EYEWITNESS NEWS - EXTRA

MSR BEING SYSTEMATICALLY TARGETTED

A member of the MSR (Mouvman Seselwa Rasin), Anthony Battin has been tracked by State thugs who, according to him they want him dead. State knows he is a member of MSR and he is also a former bidyguard of former President Albert Rene. He abandoned them after they killed his brother in the 80's.
This is further proof of ongoing Human Rights Violation in Seychelles.

Eyewitness News

MSR denied registration for 3rd consecutive time

The Seychelles Column - By Christopher Gill

 PL Gives Us a Titanic- Fake Budget

As Vice President of Seychelles Mr. Danny Faure spilled over the Titanic Budget of Rs. 3.3 Billion, before the National Assembly, I could see the moans, groans and curiousness on the official PL opposition side.

SNP bench meandered about, not knowing what to make of the Budget. The Majority, remained silent, knowing the Leader of the Opposition will have no clue what is going on. They would allow his rebuttal and then just poke about on the points he raises over the suffering , pain, malaise of our people under PL, the same speech for 17 years. In the end, this Budget session will mean more failure for our people.

The Budget Is a Gigantic Fake

The Budget proposed by Faure is a “fake” in the sense that it is a projected Budget to hype the public on the eve of elections in early 2011.

The PL want to fake it until they make it to another mandate. As Ramkalawan diverted away from Budget issues and strategy and focused humanitarian suffering, the PL had taken him right into their trap. I will rebuttal the key essential scams that went over Ramkalawan’s head like a missile war head to a floating barge in a tub .

The Magic Illusion of GDP 6.2%

Faure revealed to us that Tourism Industry has registered a 10% Arrival growth on last years figures. This is a result of Alain St. Ange’s creative work with little or no money to bring Tourist to our shores.

The second budgetary revelation was that the “Receivables” in the Tourism Industry was down substantially. This means while “Arrivals” are up, the “Yield” is down as much as -12% this year,  -15% last year. Is PL registering non GOP workers for Khalifa as Visitors?

We are no longer earning the same per Arrival head. It also means foreign owned entities like Eden Island, and other hotels are keeping money overseas, similar to the days of the Black Market. This hurts the REAL GDP of Seychelles. It also means Seychelles has lost her branding as an upmarket destination. This is confirmed by the Five (5) star price rooms at euro 50.00 per night per person during the year. Ephelia Hotel did that, and even Lemuria dumped prices below euro 200.00 per couple B&B, as did Eden Island, contrary to what Heegar said on SBC.

Eden Island has gone as low as $50.00 per day per room. You can put Ten (10) people in a room at Eden, since they do not control it, as they do put Ten (10) people on a boat. You did not think of that PL, did you?

 Magic-man Faure and Hudini Michel, do not see this reality, it is invincible to them. Most recently, their government took a mad decision to license Eden Island as a hotel operation. In a collapsing world economy, it will have dire strait consequences for Seychelles Tourism Industry.

Eventually, we will see Tourists, but we will not see the money. It will make the Black Market years look like a sand pit for toddlers for Seychelles economy and finance. Prepare yourselves for the worse economic catastrophe ahead, borne out “100% pure as it gets” stupidity cultured by Communists.

Faure also revealed to us that Fishing Industry was -25% revenue last year, and it bounced back to 20% this year plus side , only after the sale of IOT to a Thai interest our main competitor to access EU markets. That takes Fishing to +5% compared to last year. Where does the 6.2% GDP come from?

It comes from Khalifa, and Faure has factored in the following to create the magic Illusion that has fooled SNP leadership and fool the People of Seychelles: 1. Two Generators 8 megawatts each(to guarantee supply of electricity to Khalifa’s Villas and Palace, not for the People of Mahe); 2. 60 Buses donated from PRC and 3, 30 buses donated from AUE ( Khalifa’s workers use the bus system) ; 3. Khalifa’s donation of $10 Million for scan centre and medical centre upgrade ( for his workers that will be in the Thousands as has been the case in the past two years);4. AUE’s donation for Coast Guard Base, which will be used for Khalifa’s security personnel as evidenced by the Mosque to be built on the base $50 Million; 5. Khalifa’s donation to finish the 169 houses at Ile Preservans opening Scheduled for December 21^st, but no water no grids in place; even the 18% increase in block production is for Khalifa’s projects; hence this is where the 6.2% GDP comes from.

There are no miracle works done by the Communist Party of Seychelles, there is no magic, just a sell out to one man and his friends, on a grand, grand scale, never seen before. Mr. Faure refers to this as “FDI”. SNP encourages this calamity upon us by proposing that foreigners pay taxes on land they have come to own, somehow, most without Sanctions.

Fake 6.2% GDP, Fake FDI, that is the conclusion we all must draw from Faures magic tricks. Do not be fooled like SNP Leadership, if it is. ( I have my doubts)

Domestic Sector Debt

Magic –man Faure remained silent on the Government Domestic Sector Debt, which stands at Rs. 2.8 Billion, unpaid, interest ticking. By 2011 this figure will exceed Rs. 3 Billion.

This unpaid balance of loans in Seychelles Rupees is the fundamental reason why the free and independent commercial banks of Seychelles, cannot lower interest rates in the market much more. These banks must carry the bad debts of Government of Seychelles, SPPF -PL. All consumers and business suffer greatly for it.

Hence, why rates cannot go lower then 10% when most of the world is at 2%, Mauritius commercial rates at 5% or 6%.  Because of SPPF, Seychelles has lost it’s competitive edge for years to come. This will usher in a prolonged period of stagnation, if not addressed with forthright rescheduling. Left unattended to, it will push further devaluation of the Seychelles Rupee.

SNP did not see that missile of deception overhead that Magic –man Faure launched on them, or did they, and Mr. Ramkalawan just remained silent?

Which one is it, SNP?

External Debt Sector

This debt sector of Government portfolio has received the most publicity and coverage. Yet, Mr. Faure mis-stated the peak debt to be $782 Million, when in fact it was officially capped at $860 Million. A slip of the tongue worth almost $100Million, and no one in the Opposition even bothered to alert to it, by a simple “POINT OF CLARIFICATION, MR. Speaker ”. How much do we pay these People to sip water as PL tramples the People of Seychelles?

Mr. Faure says that the debt has been reduced under the IMF program. True. It now stands at $480 Million. It is 1/3 of our debt, not 2/3 as Faure wants us to believe again, in his magic.

Mr. Faure does not tell us about the interest on the External Debt and is silent on that. Most of that debt, which is commercial, will be at 10% interests per annum.

By 2017, when SPPF promised to double our GDP, in 2006, we will have redoubled our debt in interest payments and bring it back to $860 Million, and Faure is not worried about meeting the $45 Million instalment then.

Magic- Man Faure cannot meet funding for ministries in 2010, but in 2017, he says, he will have no problem paying the $45Million in instalments due then.

When he lies, watch his cheeks and lips go into automatic vibration mode. It is a built in mechanism to expose deception.

