27/5/19 -The Historic announcement, broadcast by President Danny Faure calling for the Constitutional commission to organize a Referendum to allow/if Seychellois living oversea can /is allow to vote in the national election.

27/5/19 -https://www.facebook.com/StateHouseSey/videos/679484219178258/?__tn__=K-R broadcast by President Danny Faure calling for the Constitutional commission to organize a Referendum to allow/if Seychellois living oversea can /is allow to vote in the national election.

https://www.facebook.com/StateHouseSey/videos/679484219178258/?t=28

Address by the President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr Danny Faure 27 May 2019
http://www.statehouse.gov.sc/news.php?news_id=4448&fbclid=IwAR1rI8hhnBgqX9ye1pS33RpsBRE1XAarIgH2JBpWeo8XG7YU35CbcuDPEGc

Good one by Danny Faure.

Though he should have said that he is calling for a referendum on whether seychellois living overseas should have the right to vote without any restrictions such as the three month period required to be registered in an electoral district. He has tactically changed the game to his favor.

The Constitution clearly states that all seychellois even those living overseas can vote in a local election the fact remains that there are restrictions for overseas seychellois to vote. This is what the president was trying to address.

The president may have lack some points in his address to the people but fact remains that the electoral commission shall only entertain his letter to either act on the referendum or not. Therefore if the president where to include, format or amend his demand for the referendum in asking the people to quash the restriction on seychellois residing overseas right to vote then he has a valid claim.

The dilemma in this is that the opposition was at all times asking for this but never really took the time to act on it. Now that Danny knows there are no laws to revoke a seychellois citizenship bestowed on a foreigner this is entirely to his advantage. Even those in parliament ignored when i constantly asked that a review on the section about referendum in the constitution be done as well as a stiffer immigration law review is passed. Today this will be same stick which will flog them in the next election.

There are mass allegations that our passport has been in a prostituted manner given to foreigners in Hong-Kong and to loads of Indian workers. Philippine's, Russian's, Brit's, Malagasy and even African's. To date no official statistic can state how many and who owns a seychellois passport. What we do know is the Indian community that is backing one Pillay group, or those of construction company's is not to fond of the LDS camp.

Now should the opposition oppose such a referendum or ask people to vote against they will lose face. whereas if they vote for as vague as this is they expose themselves to an inflated voter register and a loss in the coming elections.

This one has been well played by Ti Danny!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157109883634280&set=a.445516764279&type=3&theater

Bar Association of Seychelles
1 hr ·
Did You Know?

Article 114 of the Constitution states that a "person who is a citizen of Seychelles and has attained the age of eighteen years is entitled to be registered as a voter unless the person is disqualified" on the ground of infirmity of mind, criminality or residence outside Seychelles.

Bar Association of Seychelles
1 hr ·
Did You Know?

Certain provisions of the Constitution can only be altered by a referendum.

Article 91 of the Constitution states that the National Assembly shall not proceed on a Bill to alter Chapter I, Chapter III, articles 91, 110 or 111 unless the proposed alteration contained in the Bill has been approved on a referendum by not less than sixty percent of the votes cast in the referendum.

Chapter I of the Constitution comprises of Articles 1 to 6. Chapter III is the charter of human rights and freedoms and comprises of Articles 15 to 49.

‎Sabiana Mancienne‎ to Breaking News
3 hrs ·
To all my family and friends living overseas who would like to vote in Seychelles. Sorry I will be voting NO.
Please don't take it personal! It's because Danny Faure is cunning and probably has a plan to steal the next elections, by getting fake new "Seselwa" to vote for him..

I sincerely hope you all understand my stance!
After we get Danny OUT, we will proceed to get you guys to be allowed to vote somehow!

Please bear with us and see where we are coming from

Today in Seychelles
35 mins ·
Two Fundamental Questions

Faure to run, Seychellois abroad to vote?

President Danny Faure made an address to the nation on Monday, 27 May 2019. In announcing his intention to run for president during the 2020 presidential election, on the United Seychelles ticket, the president went further and shifted questions on who would actually be allowed to vote.

by C. Lucas

Read the full story in TODAY in Seychelles, grab your copy from your local stockists or subscribe to eTODAY, our online edition.

