12 Sep 2014

French national has Vanuatu citizenship revoked

9:44 am on 12 September 2014

A political advisor for the government of the former Vanuatu Prime Minister Moana Carcasses, French national Gilles Daniel, has had his Vanuatu citizenship revoked.

Mr Daniel has already been deported from Vanuatu in 2005, but challenged his deportation, with the court ruling in his favour.

The secretary of the Vanuatu Citizenship Commission, John Enock Ware, has confirmed that the commission has revoked Mr Daniel's citizenship certificate because it was fraudulently obtained.

But Gilles Daniel, who is a close friend of Mr Carcasses, says the decision is a big mistake and unfair, and it's clear the revocation has something to do with the current political instability.

"Our big people here, our VIP here, our leaders here, I think, I believe, are on the wrong road thinking that a simple man like me is behind the political instability. Or thinking that's some other investor, I think that they are not pointing the finger at the right person."

Gilles Daniel says he's contacted his lawyer, but he will comply with what the government of the day wants him to do, and is ready to leave Vanuatu if he has to.

Last week, an Australian lawyer, Robert Herd, was deported amid allegations he was involved in funding a no confidence motion against the Prime Minister Joe Natuman.

And this week, a Chinese businessman who was Vanuatu's Deputy ambassador in Beijing under the Carcasses government, Ruihua Yau, had his citizenship revoked, and has been declared stateless.