By 2017, James Michel will be gone, Albert Rene will have been forgotten, even by DA’s but our debt will have been doubled again, back to $860 Million, wherein we started with SPPF, who had to change their names to continue to function.

Only IMF will still be around in 2017 under Faure’s program.

When Faures Tricks Do Not Work, He Has An Answer

Magic –man Faure is no fool and is politically very, very ambitious. He knows that Michel is a spent force and is credited with bankrupting Seychelles.   

Magic knows in the PL, he is touted by Rene as the promised child to deliver them from defeat. But Magic has to lie about our financial reality to get through the next Six (6) Months in a fake Budget proposal.

After June 2011, we will have a different reality, and Faure has built in an excuse in his speech, so you do not blame him for the grand failures ahead.

Magic –Man Faure, has said that 75% of Seychelles revenue comes from the European market, and they are undergoing recession. He says this will make Seychelles “vulnerable “ to external factors. This is the excuse he gives, when things will go bad by mid year 2011 and he will announce the severest measures to cut the fake budget back to reality figures. By as much as half of what he proposed, unless Khalifa decides to build another castle and buy more blocks.

United Nations projects that world food prices will increase by as much as 20% in 2011. The Magic man is silent on this and does not increase salaries by 20% to help the mass of Seychellois cope. He cannot of course. There is no money, really for any salary increase, not even his which is 38%.

Magic does not tell you that European economist have already chartered a course for the worse economic and finance year to be 2011 in Europe, with national bankruptcies looming, sovereign downgrades apparent, strikes, civil unrest, become common everyday events. When that happens, Europeans will not venture far from home for a holiday or buy expensive fish for meals . We are moving towards a double dip recession, worldwide. St. Ange at STB will have the mother of challenges before him.

Social Ills Discussed by Demoralized Leaders

Faure sites for us all the good money running after the bad social ills that have gripped our Nation. Each year, the grip tightens on our People.

Faure does that to show how compassionate his Party is in spite of their policy to sell our patrimony and displace our people under PL. But the reality is that a society, that has no moral compass, cannot be free of drugs, alcohol, prostitution, theft, burglary and crimes of violence or corruption. The dream of  a computer in each house will be a quixotic exercise if the moral fibre of our society is not strengthened.

This is the type of society the Communist Party,  as admitted by Madam Marie Lise Potter, has built in Seychelles , today. This is nothing to be proud of Madam Potter, it is a title of shame and disgrace you carry upon yourselves.

No number of houses or schools, built with donations and hand outs from foreign friends can erase this shame and disgrace upon the SPPF-PL. It is a revelation to what you have allowed Seychelles to become, a society wherein morality has no place, good is sidelined, and evil and deception prevails.

Hence, the Leader of the Opposition, has the courage to speak to us with  heightened moral tone, in the budget debates, about the poor, vulnerable, disabled, HIV victims, prostitution, and the lack of adequate funding for these segments of society.

I ask the Leader of the Opposition, where was his moral compass when he went into legislative conspiracy with SPPF PL to vote himself and his party, along with PL, a 38% salary increase , and 70% Pension for life?

In my opinion, and in the opinion of many good God fearing Seychellois, this single incident, destroyed all moral authority Mr. Ramkalawan had, to speak on behalf of the poor of Seychelles, and the weak of our society. It showed us all that he was just using the poor and the weak, as a stepping stone to his own well being and his own wealth creation, which he has been greatly successful at, becoming Seychelles first priest millionaire cum political leader, or the other way around. Take your pick, either, way, it is the same result.

At a time when Seychelles went under IMF administration, then the Queen cancelled her 600 strong Christmas Party, the UK Parliament cut salaries by 15%, and Faure says our Tourism market is vulnerable, in Seychelles, they gave themselves a pay raise and pension for life.

I call on Mr. Faure, and Mr. Ramkalawan, to put your heads together, as you did for your salaries and explain to the People of Seychelles, why in this Budget, you did not reduce salaries and cancel your pensions, to help the victims of social ills a little more as you profess you wish to do.

People of Seychelles are tired of the fancy talk from both sides, if there are two sides. More and more, it all looks more like an acting stage.

The Pain Has Just Begun

The PL have used this Budget as an attempt to fake success to prepare for elections. They know if they get a mandate, at mid term of 2011 the Budget will be adjusted to reflect our realities. That means cut this Budget according to IMF demands.

Then for Four(4) years we will drink Communist brewed red vinegar. Ironically, the SNP voted in favour of this Communist brewed red vinegar for the last Four (4) National Budgets, or they abstained in silence.  They have been part of the conspiracy of our failure all along as they played along with the SPPF-PL every step along the way. Today, they act like they do not agree with the Budget.

Tax Foreigners on Land

By suggesting a tax on foreign owned properties in Seychelles, they also attempt to validate the SPPF PL Policy under James Michel, to sell our Patrimony and regulate Seychellois to third class citizens in their own country.

By remaining silent on Eden Island, and silent on “Sesel Pou Seselwa”, silent on the non certification of MSR, they too are guilty of failing the People of Seychelles as SPPF –PL.

Misdeeds of SPPF-PL cannot be just brushed over by the officially sanctioned and salaried, PL opposition, which is today SNP.

This is a crime upon our People, as we face a collapsing democracy, SNP is only playing the chorus line to PL song and dance, instead of setting a serious  political, social, economic, finance agenda for Seychelles. They have been doing that since 2006. 

You do not need power to set the agenda SNP, you need brains and a commitment to your country, not your pocket.

Sesel Pou Seselwa!

May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!

Merry Christmas to All Seselwa Rasin........and even you sell outs Communists that do not believe in God....,the message of Christmas is the message of HOPE, for all of mankind, hence we hate not the ignorant nor do we hate he who haveth  not a  moral compass to guide himself or his country through these turbulent and difficult years ahead, which will endure for many, many years to come in spite of the message of this Fake Budget!

As the People of Israel spent Forty years in the dessert, the People of Seychelles, do their time in their dessert.

Stay Strong!

Seychelles Comedy - State House Anytime Now!

("A political satire based on actual events as portrayed through the state controlled media")

Climate change & the 3 billion budget…

A turbo charged 4x4Vice President has taken the People House by storm to present a fully baked cake of 3 billion rupees for 2011. A cake so big that his team of fat cats are prepared to share ‘pou benefis tou Seselwa’. Meanwhile on the international front, Ronny Boy is telling all that can listen that we are disappearing from the face of this earth. We need all the grants and loan write-offs to keep afloat…

Lizzy: Hello sweet pea! Now that the royal euphoria has died down, Miss. Sarajevo is here to update you on all things press. She is being witch hunted by a ‘Ziz Soungoula’ and has been keeping a low profile.

President: Oh how sweet! Don’t let those evil forces drag you down my ‘lil angel. You are of the Chevening stock like JP. With all your ethics and politics, you are now my press chief. Don’t be intimidated by any monkey business…

Srdjie: A very good morning Sir. I have been in the bushes lately keeping up with your Facebook page. We are in sleep mode on our website to avoid any ‘Wikileaks’. I will need an iPad to be able to cope.