It is the wish of the people of Seychelles to ask their government to introduce measures to give all Seychellois citizens, both resident and abroad, as well as future residents and entrepreneurs all the support they need to undertake investment in our country. We need simple procedures and more straight forward information for investors, be they local or foreign. We need to welcome back our Seychellois brothers and sisters who are living and working overseas and help them resettle in Seychelles. They must be able to vote as citizens in elections too, no matter whereabouts they live in the world. We are One People and One Seychelles.

https://www.eturbonews.com/252690/one-country-one-people-one-seychelles-tourism-but-no-militarization/

No legal restrictions bar the political participation of certain groups. Early voting procedures are designed to encourage the participation of some groups, including pregnant women, elderly people, and those with disabilities. However, there are no mechanisms that allow citizens living abroad to vote. Few women hold senior political office, and the PL is the only party that typically includes high numbers of women among its political candidates. Political life is dominated by people of European and South Asian origin.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/seychelles

The Forum for Electoral Reform, comprising representatives from every registered political party, was established by the Electoral Commission (EC) following the 2011 parliamentary elections to review the electoral framework. Acting on recommendations from the forum and the EC, the National Assembly adopted a new election law in late 2014 that was promulgated in May 2015. Key changes included the introduction of year-round voter registration, greater transparency surrounding the register itself, and a provision for voting by citizens living abroad.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/seychelles

PL Promises To Implement SFP/MSR Kredo Rasinist Ideology
http://seychellesreality.blogspot.com/2013/04/pl-promises-to-implement-sfpmsr-kredo.html

Today in Seychelles
5 hrs ·
Two Fundamental Questions

Faure to run, Seychellois abroad to vote?

President Danny Faure made an address to the nation on Monday, 27 May 2019. In announcing his intention to run for president during the 2020 presidential election, on the United Seychelles ticket, the president went further and shifted questions on who would actually be allowed to vote.

by C. Lucas

Read the full story in TODAY in Seychelles, grab your copy from your local stockists or subscribe to eTODAY, our online edition.
https://www.facebook.com/todayinsey/photos/a.1322302131140927/2196844370353361/?type=3&theater

Good morning Friend - we remember project to take over and keep Seychellois exile out of Seychelles 1995/96 what had to be done to reverse this - We the exile/refugees gave you the WWW, the Wikipedia and the Facebook, that SIROP program and now NEOM so that you can turn round and be forever ungrateful, you had not wanted that Truth Commission, meanwhile because of your lack of knowledge, refusal to learn - other nation are gradually taken over your country, deciding for you , your future and children. Not wishing to start one mighty controversial revolution, it was/they were the Seychelles exile/refugees that gave Africa then OAU - African Union, the very big why in the face of current event in Europe, what this spelt and meant for the African continent and it people, before that our important role, contribution to help change South Africa then Mr Mandela in Jail and his wife Winnie running the show, current south Africa president then role. What resource had to be put together to achieve this.
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Joseph Michaud How infuriating for a person (me) Born in Seychelles from Seychellois parents being forced into exile by a murderous iligitimate regime and now being told by a Ugandan Born Seychellois for the permission to vote in my own country.


Today in Seychelles
June 28, 2016 ·
Big Interview with James R Mancham KBE

“I wanted to see a country where we were all living in fraternal harmony when I entered into a coalition government with Mr F A René and in my view, the coalition period was the best period in the history of Seychelles politics since the birth of political parties.”

As the country celebrates 40 years of independence from Britain, TODAY meets with the country’s first President, James R Mancham. He talks about the visions he had for the country at Independence in 1976, his short-lived presidency and his role as a peace maker in a turbulent world.

R. Vidot

Q: The country is this week celebrating 40 years of independence from the United Kingdom. You probably had your visions for this country in 1976 but your presidency was short lived. What do you see today? Do you see a realisation of Mancham’s vision or do you think things could have been better under your leadership?

Yes, my vision was to create and promote a Seychelles which could proclaim itself not only to be ‘one of the most beautiful countries in the world but also one of the friendliest on the globe’. I wanted to see under our coconut trees young Seychellois playing the guitars and singing romantic songs. Sadly, after the coup, the young Seychellois were still under the coconut trees but instead of having a guitar they had an AK47. As a matter of fact, it is because I wanted to see a country where we were all living in fraternal harmony that I entered into a coalition Government with Mr F. A. René. In my view, the coalition period was the best period in the history of Seychelles politics since the birth of political parties. However, Mr René had his own personal ambitions and his own ideology.

This is now common history. I leave it to you to decide whether things would have been better under my leadership as opposed to the 15 years of One Party dictatorship which the country went through. One point however I wish to make clear is that whilst my presidency was short-lived, the people of Seychelles knew exactly who they were voting for when I became President because I had been the Chief Minister of the country for about 4 years and Prime Minister for about the same time; a long period enough to have known about all my strong points and all my weak points.

