of the passport is not just maintained but is significantly enhanced along with the CIP itself.

Observers have suggested that  the Douglas led  government’s decision to remove the “Place of Birth” section, was motivated by the desire to to hide the origins of certain economic citizens particularly those from middle eastern countries such as Iraq as well as Afghanistan

US and Canadian authorities have placed severe restrictions on nationals from those and other countries . Iranian sanction evaders have used the passports to gain access to many Western countries , particularly those of the European UNION.

The CIP was founded in 1984 by the country’s first Prime Minister Dr. Rt Hon.  Sir Kennedy Simmonds and is the oldest programme of its kind in the world. However the current St.Kitts-Nevis government led by Dr. Denzil Douglas  has been under heavy criticism in their handling of the CIP , particularly since the issuance of a US treasury advisory in May and the subsequent revelation of a number of International Criminals who posses the SKN passport including Dr. Arthur Porter who is currently in a Panama Jail fighting Extradition to Canada . Along with fugitive Teodoro Nguema  Obiang Mangue, the 2nd Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, who is wanted in France on multimillion-dollar money-laundering charges and Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, who is on the run after a Nigerian Commission issed a warrant for his arrest after failing to show to answer charges of , forgery, using false documents and conspiring to fraudulently obtain money from the Nigerian Government. Prior to the advisory we heard of Rustem Tursunbayev who is wanted for embezzlement in Kazakhstan and Then  the much puplicsized Alizera Moghadam, the Iranian who tried to enter Canada with a SKN diplomatic passport, and claiming untruthfully that he was there to meet with the  Canadian Prime Minister.