Bawi:  Oh well my dear, you can always work on a piece for CNN to whitewash things. You have singlehandedly attracted the Somali pirates in our midst with your piece about ‘the hidden treasures of the Indian Ocean’.

Srdjie: Ooh Bawi! This gives me a wet warm feeling. My reportage on CNN! But I have pugnacious Ronny on Skype who just won’t shut up. He is trying to make up for the fact that he advocated that we build more dams.

President: Damn! How could he have done that! We have no rain and the dams will stay empty. We have a solution for our water crisis. The good Sheik will be sending two Antonovs full of pure Arabica water daily from the oasis of Abu Dhabi and the water shortage will be a thing of the past. Bring on Ronny.

The Skype connection to NYC is live and the gregarious faced Ronny Boy pops onto the screen

Ronny Boy: Even when we're underwater, when the bubbles pop, you'll hear us yelling. If we don't solve climate change, nothing else matters, because many of us will be wiped off the face of the Earth.

President: Good job my boy. I can see you rushing from negotiating session to bilateral meeting and back again, past the manicured lawns, palm trees and turquoise pools.

Ronny Boy: Indeed Sir! I have plunged into the chaotic whirl of the scientists, activists, business executives and journalists at the conference. I'll talk to anyone. I don't care who they are as long as the word gets out.

Srdjie: Oh I understand the feeling! Negotiations can be demoralizing. You're talking to people who refuse to listen. But then your Facebook friends say, 'Way to go, Ronny. Give 'em hell!'

Ronny Boy: Indeed Sis! I hold forth at environmental seminars, sit for interviews with bloggers, update my Facebook page and chat with students. It's simple. As the poles melt, we drown. “1.5 to stay Alive” otherwise we disappear beneath the waves.

Bawi:  Drought has left us with a 20-day supply of drinking water. Desalination plants are running at full capacity, but that means burning expensive fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming. Wish you had built your Grand Anse dam before you escaped to New York.
Ronny Boy: Hey, this one's about Seychelles! Check out this photo (he flashes a picture of some guys with their heads buried in the sand like ostriches). And no, I am NOT one of those with their butts whistling in the wind! Hasta la vista Cancun! 
President: Good on you my boy! Everyone knows your dedication to conservation and the environment. And now they want Diego Garcia as a marine park without consulting the exiled people of the islands. Indeed they have no heart. God bless my boy. Keep our flag flying high! 
Srdjie: Thanks Ronster! Sir, the royal visit failed to make an impact in the UK. Despite an avalanche of press releases, we failed to make the headlines. The Princess herself refused to give a press conference to get us further mileage.
Bawi: Well we indulged in self gratifying publicity as it is important for the election campaign. You can always do a piece for CNN i-report.  JoMo had to interpret the feelings and translate the comments of the princess. She does not have a tongue and so we got him to read her mind.

Lizzy: Oh she is such a graceful creature. Love her dress sense with her ‘kanboul’ and gloves.

President: She wanted to do a walkabout in Victoria but we did not want her to bump into the commercial sex workers and drug addicts. I gave the First Lady her moment in the limelight so she could show off our little treasures. The Princess felt quite ill at ease at the cocktail. She had never seen such youthful exuberance at the helm of our national affairs.

Bawi: Well it is proof that your empowerment program has succeeded. Who needs experience when you can experiment?

President: Well the experiment has taken over three decades. In the meantime we’ve had the collapse of the economy but we have rebounded again. The sacrifices have paid off! The cake is baked and we are now ready to dish out some moist slices.

Lizzy: The baker is here to give you a rundown on the ingredients and recipe for this decadent, deliciously divine pastry. This cake is no lie! 

Danny Boy: Hello Bwana!  We have never baked such a masterpiece before. We will have enough crumbs ‘POU BENEFIS TOU SESELWA’.  I have switched on my turbo and your 4x4 stealth machine is in the off-road mode.

President: Ok my pecuniary guru! I can see that your Cubanomics is defying gravity. Give me a quick rundown on what you have concocted this time around…

Danny Boy: Well my good Sir! The 2011 budget is about ‘redistribye nou gato nasyonal’. And I will shout from the top of my lungs so that ‘lepep’ can benefit. With the progress in our economy, price stability and sustainable debt, we have a 9.4% surplus. We now need to protect the vulnerable, increase resources in social programs…

Bawi: OK bro! Enough of the political hogwash! We have a tight agenda. Give us the main pointers and you can go brainwash the dodos in the assembly later.

Danny Boy: Hey easy bro! You seem to have deserted your Cuban indoctrination since you are heading tourism! OK then, here’s my wish list:

• Tourism will get 78 million
• 1 billion surplus to share with ‘Lepep’
• 2 generators for PUC from our good Sheik
• 10% of our tax revenue to go back to welfare
• Full on oil exploration (our future depends on it)
• 20 million for small businesses
• Tackle the ‘fleo sosyal’ as 40% of our prisoners are thieves
• 1.3 billion on housing (thanks to our good Sheik)
• Install internet ‘dan tou lakaz’
• Build a solid social safety net
• Assure ‘sekirite alimanter’

Oh well I will not bore you with all this mundane stuff. You can catch it all on TV where I will ram the message home over one and a half hours. Fodre tir lanpayaz dan ban pti biznes!

President: Good stuff! 2010 will go down as another milestone in my distinguished career. I have surrounded myself with such brainiacs that no one will be able to unseat this presidency. But we showed in the end that smart minds and determination were as equally important, if not more so, than an inflow of capital.

Danny Boy: Impressive indeed Bwana! As long as Ronny boy keeps harping on the message that we are hitting the seabed, our rubber duck will continue to bounce around on the high seas to reinvest in our people. The solutions rest with us!

The President is delighted to be riding the crest of this giant wave that formed in the eye of a storm. Miracles do happen and his transparent team is keeping it real. He is assured of another commanding mandate in 2011 in his capacity as the man of the people who bankrupted and salvaged the Seychelles in the same breath. It takes a lot of kudos!

EYEWITNESS NEWS - EXTRA

EXTRA*EXTRA*EXTRA

SPPF Volunteers Evidence of Guilt

For Breaking Into MSR Office, Docklands

The People rag tag weekly paper which dishes out its written propaganda each week to numb the brains of the People of Seychelles, has stepped on its own feet as expected.
In an article titled:

Fissures show up in amorphous MSR”, November 26th

2010, the writer is quoted as saying,” The People has caught wind of mounting tensions between two main political figures, behind MSR, Christopher Gill and Marc Hoareau, over money matters. The wedge issue is the non –payment by MSR of a Xerox Work Centre.
Victoria Computer Services (VCS) owned by Marc Hoareau, is mad at Gill for failing to make a payment of $2,000.00 in the company’s account held at Barclay’s. The sum would have been the first if four instalments for the equipment delivered in October

which cost 85,000.00 rupees.”
 The only way People could know that our second printer is a Xerox Work Centre printer in our office, is to have access to our documents found in our Xerox Work Centre file.