Q: You returned from exile in April 1992 and you immediately started preaching about National Reconciliation. Some of your detractors say that rather than negotiating for a true democracy in Seychelles you surrendered to the diktat of the ruling party. With hindsight, do you think you should have taken another approach?

When I returned to Seychelles on 12th April, 1992, I had to take a realistic view of the prevailing situation – first that the ruling Party had been recognised and was enjoying diplomatic relations with all the big powers, which had established missions here. I had to recognise that thousands of my supporters had left the country for life in exile.

In fact, during the Second Republic, the country had been ruled under a quasi-military structure, where the President called the tune and was seen as the man of decision and action. In fact, the whole scenario concerning the election to return the country to multi-party democracy was taking place on a field demarcated by Mr René with linesmen and referees appointed him by him under rules and regulations made by him through his One-Party State legislature.

After receiving Mr René’s invitation to return to the country to contribute towards the return of multi-party democracy, I sent Mr Paul Chow as my emissary to Seychelles to urge all opposition factions to join forces and fight for democracy. But the cunning Mr René, who had ruled for more than 15 years as a dictator in the One-Party State, was suddenly offering a substantial sum of money to any group in the country which would register itself as a political party. This was of course a classic example of divide in order to rule.

Suddenly we had some seven groupings within the opposition bloc and sadly too, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan and others who had supported the coup d’état, decided to create their own party and not follow my leadership.

Taking into account the high level of polarisation within the nation and the prevailing military characteristic of Mr René’s government and in order to avoid bloodshed and civil disorder, I thought it best to return within the spirit of ‘an apostle of national reconciliation.’ Had I adopted a contrary approach there could have been bloodshed and even more polarisation and maybe I would not be among you today.

Q: You have made public statements on a number of occasions calling Mr. James Michel the best person to rule this country. This has provoked the fury of many people who say you are out of touch with reality and helping to create an antiquated personality cult. What is your defence?

When Michel assumed the presidency of Seychelles in his own right, the country was more or less in a state of utter bankruptcy. Mr René left Michel sitting on the back of a tiger. The country was indebted to several millions of dollars. There was practically no reserve. Forex had become a big problem and Air Seychelles was on the verge of bankruptcy. Michel succeeded through hard work and good connections to solve all these problems. Of course, he had his past to deal with but as far as I can see, most of those who are challenging his leadership are ‘all birds of the same feather’ – they are mostly ‘fallen angels who are reminded of the Heaven they once shared and the privileges they once enjoyed.

I have never made the case that President Michel is an angel but that ‘the devil I know is better than the one I do not know’ and that ‘it would be stupid to seek for a cure which could ultimately prove far worse than the disease.’

In fact, some among the detractors have even had the impudence to infer that I have been a ‘traitor.’

Well, when Charles de Gaulle of France and Konrad Adenauer of Germany joined forces to put an end to the hatred which had characterised the relationship between France and Germany for decades, were they behaving like traitors – or as two great European statesmen?

The point is there are too many politicians today in our political circus. What we need is more statesmen. The preoccupation of a statesman is the next generation. The politician thinks only of getting power and staying in power and otherwise enjoying the benefits and privileges which power confers. The statesman on the other hand has a long term vision. He puts the national interest above partisan consideration. He does not believe in the policy of power at all cost. His ultimate desire is the transformation of a society and the emergence in our context, of a greater Seychelles and of a Seychellois people who is at peace with itself.

Finally, it has to be recognized that Michel today is the leader of the largest political cohesion within the nation, and that if we had the policy of ‘first passed the post election’, he would have been elected President with a most comfortable majority when he polled 51% of the votes.

The actual alliance in opposition are a grouping of political factions with the simple aim of removing Michel but without letting the nation know what their policy on various issues of controversial interests are. There are so many grey and confusing areas warning us of the danger, as I put it before of finding a cure which is worse than the disease.

Q.You have on more than one occasion chastised the main opposition SNP for its policies. Yet, the fact remains that the leader of the party single handedly took on the state apparatus and said “enough is enough”. It is argued that this was the beginning of the end of the one party state in Seychelles.

My friend, please do not cut the story short. SNP is not “a political animal” of recent creation. In the beginning we had the Parti Seselwa and afterwards the United Opposition all under the leadership of Mr Ramkalawan. If Mr Ramkalawan’s priority was to end the one party state in Seychelles, he should have provided me with his dedicated support when I returned to Seychelles in 1992 after 15 years in exile. But instead he accepted the offer of Mr René of a few hundred thousand rupees and created his own party thus dividing the resolve of those in opposition to get rid of Mr René’s leadership.

