Dutton asked to explain decision to strip Neil Prakash’s citizenship as Fiji says he won’t be going there
Fiji is fuming after the Morrison government moved to strip terrorist Neil Prakash of citizenship, with their prime minister declaring the Islamic State recruiter won’t be going there.
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The major standoff between Australia and Fiji over terrorist Neil Prakash has worsened with Fiji’s prime minister declaring the Islamic State recruiter was not a citizen of his country.
Frank Bainimarama has broken his silence on the diplomatic stoush, saying the Melbourne-born Prakash “cannot come here because he does not qualify.”
“At any rate, he is a terrorist and a member of ISIS. We don’t entertain them nor do we accommodate them,” Mr Bainimarama told the Fiji Sun.
The Director for the Fiji Immigration Department, Nemani Vuniwaqa, said it was outrageous that Australian authorities were making claims that the 27-year-old Prakash was a Fijian citizen.
He also denied that he had spoken to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton or any other Australian official as reported by the international media.
“Neil Prakash has not been or is a Fijian citizen. He was born in Australia and has acquired Australian citizenship since birth,” Mr Vuniwaqa told the newspaper.
“For a child of a Fijian citizen born overseas, the parent has to apply for citizenship for the child to become a Fiji citizen. If the parent does not apply then the child does not become a Fijian citizen automatically.”
MORE: Dutton revokes jihadist Neil Prakash’s citizenship
The Morrison government’s move to strip the notorious terrorist of his citizenship sparked the standoff between the two nations.
The Herald Sun can reveal there were tense discussions between the Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs departments over whether to notify other countries when it stripped the Melbourne-born Prakash and four other terrorists of their citizenship in early August.
It is understood Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s office had argued against advising the nations prior to the Citizenship Loss Board’s ruling.
It comes as the Australian government has been trying to combat China’s influence in the pacific by spending millions of dollars of infrastructure in Fiji, with Scott Morrison set to visit the key regional ally later this month.
It’s believed the Fijian government was left fuming amid suggestions it was never consulted before Australia made the move.
Fijian immigration authorities have declared the extremist is not a citizen of the pacific nation, saying he had never stepped foot in the country and his Fijian father never applied for his son’s citizenship.
Mr Dutton stood by his declaration that Prakash, who is in a Turkish prison terrorism charges, had been stripped of his Australian citizenship, saying he was a citizen of Fiji.
He said the decision to strip his citizenship was made after a thorough process by the Citizenship Loss Board, and the Australian government had been in contact with its Fijian counterparts since the decision was made.
Asked whether his office encouraged the government not to notify other countries, including Fiji, Mr Dutton said he “was not going to comment on that”, adding he had acted to “keep Australians safe”.
Under Australian law, a dual national can be stripped of their Australian citizenship if they have committed terrorist acts, but they cannot be rendered stateless.
Fijian law states that Prakash would have become a citizen of the country if his father was still a Fijian national when he was born, but under the 1997 constitution, which is no longer in force, dual citizens were banned.
The decision to strip Prakash of his citizenship, along with four other Australian members of Islamic State caused major tensions between Mr Dutton’s department and DFAT over notifying other countries.
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection @ShayneNeumannMP is speaking about the citizenship of terrorist Neil Prakash.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) January 2, 2019
'Mr Dutton has questions to answer, he needs to front up to the Australian people.'
MORE: https://t.co/y4Y3yXPgZZ #SkyLiveNow pic.twitter.com/vWwCLzCwFW
Law Council of Australia President Arthur Moses said a “thorough investigation” was needed to confirm if Prakash was a Fijian citizen.
Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said Labor supported stripping dual citizens of their citizenship but there were “serious questions that Peter Dutton has to answer” about the Prakash case.
Originally published as Dutton asked to explain decision to strip Neil Prakash’s citizenship as Fiji says he won’t be going there
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