These documents were stolen in a break in when our offices were broken into last month.

The contract for the second printer as revealed by the People is completely correct and the purchase price is correct, spot on. This information could only be obtained from MSR internal files, which were stolen from the office. Hence it is reasonable to conclude, beyond a doubt, that the People PL have access to our files which were stolen, by break in and entering, with the use of force, into MSR Docklands office.

Additionally, the payment of $2,000.00 as an instalment to be made to VCS was to come from a donation, and People could only know that through bugging my private phone line and having access to my conversations, which PL does.

The only information People got wrong in the article was Marc Hoareau’s involvement with MSR.

Marc Hoareau is not a “Member” or “Leader” of MSR and he is a “Supplier” of MSR through VCS, his company, like he is a Supplier any other entity in Seychelles. VCS was chosen as a supplier by MSR because it sells Xerox Machines, which are highly reliable and efficient. If Mr. Hoareau was a member of MSR he would just give us the second printer, like I have given MSR the first printer.

The main political figures and spokesmen of MSR are Christopher Gill and Francis Gill.

This People article provides conclusive evidence that SPPF ordered and carried out the break in of MSR office and the documents, stickers, taken from the MSR office are in Maison Du Peuple where the People rag is printed.

You only have to now place one of our stickers on the front page of People, Editor.

I warned you, you should have resigned a long time ago, now you have revealed criminal activity of your party in a desperate act to save your reputation as an Editor.

MSR will file a separate report detailing the contents of this article with appropriate Human Rights Organizations and the Commonwealth.

It is another nail into the road to Seychelles SHAM ELECTIONS in 2011.

Anyone who would like to make a donation to get Seychelles Column printed in the streets weekly can contact me at: sezfree4u@yahoo.com


May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!
Sesel Pou Seselwa!

The Seychelles Column - By Christopher Gill

Democracy Collapsing In Seychelles Today (Part II)