It must not be forgotten that 10 years ago in 2006 I allowed myself to jump on Mr Ramkalawan’s bandwagon when he was standing for election as President against James Michel. On one occasion, at a public rally I even put on his head the cherished Panama hat that I used to wear on special occasions. The time I spent campaigning for him gave me the opportunity to appreciate how hungry he was for power. I was therefore shocked but not surprised that after the election, he never once had the courtesy of inviting me to attend a meeting of his party’s governing body let alone to ask me to join his party. Obviously, the rational of his behaviour was if you bring Mancham in, he will take the party and run away with it.

Mr Ramakalwan capitalised on my soft power approach to changes. I was for a reconciliatory approach and he capitalised on a policy of “saboule and pil lo li which pleased the polarised elements within the opposition forces. In fact, we are failing to appreciate how much we have achieved through the reconciliatory approach. We succeeded to bring about the end of the National Youth Service. We succeeded to see the end of the SMB. We created a climate attractive to outside investors who had kept away during the one party rule. I believe today as I believed yesterday that it is reckless politics for Mr Ramkalawan and his close associates not to have given thoughts on how they would rule the country if after winning the election the SPPF party which has now changed its name to Parti Lepep would adopt a policy of “saboule” and “pil lo li” vis-à-vis them?

Q. Let’s go back in history. You were legitimately elected by the people of Seychelles in 1974 and therefore had a strong mandate from the people. You could have easily influenced the constitutional conferences in London in the 1970s to have your way. Yet, you agreed to share power with your opponent who went on to overthrow your government less than a year after independence in 1976. Don’t you think you made a tragic mistake?

The election which took place prior to independence revealed that whilst the DP which I led had a majority the country was deeply divided. My idea of going into a coalition government was to unite the people. It was a noble idea. In fact the 11 months I presided over after we became independent reflected the high level of fraternal harmony and created tremendous investors confidence in the future of the country.

Maybe I made tragic mistake in trusting Mr René but I do not think the idea of working together was a bad one at all. For one thing, I personally never wanted to be a President in the kingdom of controversies. The government which Mr René overthrew was not a Mancham’s government but also his government because he was at that time the Prime Minister. If there had been any disagreement in policy or otherwise Mr René should have resigned and let the people know what the grounds of his resignation was all about but Mr René played as good as gold and even dined with me on the eve of my departure for London and in fact saw me off at the airport.

At all time he must have been planning how to take the country by force as he could not get it through democratic elections.

There is a story in the bible about a certain Judas Iscariot. One of the 12 original disciples of Christ who is known for the kiss and betrayal of Jesus which set in motion the events that led to Jesus crucifixion. Of course, information was received after the coup concerning different conspiracies about getting me assassinated on the spot in Seychelles. It is understood that René had overruled this suggestion which would have made me a national hero and martyr.

Q: Tell me about the day of the coup d’etat. I know you were in London. How did you learn about it and what was your immediate reaction?

Yes, I was in London in a suite at the Savoy Hotel guest of Her Majesty’s Government for the Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II which coincided with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

I was woken up in the early morning by a phone call from Mr Adnan Khashoggi, who was in Paris. He had received a call from the Captain of his yacht who was harboured in Seychelles and who after hearing firing shots and learning about the coup had decided to leave Port.

Of course, I could not believe what I heard – that Prime Minister F. A. René who had kissed me goodbye at the airport had carried a coup behind my back which had resulted into the killing of a few people. Of course, so far as the message on Radio Seychelles was read the story was put in a different way – “It was a group of angry people who had staged a coup d’état and then pleaded with Mr René to lead a new government”.

On the eve of the coup in London I had dined at a Chinese Restaurant – Mr Chow of Knightsbridge, with Mr Dennis Greenam who had been appointed as a political advisor by the Foreign Office and with whom I had consulted during the Constitutional conferences leading to Independence and who had visited the Seychelles several times before Independence. Other guests were Mr David Dale, Secretary of the Cabinet who was also in London, the late George Rassool, our High Commissioner and the late Edmond Camille, our Deputy High Commissioner.

Next morning I called Mr Greenam and his telephone was perpetually engaged. He never called me to discuss the situation. In fact the man who had been my political advisor and whom I had been socially engaged with for several months disappeared from my life abruptly and without any explanation and up to this day I have not heard from him or what he is doing. Could he have also been an advisor to Mr René? Was he a genuine public servant of Her Majesty’s Government or an intelligence agency? Up to now, I have never been able to get to the bottom of this question.