Focus: The Structures of State
Upon the passing of the Constitution of the Third Republic, there was great hope and aspirations that Seychelles would reconcile earnestly, and the Nation would move into a new era of Democracy, that would require, that the structures of state be re-enforced.
For many that lived through the One Party State Dictatorship, it was this hope that democratic structures would be strengthened, that gave them hope for a free and democratic Seychelles, wherein individual rights would be respected, and the rule of law and order, would rule the day. Perhaps it is these optimist that have been let down the most through the farcical democratic experiment that has dragged for Seventeen (17) years.
Under France Albert Rene’s Two (2) additional mandates and a 3rd shared with James Michel, and Michel’s last mandate, the structures of State have taken a beating and dress down as the Nation entered into an era of great denial and eventual failure between the years 2000-2010.
1. The Executive Branch No Longer Administrates
Executive Branch went from micro management by Rene, to no hands on management Michel.
Under Rene, the micro state of Seychelles was micro managed by a dictator. We may not like the decisions Rene took day to day, but at the very least, there were decisions etched on a little note pad, passed down to the administrators of government to move things along and set a course, case by case.
Under Michel, files were ignored, and handed to lesser mortals with no mandate, than handled by the President himself.
Immediately upon assuming office, letters to State House were replied with a confirmation letter, and follow up was common to take months. As time was wasted, the government administration went into
chaos. What would normally take Two (2) weeks could drag out to take Two (2) years. If anything can describe Michel’s Administration, it is “no Administration”. Michel’s tenure can best be described as a “Hollywood Presidency”, as he hogged the camera for the entire term of his mandate.
When he went to the Tuna Factory, the camera was there, filming Michel with the fish. When the Tuna Factory owners bonded us, the camera was there. No questions asked or put to Michel. When the factory owners Lehman Brothers called in the Bonds, the camera was there.
When we went bankrupt, the camera was there. When we went on our knees before the world, the camera was there. But, no dissenting opinion was ever heard, not even an unprepared material question posed .
Each time, dissent was silent, democracy was weakened in Seychelles.
2. Police Force Collapsed
When Michel started to lose support for his own failings, he imported Irish mercenaries and Guardia on leave, to take up internal national security and run the Police. As he did that, a mass departure of Police in the force vacated posts and walked out, the best qualified Seychellois Police that remained had left. Over a 100 departures of Officers.
These officers refused to work under the Irish, these men and women left for the private sector. Today, they are all better off running their own security companies, or working in high paid jobs, enjoying larger numeration then the Commissioner of Police himself.
It will take years to rebuild the Police Force. Michel will not be able to do it, because he does not have the clout or moral authority to lead a Seychellois force, after importing foreigners to run our Police Force.
One Irish Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr. Liam Cohen, was caught lying on the stand in a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the death of a young boy and his father. Cohen quick stepped back to Ireland, after firing dozens of Seychellois Officers. Michel never asked these officers to return.
As a stop gap to this crisis, Michel created NDEA based not at the Police Headquarters, but based at State House. NDEA is a drug task force, but has now ventured into Policing, to cover up for a collapse Police Force.
3. Judiciary Promising Catch-up
If there is one branch of government that has promised a lot and taken a long time to deliver over the last 17 years, it is the Judiciary.
The law Reports have not been published since 1994. That is 16 years. Without Law Reports, courts cannot establish and institutionalize case law and enshrine the democratic process in courts, to insure constitutional rights are respected.
The critical shortage of Attorney’s following a decision after multi-party democracy by France Albert Rene to stop Bursars for law students , because they can get too smart for the system, has back fired today.
At this time, the Attorney General has run out of Seychellois attorneys and must import a batch of Sri Lankan attorneys to keep the office running. The office itself is a testimony to failure, with broken printers, broken computers stacked up against the walls where Law Reports should grace.
The Attorney General himself has done little to strengthen the democratic process, as he has been a servant of the powers that be and not the Constitution of Seychelles. He has been quick to the draw to protect the State, but slow to protect and defend Individual Rights in order to strengthen our democracy. As he fails to do what is right and serve his master, he hurts democracy in Seychelles.
In case the Attorney General did not know, it is respect and tolerance for Individual Rights that strengthens a Democracy, not the strengthening of the arm of the State at the expense of the Individual.
Most recently, the Attorney General has been taking a beating before the Constitutional Court. His streak of defeats started with a Right to Property issue present by Alwyn Talma over the restriction to use of Anse Lazio property 66 acres beach front. The Attorney General was even fined Rs. 100,000.00, an unprecedented decision.
Recently, the Court of Appeals ordered Attorney General Ronnie Govinden to draft new legislation to establish the impartiality of SBC, he has not submitted any drafted to the Courts or the Executive Branch, delaying the effect of the Courts Judgment on an issue that should have been resolved 17 years ago, according to Constitutional intent.
By attempting to defend the un-defendable, Ronnie Govinden has become the “Himmler”, of the SPPF PL government of James Michel. Himmler took over Hitler’s battles on the front lines, when he could no longer fight himself, as he was resigned to the bunker for his last days.
As Michel, takes Seychelles democracy to collapse mode, Mr. Govinden will we be defending the failures on the front lines, as being normal in a democratic society. But even our imported Judges from Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, will be offended by Mr. Govinden’s gesture to reduce Individual Rights to some subservient element to the State.
A word of caution to Mr. Govinden, in case not many people give you good advise: “An Attorney General that picks battles to lose, is of no value to any government administration, be it left, right or centre”. Right now Ronnie, its not looking good.
4. Legislative Branch
The National Assembly has weaken tremendously over the last Five (5) years. The Opposition no longer walks out on as a protest on issues. The Speaker passed a law that will sanction them Rs. 1000.00 per sitting. This has sold out the democratic right to legislative protest, though they all earn between Rs.700.00 –Rs. 1,800.00 per hour, plus a 70% pension for life, earned in a legislative conspiracy.
As the Opposition submerged into a culture of legislative conspiracy with the ruling party on budgets, salaries, pensions, they lost their moral compass to lead the Opposition. Even an election Alliance between DP and SNP was broken, which was instigated by James Michel in talks with Ramkalawan it is believed, since the Leader of the Opposition was in regular meetings with Michel at the time.
By 2010, MNA’s took to star blog to download speeches from article content, and they grossly misled the Public to think that they were debating from the heart and the brain was in gear.
This malpractice on part of our legislators is detrimental to our Democracy. It makes a mockery of the entire structure, and we have been left with a fake opposition in place as well as a fake majority that even smiles when the country is bankrupt.
5. Armed Forces
The Armed Forces has been hijacked as a political –apparatus by PL. Just this week, the Armed Forces promotions graced pages of People a pure political party mouth piece.
It would be totally acceptable to have these promotions covered extensively in the Nation. But People being a partisan paper, reported on the promotions as if the officers serve the People and the PL.
The promotions come at a time the Coast Guard have done exemplary work in the fight against piracy. They are merited, as are the increases in salary , provision of housing, car loans and fuel allowance and extended holiday of Three (3) months on One (1) month off, as they face harms ways routinely now in the fight against piracy in the region.
Seychelles Armed Forces, must be run by Seychellois, and not foreigners. Our men must never turn their weapons upon our people and must keep them facing pirates and any other enemies to our shores.
PL will attempt to lower their dignity and use our Armed Forces, to face election defeat in 2011. When Seychellois refuse to use arms to defend a failed election bid , the UAE will have troops stationed in Seychelles, to protect Michel, and insure his SHAM Elections are respected. Democracy will have collapsed completely by then.
6. Ombudsman
The post of the Ombudsman was intended to be an impartial voice, that aggrieved persons could approach and attempt to resolve issues pending against the Government of Seychelles. However, it appears that the SPPF/PL have neutralized the constitutional intent of the creation of the Ombudsman post, by promising holders of the post that the Office of the Ombudsman is a stepping stone to high court appointed posts if the Ombudsman tows the line for a time.
In 1993, the Ombudsman was Bernadin Renuad. He went on to become a Judge. Gustave Dodin then replaced him, and Dodin then went on to become a Judge. Today, Dora Zatte occupies the post, and she will likely go on to become a Judge. Miss Zatte retains close relations with key personalities that pose great conflict in her post and weakens the post of the Ombudsman. She is friendly with James Michel, Brigadier Payet, and the Electoral Commissioner Hendriks Gappy.
7. The Electoral Commissioner
The intent of the Constitution behind the creation of the Electoral Commissioners office, was to have an unbiased person running elections in Seychelles. However, the record of Mr. Hendriks Gappy speaks for itself, and his bias in executing his duties has weaken democracy in Seychelles and ignored constitutional intent sometimes out of shear arrogance and defiance.
Most recently, REGAR December 3rd, 2010, reported on a Constitutional Court Judgment involving Queency Jumaye who was denied the right to vote in the last elections. She is not alone, and many have suffered that fate. The Constitutional Court delivered a damning blow to the Electoral Commissioners office, rejecting the Attorney General Ronnie Govinden’s usual pro communist arguments intended to weaken the private citizen, saying, denying Miss Jumaye the right to vote, is a serious violation of one of the most important rights of the citizen: the Right to Participate in National affairs”.
Unless Mr. Gappy is removed from the post and an Independent Electoral Commission is formed, to run elections in Seychelles, elections will always be compromised and undemocratic in practice, due to the bias and weakness of the Electoral Commissioner.
Electoral Commissioners that do not promote the Right to Participate in National Affairs of all citizens, weaken our democracy, and ignore the intent of the Constitution of Seychelles. This will compromise democracy in Seychelles, greatly.
8. Central Bank Our Economy
As Pierre Laporte gave his speech on the state of the Central Bank this week, Francis Chang Leng, sat in the back of the International Conference Centre, and chewed his finger nails.
I may not always agree with Mr. Laporte, but he has been a breath of fresh air and has demonstrated an intent to improve a very bad situation. We need to give Mr. Laporte a little credit for taking us out of the doldrums of the Francis Chang Leng era.
However, not all is rosy as James Michel would like us to believe as usual. Michel used the Central Bank seminar, to tout misleading numbers: INFLATION – 0%. GDP -6%.
The Inflation at 0% is as dangerous as the Black Market rates in the old days running twice as the bank rate. A little Inflation is good for an economy, it demonstrates buoyancy and shows it is not sinking.
The key component Michel did not mention was DEFLATION in the market, which Reuters conservatively reported to be -2%. Deflation indicates the dropping of prices, reduction in activity, of the real economy, and the lack of demand and a general negative investment climate borne out of lack of activity. This James Michel has achieved in Five (5) short years. It is in fact the direct opposite of what he said he would do in 2006 when he said that under STRATGI 2017, he would double our GDP by 10% per year.
Michel has taken our economy to the brink of collapse as he has taken our democracy.
Where Does GDP 6% Come From?
By now, every Seychellois knows this money and artificial growth, that is hinged on the whims of one man, comes from Sheik Khalifa Al Nayan Bin Al Zayed’s investments into his villas, his personal donations, and UAE building of houses, base, buses, scanners.
High level SPPF –PL say, that “if Khalifa did not help Seychelles, we would have been finished”. Well that does not say much over SPPF PL leadership, and it only shows how weak our economy has become under James Michel leadership.
Even Tourism profess 12% increase in Arrivals, but an unknown undisclosed substantial reduction in revenue, hidden from IMF, but covered by over all activity by Khalifa, to fake it, until we make it.
A long time ago, I told Michel in this Column, you cannot fake it, to make it.
This applies to Democracy in Seychelles as well, which is collapsing at the end of 2010, and it applies to our economy in 2010, which is now barely floating through the aid and personal whims of a Surrogate Resident President.
Five (5) years of Nation building by James Michel has turned into the collapsing of a STATE in less then Five (5) years.
People of Seychelles, open your eyes this Christmas. It is the greatest gift you can give to your children.

SESEL POU SESELWA !
May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois and Our Beloved Seychelles!