As for Mr Dale he turned up bright and clear early next morning passionately upset about the development in Seychelles and the next day he was to break contact on the advice of the Foreign Office. There was certainly a lot of confusing and perfidious behaviour around. I believe one can expect such a situation when your country has become a centre of geo-political interest.

Some three years ago Mr Andrew Stuart who had been the head of the Seychelles department at the Foreign Office at the time of our Independence and who was subsequently made Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Finland arrived here on a cruise ship and invited me to meet him for dinner. I was surprised when he met me he burst into tears saying, “Jimmy, we badly let you down”.

I have written in great details about the coup d’état and some of the reactions to it - for example about Pierre Trudeau of Canada, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Seewoosagur Ramgoolam of Mauritius who were insisting that I turned up at the opening of the Commonwealth gathering where I was due to make the return address to Prime Minister’s speech of welcome contrary to the views of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the British Government who believed that this would interfere with the arrangements for a successful celebration of Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee to which many African dictators of that time had been invited. This and other perfidious stories can be read in my book, ‘Paradise Raped’ which was published in 1983.

Looking back to the time, I was perhaps sentimentally much impacted by the letter I received from Bishop Felix Paul, of the Roman Catholic Church in Seychelles.

“My dear Jimmy,” he wrote,

“I take this opportunity to send a few words of sympathy. I think I know how you feel after the coup you have passed through. I was indeed extremely sorry to see things going the way they were. It was a very hard luck for you after all you have done to lay the foundations for a happy and prosperous Seychelles. You had worked so hard and ceaselessly to put Seychelles on the map. No one indeed can laud themselves to have merited it better. Unfortunately you slept on your laurels too soon so others came in to reap your hard work. I feel I know your bitter disappointment.

May this sad event in your life be but a passing cloud. Ovid’s verse comes to my mind, when he was exiled by Augustus and abandoned by all his friends. “As long as you are happy, you will number lots of friends. If clouds cover the sky you will be alone. I am proud to say that such a verse does not apply to me. Come what may I remain your friend.”

Seychelles Radio has told us and rumours persist that you are thinking of raising mercenaries to come and help you take back the country. I doubt this could be true in your case. Knowing you as I do, I do not think that you would do such a thing, or even lend a hand to it. You have always been against bloodshed and how could you destroy what you have worked day and night constructing – our image of a peace-loving people? If ever the temptation comes, I beg you earnestly not to indulge in it. Please do not use force to dislodge those who sneaked in my force. He that uses the sword will perish by the sword. Try also to dissuade others who would be tempted to try and do things which you feel should not be done. Please continue to love and work wholeheartedly for the Seychelles and for its people who still remember you and love you.”
Well, Felix Paul was a friend and the leading religious leader in Seychelles. I gave serious thought to his advise and agreed that any attempt to regain power by force would have brought about much bloodshed in the country. This would have been a national disaster.

From an emotional but rational standpoint, I wish to recall some lines I wrote in ‘Peace of Mind’ about quality of friendship –
“And now my soul tell us about the world of friendship
At the time, that I was deposed as President

The “Friends” I thought would run away, ran away faster than expected
Among those I thought would stay, some still did run away
And that naturally hurt.
But one thing for certain, those few who remained were really friends.
It is said that in this life there is no ill-wind that does not blow somebody good.
Perhaps the greatest good out of the Seychelles coup for me was the ability to discern who were my friends and who were friends of ‘the President’”.

Unfortunately (perhaps I should say fortunately) most people go through life without the opportunity of such traumatic revelations.

Q: During the years of exile, did it ever occur to you that you would one day return to your homeland and live a peaceful live?

I have always been an eternal optimist. So, I have always believed that I would return to my homeland some day. Yes, I wanted to return to my homeland to live a peaceful life. That is why I am perturbed by the situation which is prevailing today of fraternal division and social tension.

My years in exile had provided me with a lot of time to reflect and to learn more and more about the world we live in. It gave me time to read at least 5 newspapers in a day. I also wanted to show Mr René that whilst he had taken over the Seychelles I was getting along fine in the world. What he and his dictatorship did with the country for 14 years is well remembered. It became evident that having got rid of me his objective was to bring about a revolution in Seychelles. That was time when he was being feted by Kim Il-Sung of North Korea. Can you imagine that here in Seychelles we had a contingents of soldiers from North Korea on our shores? We can now laugh about this but it is an historical truth.

Q. Tell me about the day you learnt that you would be returning home finally? How were you informed? What was your reaction?

I was in Washington D.C. where I had been invited to deliver an address at the Heritage Foundation when I received a phone call from my wife in London informing me that a fax had been received from Mr René in Seychelles, informing me that he had decided to return the country to multi-party democracy and that I would be welcome to return to contribute towards the restoration of multi-party democracy in the country.

Surprisingly the letter was in a very friendly tone. Here was the man who had overthrown me by force and made a lot of allegations against me, suddenly writing to me, “Dear Jim”, as if we were long time buddies who had just completed a game of marbles.

Well, I thought this was part of his diplomacy. Of course in one way, Mr René’s letter was not unexpected as Paul Chow and myself had been very active with the ‘Crusade for Restoration of Democracy in Seychelles’ by exposing internationally what he was up to internally.

Q. What is your current relationship with your former foe – former President René?

When Mr René was returning to Seychelles as a London qualified lawyer, it was the time when I was arriving in London to study law. At that time, Mr René was married to an English lady and both returned to Seychelles where Mr René established his legal practice. During that time, Mr René was an active member of the Seychelles Club and co-habited very openly with all the elites in the community who were privileged enough to be members of that exclusive Club. At that time, he paid little attention to the social problems existing within the nation. It appeared that as a lawyer, he was spending much more money than he was earning and therefore decided to leave the island for employment in the United Kingdom. I believe he found a position in the International Division of Barclays Bank – and his wife later revealed that he would depart for Moscow regularly to study Karl Marx socialist philosophy and to be educated in revolutionary politics and tactics.

But to me if Albert wanted to play socialist politics with other people’s wealth he was certainly very capitalistic when it came to his own wealth. Whilst publicly behaving like a revolutionary figure he was instinctively and privately a man with a capitalist taste and lifestyle. Behind the scene, he would enjoy the company of beautiful ladies whilst publicly he would accuse me of being an international playboy. He had certainly a taste for good food – out of season lobster, specially collected birds eggs and specially salted turtle meat from the islands. He enjoyed good quality whisky, quality wine and imported cigars from Cuba.

When you met him, he was always a charming and captivating character. His audacity in behaving as if the whole Seychelles belonged to him is of historical dimension. Perhaps like Mao, he was convinced that he had to create disorder in order to bring about his own idea of order.
He was a workaholic and a good dictatorial administrator during the dictatorship period.

I would like to produce a film about this great character who has definitely impacted politics in Seychelles as a white man who succeeded to make many of our black brothers believe he had been sent to liberate them when in fact there was no army with AK47 controlling their lives during colonial days.

I recalled very vividly the last time I met him on a man-to-man basis. I was on a flight from Seychelles to Singapore. Mr René and his family surrounded by security guards were occupying the front part of the plane. I was seated on the other two rows behind on a window seat with the aisle seat empty and had fallen asleep. Suddenly somebody was tapping on my shoulders. I woke up to find that it was President René. Pointing to the aisle seat, he said, “Can I sit there for a while so that we could talk a bit about ‘la belle époque’ – the days when we were all growing up in a blissful Seychelles in a friendly way, without the division of party politics?”

Nostalgy may not be what it used to be but I remember the days when Albert René and I shared a camping experience in Anse Major organized by Father Chang-Tave who complained the next day that Philibert had collected all the Pamplemous on the estate and got them sold at the Victoria Market, sharing the proceeds with Albert…….

Q. Having been appointed a COMESA sage and recently granted the African peace prize what role have you played in trying to bring peace to those African hotspots like the Sudan, Libya, Chad, etc?

Africa is a huge continent and we must certainly take a lot of time to learn and understand contemporary African politics and become aware of the history of the continent before independence. It is on the proposition of the Government of Seychelles that I have been twice unanimously elected by leaders of African leaders to be a member of the Committee of Elders of COMESA.

In that position, I have undertaken several serious missions to Africa – I represented the African Union at the request of its Secretary General at the Egyptian Presidential election following the overthrow of President Mubarak. I led a mediation mission to Kinshasa and Kigali where the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda were on the brink of war. I participated in a conference in Nairobi at the Kenyatta International Centre in order to bring about national unity which was threatened by the politics of tribalism and participated with top religious leaders in a conference in Abuja, Nigeria to promote a common religious approach towards solving conflicts in Nigeria and other African nations.

In brief, I have been more than active on the African continent although I have not got myself engaged with the problem of Sudan, Libya and Chad.

Q. In that international role of peacemaker that you now hold what do you think you can do/try to do to bring about some closure and healing to this nation still deeply divided in its pain after all these years?