Seychelles Comedy - State House Anytime Now

("A political satire based on actual events as portrayed through the state controlled media")

A Princess comes calling…

 In another moment of international fame, the Seychelles President has the honour as Chancellor to be by the side of British Royalty at the official opening of UniSey. Having singlehandedly apprehended more pirates and freed our subjects, he pays tribute to the men in uniform for our protection over these 33 years of glory.

Lizzy: A Royal salute Mr. Commander in Chief! PS MO is here to juggle the agenda as the British Princess is about to hit our shores.

Bawi: Good day Mr. Beardo! I can see that all affairs foreign suit you perfectly. You seem to be learning the ropes pretty fast from your mentor JenPa. It is important that you shed your aloofness and get closer to the community. The open day was commendable.

MO: You have left a legacy at MOFA my good Bwana. Your spell there has paved the way to a new vision. We are still reaping the rewards of your hard work from your days in Brussels.

President: Wow, what an honour to have the presence of the longest serving civil servant in our midst. So all’s set for her Highness’s visit? I have ensured that our Gaines Cooper Rolls Royce is put to good use. I only rub shoulders with popes and royalty. So what is on the agenda?

MO: Good day to you Herr Chancellor. Everything has been mapped out. I will welcome the Princess on the tarmac and she will be whisked away to UniSey. Dr. Roff has already waxed lyrical about your vision and you will have the honour to jointly unveil Plato who has been your inspiration. You need to dress like the opposition assembly members with a tie.

Bawi: The stage is set. We will then give her the opportunity to put a few poppies at the Cenotaph in memory of the fallen. The 29th November is a very eerie day in our history as we had a fallen hero on the streets of London...back in 85. The verdict is still open and I am scared the Princess might press the case to solve the mystery.

Lizzy: Oh but Bob said, “in this great future you can’t forget your past”... So dry your tears.

President: No women no cry Bawi. We are now with a new vision for our youth. We will throw a party on our lawns and everybody will be merry. No orders came from me in this 412 case. The Union Jack will fly again at State House to welcome back our early days. I always wanted to emulate one of our governors.

MO: Sir I am not privy to any Wikileaks of the past 30 years. But I was in action in 81 and had to take refuge in a trash can in the tower. Diplomatic duty calls and I have to attend to the final protocol details. ‘On a du pain sur la planche !’

Bawi: OK MO! We admire your sense of duty. Sir, we have a call from young Kim in North Korea. He is seeking some advice on how to shed this communist dogma but still enjoy total control. He seems in a bind and wants you to repay the favour that his grandpa did after the coup. Was it not the construction of the building housing UniSey? I do remember Per Fondater paying a visit to Pyongyang sometime back.

President: No that was to beef up our security. My communist days are behind me Bawi. Who does he think he is calling me for help? Today, I only deal with those with money and not a bankrupt economy like North Korea. I am a reformed pragmatist and he should emulate me.

Lizzy: Sir Jomo is here to report on the latest piracy developments and the Princess’ visit to Valle de Mai and Pete will update you on the ACP meeting and combating the piracy scourge...

JoMo: Sir the Emirs and other friends from the Gulf States and the Russians all have spear guns on board their yachts and have been using them randomly everywhere they go, while the poor Seychellois fishermen are not allowed to have spear guns as they are banned. What is good for the goose is not good for the gander! They will also be using them on the pirates...

President: I must also command our men in uniform. They are all in for a raise and maximum benefits – we need 100% loyalty there. The new technology I have at my fingertips allows me to direct operations right from this office. I gather the police are rounding up the stray rounds.

JoMo: Sir while on Police, a report in the Irish parliament states that Seychelles has spent 25 Million Pounds on consulting fees and other services with the Irish so far. Wonder what we bought?

President: We bought counter intelligence to silence the opposition. Oh I am glad the Princess brought us some rain.

Bawi: We got lucky on that alright Bwana. I would hate to see her queuing up for a bowser. Oh well we can turn this around and discuss about our water problems aside the piracy saga. She will surely be sympathetic to our cause.

Pete: Well Bwana, the time has come to ‘walk the talk’ on piracy. Given that we are shooting at pirates on the vessels despite the fact that we have hostages on board, we should be more innovative bring in the "Israeli Raid on Entebbe" by the Israeli commandos!

JoMo: We will give the Princess a walkabout in the Garden of Eden and let her be mesmerized by the natural beauty of our love nut. Shame we could not bring her to Aldabra.

President: She will be equally impressed by the developments I am spearheading in the tourism industry. Our investment is paying off and she will not even feel that we are a country under IMF bailout.

JoMo: Indeed Sir. We are directing this war on piracy from the heart of the Indian Ocean. Our EUNAFOR contingent and soon our new navy base and arsenal will thwart any attacks by these crazy men in skiffs. We will deal them a killer blow as they are threatening our very existence and prevent our Sheik from enjoying his Paradise.

Pete: We will soon come out with proposals on how to add value to our blue gold so that we can all get our fair share. Fisheries and industry work hand in glove. We shall harness the power of our oceans and my comrade JoMo will produce a ‘gro manze’ master plan so that we can attain food sufficiency.

Bawi: Sir we have a 3 billion budget to contend with next year. A record for the election year! SR81 Million for Landscape and Waste Management! SR 376 for "Benefits and Approved Programmes of Social Security Fund". SR41 million for the President's Office so that you can travel first class!

Lizzy: Sir Dr. Ruff, the man of multiple degrees and diplomas is here to update you on the opening ceremony...

Dr. Ruff: A very good day Your Lordship Chancellor. All the invited guests will be present except for the Per Fondater who has headed off to Remire and sends everyone to hell. He does not believe in showing the light to our youth as is against his NYS principles of encoding.

President: I am happy that Mancham will be there. He will not miss his chance of mingling with royalty. Yes, our young will become business incubators. We are in a knowledge driven world. Knowledge is key! But we need to hide the truth. The Education should be according to the Jj doctrine.

Dr. Ruff: Our Plato Statue resting on a blue sea is ready to be unveiled Sir. The very symbol of knowledge and wisdom! Your vision becomes a reality Sir. And I will bestow an honorary degree upon you to fulfil this dream. No one will accuse you as being uninformed anymore…

President: What a year it has been. I launched this vision back in 2007 and today on the eve of my incumbency, I unveil together with our motherland Princess our very own house of knowledge provided by the wisdom of a visionary leader who will stand firm to protect ‘nou ban aki’ from this curse of pirates & corsairs.

Bawi: Indeed Sir. The Princess will be thunderstruck by all our achievements. Hope she has not got wind from the Commonwealth about Gappy Boy’s intrigues in stifling democracy so that we can cling on till kingdom come…


With a ‘Filozofi’ for everyone to emulate, the President contemplates the year 2010 as a milestone in his presidency. He believes he has ridden the storm of bankruptcy and his last bid for the throne has had the blessing of the Pontiff and is now being endorsed by British Royalty. Onward to the big celebratory mother carnival next year!!

LEST WE FORGET...