Certainly it is important for us to work towards bringing closure to all the pain, prejudices and suffering which have taken place throughout the years since independence. The difficulty is how to achieve this in a volatile and polarised political atmosphere.

In South Africa, they did establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission but they made it clear from the start that this was going to proceed in a civilised and peaceful way with a prior commitment to all collaborators that there would be no recrimination against them but sadly here in Seychelles we are still operating within the framework of “Saboule” and “Pil lo li”. “Saboule” of course characterised the old primitive habit of neighbours throwing stones at each other’s house whenever there was a dispute. “Pil lo li” suggests that once I am going to get you on the ground I will stamp on your face. This is not a conducive approach to reconciliation and lasting peace. It is of course not as easy matter to put in place a truly democratic structure after more than 20 years of One Party rule.

Honestly speaking, the Peace Centre we are talking about will only materialized initially on the basis of non-interference in internal partisan politics. Otherwise it would be non-functional from day one. The initiative is one of the University of Seychelles conveyed to me by the Vice-Chancellor of the University whose Chancellor remains President Michel. By supporting the creation of the Centre, there is a clear indication that President Michel’s ultimate desire must be to find a closure for the traumas of the past and leave behind a noble legacy as a man of peace – but being a political animal, he has to navigate through the cross-currents of his own party’s politics.

His decision to move ‘Zonm Lib’ from the heart of Victoria and confined him to the garden of the party’s headquarters certainly required a lot of courage and bravado. He should be commended for such a bold action in the circumstances of our situation and not by the cry of “Nou pou pil lo ou”.

Q. Where do you see Seychelles in another 40 years from now?

Well, seriously speaking I believe political development within the next 2 years will certainly give an idea of where we will be in 40 years from now. If we are able to reconcile and to work on the basis of the Seychelles First philosophy we should be able to present to the world a successful Seychelles where it is a pleasure to live. I believe to attain this we should put an emphasis on ‘human contentment’ as opposed to mere economic progress. The underlying point of our national development philosophy should be that we develop only to the extent that the people of Seychelles can service the development. Otherwise, in 40 years time we will see a Seychelles full of hotels and resorts but mostly owned by overseas interest and mostly serviced by expatriates employees.
In consequence, most Seychellois would have become 2nd or 3rd class citizens in their own country and this naturally would not make for a stable situation. If we keep on quarrelling among ourselves and lose sight of the need to face the future as a united nation, our country will survive but just like many other banana republics are surviving greatly characterized by mediocrity.

There is also a big menace before us in relation to the drug problems. Are we going to be able to put a stop and bring to justice those who are responsible to the traumatic state of affairs which exist today with respect to the drug problems? As we face the challenges in our current situation, we now see the birth of the initiative to legalize marijuana. Maybe we would have reached the pinnacle of success when we would have a situation where more than half of our working force would spend most of their time lying on the beaches smoking cannabis from sunrise to sunset. Certainly, the decision to legalize cannabis in Colorado, USA, has sent confusing messages not only in the USA but across the world as to the whole drug equation.

Some two years ago in Tokyo, Japan, I told to a group of leaders of Pacific Island Nations to pray God Almighty that the only oil they ever discover is coconut oil because the day they discover the real stuff the islands would not be theirs anymore. Now consider the possibility of Seychelles sitting on a great deposit of the black gold. With a population of 90,000 people only we could overnight be all very rich with enough money to spend long holidays in the South of France or elsewhere but we could still envisage a scenario that when we return home we will find that it has been taken over by people from other land. Whilst we would be enjoying the champagne bubbles and perhaps overloading the capacity of our livers, the control of our nation could be slipping away from our grasp.

On a lighter note, I read the views of S. Hanks as published in ‘TODAY’ on Friday 12th June wherein she makes the point that we are living in a small world. Within her columns, she also quotes from a park theme song …

It’s a world of laughter
It’s a world of tears
It’s a world of hope and
A world of fears
There is so much that we share
That is time we are aware
It’s a small world after all.

Yes, it is a small world after all but it is a world in turmoil and in confusion. Democracy has brought about questionable circumstances. The British having just voted to get out of Europe certainly wake up to wonder whether they did the right thing after all. In Europe, Austria like many other nations, are plagued by a situation where the right and the left are equally balanced – and in the United States you have the frightening image of Donald Trump calling his opponent “the biggest liar in the world.”

Well, things are not as yet that bad here in Seychelles and we should appreciate the great blessings which have come our way as citizens of Seychelles as we think for the next 40 years.