GERARD HOAREAU - THE SEYCHELLES FALLEN HERO 

2010/11/29 - Eddie Botha / Daily Dispatch Investigations Editor

IT WAS like reading John le Carré’s espionage novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Remember last week I wrote about the assassination of Gerard Hoareau, the leader of the Seychellois National Movement, in London in November 1985 – not too long after I met him in cloak and dagger circumstances at his resistance movement’s safe house in the British capital.
Then early Monday morning, a few hours after the Dispatch went online, I received a call from someone who introduced himself as Ian Withers. He was phoning from London, he said. He had read my column with great interest, as he had been heavily, and I mean heavily, involved in the Seychelles during the time I covered the aborted coup by mercenary leader Mike Hoare and his South African-backed band of army recces and hired soldiers of fortune.
Not to forget the behind-the-scenes support by SA’s military and national intelligence officers for Hoareau’s movement, which sought to overthrow the Seychelles government of President Albert Rene, who deposed former President Jimmy Mancham’s regime in a bloody coup.
Withers told me he worked for Rene at the time of the coup attempt. I mentioned to him that I had been detained in police cells by the Seychelles government, soon after my first visit to the island, because I had been mistaken as a relative of one the mercenaries who had escaped.
“I probably ordered your detention,” he said. Nice to meet you Mr Withers!
Our conversation brought back many memories of my numerous trips to the Seychelles. The many nice people I met there, my relationship with Hoareau, who tragically died by the hand of a sniper … and the Groot Krokkodil, PW Botha’s wrath after I – courtesy of a Seychelles contact – exposed the names and passport numbers of two national intelligence agents, who came to the island to (unsuccessfully) secure the release of their buddy, Martin Dolinschek.
At the time Dolinschek was on death row, after being caught on the island following the coup attempt. For that exposé I was found guilty of contravening the Official Secrets Act (Dolinschek was later released by Rene and he travelled back with me to SA).
Back to the death of Horeau. In 2006 the Seychelles Weekly published an exclusive interview which Rene had given to the French newspaper, Indian Ocean Newsletter, in 1986, the year after Hoareau was shot.
During the interview Rene was asked why Withers did not go back to Britain to answer the police’s questions about the killing of Hoareau. Rene said Withers preferred to stay in the Seychelles. “He is someone who has helped us. We cannot ask him to leave the country.”
Rene said he personally knew that Withers was not involved in Hoareau’s death.
“He was responsible for telephone bugging, that is true, and they know this in Britain. The day after Gerard Hoareau was assassinated, he (Withers) went to the British embassy and volunteered to provide all the necessary information, on condition that police go to the Seychelles to question him. They did not do so. Personally, I do not blame him for not going to Britain.
Would you go? The two people who placed the bug in Gerard Hoareau’s home are both in prison.”
Rene said his government had asked Britain to keep Hoareau’s resistance movement under surveillance. “They did not do this, even though the opposition openly says that it is prepared to overthrow the government by violence. So we did what was necessary in order to find out what was going on.”
The Seychelles president admitted that it was “troubling” that Hoareau was killed in London while his telephone was being bugged by his agents.
“But there is no link. If we had wanted to assassinate Gerard Hoareau, don’t you think that we would have removed the bug before doing so,” said Rene.
Then who killed Hoareau? Here is Rene’s explanation: “Gerard Hoareau had contacts with loads of people, with mercenaries to whom he owed money … In any case, it was a professional who carried out the killing. I am absolutely sure that it was not Ian Withers. He was paid only to monitor telephone conversations.”
Next time we chat, I’ll ask Withers
Pertinent Note: If Rene knows Whithers did not kill Gerard, then he must know who did, since he knows who did not.

PLAUSIBLE REASONS FOR
GERARD HOARAU'S ASSASSINATION

Following on from our previous questions we present the following scenario that point to the most plausible reason for Gerard’s assassination:
The illegal SPPF regime in Seychelles was receiving pretty good reports of Gerard’s movements from Ian Withers and his team who had installed sophisticated listening devices in a house next door to where Gerard lived in Edgware in London. However such an operation did not come cheap and was costing the regime tens of thousands of British Pounds on a monthly basis, adding up to millions annually. It was not something that they could afford to do on a long term basis.
Based on previous experience, Gerard himself was aware that his home telephone was probably being monitored and it was for that reason that he never spoke or communicated any of his business on the phone apart from normal and inconsequential conversations with his family and friends. Thus any consequential communication pertaining to his activities (as President of the SNM and more importantly head of the MPR) against the illegal regime was carried out at random public phones throughout London. It was impossible for the regime to monitor such calls as they could never tell which of the thousands of public phones throughout London that he would use on any given day. However Gerard was not aware of the fact that they had bought a house next door which contained other listening devices that could pick up some of his conversations within the house but again there was not much in terms of his strategic plans that they could pick up from his normal conversations that he had in his house. This must have been frustrating for the regime especially in light of the fact that they were paying millions of Pounds to keep up this surveillance operation.
However sometime before November 1985, they did pick up a bit of information that must have been rather disturbing to them. Gerard had decided to move from his Edgware home to a new undisclosed address in London. This meant that their costly surveillance operation would be made redundant unless they could dismantle it all and relocate it to wherever Gerard was going. This would have meant finding and purchasing a new house near Gerard’s new address, moving and re-installations of all the electronic devices. This would not have been easy because they would probably not have been able to purchase such a property immediately especially if there was no property next door for sale. At a time of rising property prices in London, it would have added up to substantial extra costs. Further to the cost element, this new operation would have taken a lot of time before they could get everything operational again and during that time they would not be able to gather the vital information that they were looking for.
At this juncture, the murderous SPPF regime had to make some decisions:
Could they afford the extra cost of funding this move to a new address?
Would they be able to immediately find an appropriate house next to Gerard’s new home again?
If not how long would that take?
Could they afford the loss of information that would occur while they tried to relocate and re-install all the equipment?
How long could they afford to continue funding such an expensive operation run by an expensive spy like Ian Withers and his group?
If the answers to the above questions were negative was it therefore not simpler and less costly to eliminate such a dangerous and determined opponent like Gerard once and for all?
Was that the time therefore that they decided that Gerard should be assassinated?
Who took that decision?
Who hired the assassin?
Who selected the Sterling sub-machine gun as the murder weapon?
Was that weapon taken to the UK through diplomatic bags and if so who authorised it?
Who carried that weapon which was eventually used to murder Gerard to the UK?
Who was therefore ultimately responsible for Gerard’s murder?

Make your own intelligent deduction!