Q. Apart from peace-making across the world, what does James Mancham do? I remember you were a poet. Do you still write?

When you ask me whether I still write I am bound to ask you whether you still read. Whilst, I have always cherished the saying that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, you just have to look through the pages of ‘Who’s Who’ to realize that I have also become a workaholic. This is because I love what I am doing.

From the pages you will note that since I returned to Seychelles I have been active as the publisher of the ‘Seychelles Review’ magazine which has now been turned into the VIOAS (‘Voice of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea’). During my 15 years in exile, I published ‘Paradise Raped’, ‘Island Splendour’, ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Adages of an Exile’. Before the coup, I had published ‘Reflections and Echoes from Seychelles’ and Christopher Lee of London had written a book about my period as Chief Minister and Prime Minister entitled ‘Seychelles Political Castaways’.

Since I returned to Seychelles, I have been responsible for the production of ‘Who’s Who in Seychelles’, ‘Seychelles Personalities of Yesterday’, ‘Seychelles Little Pages’, ‘Tel est mon destin, je fais mon chemin’, ‘War on America - seen from the Indian Ocean’, ‘Seychelles Global Citizen’ and ‘Seychelles – The saga of a small nation navigating the cross-currents of a big world’.

In 2003, I also co-edited a volume on ‘Peace in the 21st Century’ published in the USA, under the aegis of the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Peace & Justice, Washington DC.

I have also contributed on a regular basis a lot of Opinion Pages on various matters of local contemporaneous interest.

In fact if you go through my biographical data you will note that over the last 20 years, each year I have participated as a keynote speaker in at least 10 major international conferences which have brought me an impressive number of recognitions, decorations and awards and provided me with the audacity, bravado and justification to style my autobiography ‘Seychelles Global Citizen’. Obviously, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate someone who thinks global in an environment which predominately thinks local.
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https://www.facebook.com/todayinsey/photos/pcb.1023516604352816/1023516401019503/?type=3&theater

President J A Michel government allowing seychellois living oversea to vote

Those 25,000/30,000 have rights and a working solution need to be put onto place with the support of the world.
https://seyeu.forumotion.com/t1089p45-seychelles-president-james-michel-calls-presidential-election

2. All Seselwa residing abroad should be allowed to vote if they register themselves on the register. Unless we have a foolproof system to cast electronic or postal votes, Seselwa residing abroad will have to make the journey back to Seychelles to cast their vote in the district they happen to register in.
http://starseychelles.blogspot.com/2011/05/fraudulent-seychelles-presidential.html

Seychelles Reality (Seselwa Unite)
A group of freedom loving Seychellois dedicated to get freedom for all of the people of Seychelles. With god yes we can!!!
https://seychellesreality.blogspot.com/2013/01/in-wrong-place-at-wrong-time.html?fbclid=IwAR2tGlehASsSvPAiccsleTG955AWyxkqw9pJg97DyViy8xs5Kfbmfxwh6Nc

President of Seychelles poses a question: Should Seychellois living overseas be able to vote in elections?
http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/11040/President+of+Seychelles+poses+a+question+Should+Seychellois+living+overseas+be+able+to+vote+in+elections

Will Seychellois living abroad be allowed to vote in future elections?

28-May-2019
President calls for referendum
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263672

Mixed reactions after President of Seychelles proposes referendum on voting rights for overseas citizens
Victoria, Seychelles | May 28, 2019, Tuesday @ 17:32 in National » GENERAL | By: Daniel Laurence Edited by: Betymie Bonnelame | Views: 647
http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/11047/Mixed+reactions+after+President+of+Seychelles+proposes+referendum+on+voting+rights+for+overseas+citizens

President’s referendum proposal does not follow rule of law, LDS says
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263683

Mouvman Kreol Seselwa i eksprim son konsern lo referanndonm
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263682

US leader, Assembly react to President Faure’s referendum call
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263687

Will Seychellois living abroad be allowed to vote in future elections?
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263672

President of Seychelles withdraws referendum request on voting rights of overseas citizens; legislation to follow
Victoria, Seychelles | June 3, 2019, Monday @ 16:14 in National » GENERAL | By: Daniel Laurence Edited by: Betymie Bonnelame | Views: 520
http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/11080/President+of+Seychelles+withdraws+referendum+request+on+voting+rights+of+overseas+citizens%3B+legislation+to+follow

Government withdraws referendum request

04-June-2019

• Calls for drafting of clearer related legislation

• Attorney General, Electoral Commission, LDS react
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263764

In the National Assembly Exact number of persons holding Seychellois nationality living abroad unknown
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263774

President Faure’s withdrawal of the referendum request United Seychelles reacts
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=263779