TWENTY FIVE YEARS LATER -
 GERARD’S MURDER IS STILL AN “OPEN CASE”

Twenty five years have passed since the young, popular exiled resistance Seychellois leader, Gerard Hoarau, was shot dead outside his home in London. Twenty five years and yet still no answers with regards as to who ordered and carried out this odious crime. Gerard was not the only victim of politically motivated murders in Seychelles. The list is long and all the murders with the exception of Gerard’s were carried out on Seychellois soil and yet again we still have no answers as to who carried out those crimes. While South Africans have exorcised their demons through a public process of national reconciliation inspired by Bishop Desmond Tutu’s “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”, the regime in Seychelles has never bothered to initiate any public inquiries into any of the murders and disappearances of its political critics that occurred under their watch and in their own jurisdiction. Until they do so intelligent people can only assume one thing – they sanctioned those crimes and they are responsible for them.
Here we present you with some facts and ask some questions on Gerard’s case. Draw your own conclusions.
Fact: On 29th November 1985 Gerard Hoarau, President of the SNM and Head of the MPR was shot dead outside his home in London. The perpetrators of this heinous crime have still not been identified or apprehended:
Who ultimately ordered the assassination of Gerard Hoarau?
Who pulled the trigger of that Sterling sub-machine gun that emptied 39 bullets into Gerard’s body?
Fact: The British Police found out that Gerard’s movement were being monitored by sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment placed in a house next door to Gerard’s London home. That house was purchased by a company belonging to Mario Ricci who was acting as an agent of the Seychelles Government at the time.
Under whose direct instructions was Ricci acting upon?
Who hired Ian Withers and the three men who monitored Gerard’s movement on a 24 hour basis for months and eventually leading to his assassination?
Fact: Gerard was killed with a British made Sterling sub-machine gun. Those guns were standard issue to the riot control PMU squad of Seychelles Police prior to the illegal coup of 5th June 1977. These weapons were captured by the SPUP terrorists when they usurped power in the coup.
Who issued that weapon to the assassin and who used it to murder Gerard?
How was that weapon smuggled into Britain and how was it disposed of after it was used to carry out that dastardly act?
Fact: Three men were arrested by the British Police for carrying out an illegal electronic surveillance of Gerard’s activities. They were consequently prosecuted and convicted of perverting the course of public justice at the Old Bailey in London. Some interesting facts emerged from this case.
Scotland Yard Anti Terrorist Squad wanted to pursue leads that led to Seychelles. Their requests to follow those leads to collect evidence were refused by the illegal regime in Seychelles.
Why was Scotland Yard refused access to Seychelles?
Those three men reported directly to a notorious spy by the name of Ian Withers.
Who hired Ian Withers who was based and owned businesses in the Seychelles at the time?
One of the prosecuted men (a BT engineer by the name of Richards) revealed in evidence in court that the night before Gerard’s assassination, he turned up at the house to check on the equipment. When he tried to open the door, the other man Underwood who was in charge of the surveillance team, opened the door from the inside and told Richards that he could not enter because “one of their guys was inside the house” and he did not want Richards to see the person inside. Richards left without seeing who was inside. The next day Gerard was killed.
Who was the mystery person that Underwood called “one of their guys”?
Why did Underwood not want Richards to see that person?
Was that person the one who ultimately shot and killed Gerard the next day?
Why did the prosecutor not ask Underwood to reveal in court, who was that person?
Did Scotland Yard officers investigating that crime, interrogate Underwood as to the description of that person?
If so does Scotland Yard know and hold a record of the description of that person and is that the reason that they wanted to follow their investigations in Seychelles?
When sentencing the three men, the British Judge at the Old Bailey, described their crime as vile and despicable and said that he believed that their actions had directly led to the death of an innocent man. He said that he wished that he could have given them a much more severe custodial sentence, but that regrettably he was constrained by the punishment stipulated the law relating to the specific charges against them. From the Honourable Judge’s comments it is clear that he saw a clear link between the surveillance activities and Gerard’s assassination. Therefore, the miscreants that authorised and financed that illegal surveillance activity of Gerard’s movements, were also those responsible for his murder.
Who were all the people behind that operation and who gave the ultimate order to open fire and kill Gerard Hoarau?



Inspiration from the younger generation

I recently asked my friend's little girl what she wanted to be when she grows up.
She said she wanted to be the President some day.
Both of her parents, Party LePep supporters, were standing there, so I asked her, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?"
She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the poor Seychellois people." Her parents smiled hugely.
"Wow...what a worthy goal." I told her, "But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that.
You can come over to my house for a morning and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you SR100.
Then I'll take you over to the supermarket where the poor guy hangs out, and you can give him the SR100 to use toward food and a new house."
She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked:
"Why doesn't the poor guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the SR100?"
I said, "Welcome to the MSR Party."
Her parents still aren't speaking to me.

EYEWITNESS NEWS

Run up to the Seychelles General Elections

The Smear Campaign has started...

Agents of Parti Lepep and Hendriks Gappy - Electoral Commissioner - have falsely acused the MSR (Mouvman Seselwa Rasin) of being a RACE based Party, over the Immigration issues in MSR Manifesto.
These same agents of PL have said that use of deportation process is discriminatory. However, the PL have failed to highlight which Race MSR is racist towards. The reason is simple: there is no race MSR is racist towards. MSR is a party with members from all RACES and all Religions.
In the UK, 4000 Mauritians have been deported. In France, thousands of Romas sent home by Sarkozy. In Germany, Angela Merkel has insisted that immigrants speak German and become German enough, before being granted Citizenship. In the USA, restrictions are being placed on immigration from South America. The 1960's notion of multiculturalism in the face of globalization of the new century has met resistance in many countries. Seychelles is not an exception. The voice of opposing beliefs must be heard, in a Democracy.
Herewith below, the latest developments in UK involving citizens of our neighbour Mauritius...
 
Mesures anti-migration en Angleterre : Quelque 4 000 Mauriciens forcés de rentrer au pays

L'Express By Estelle Bastien - 11/28/10
Environ 4 000 Mauriciens ont été déportés d’Angleterre sur une période d’un an. Selon Bushan Deepchand, avocat d’origine mauricienne exerçant en Angleterre, c’est suite à un renforcement des critères pour le renouvellement des visas que ces Mauriciens ont été forcés de quitter le sol anglais.
Une baisse de 20% du nombre de visas accordés aux immigrants issues des pays autres qu’européens. C’est le gouvernement britannique qui a annoncé cette décision le mardi 23 novembre. Selon Bushan Deepchand, directeur de Lambeth Sollicitors et consultant en immigration en Angleterre, beaucoup de Mauriciens ont eu recours à des hommes de loi pour des démarches de renouvellement de visa en espérant pouvoir rester en Angleterre.
«Les lois deviennent de plus en plus sévères et les Mauriciens ont tendance à penser que l’herbe est plus verte ailleurs. Cependant il faut savoir qu’il est très difficile de vivre en Angleterre, surtout que maintenant les critères pour l’obtention et le renouvellement des visas ont été renforcées. Et, bien souvent, espérant accélérer les démarches, les Mauriciens ont recours à la justice mais les hommes de loi anglais n’arrivent pas à défendre leur cas», explique Bushan Deepchand.
Cependant, il faut comprendre que ces avocats ne font rien d’illégal. Pour certains, les immigrants qui ont recours à la loi constituent une aubaine pour les hommes de loi anglais.
«C’est une lutte perdue d’avance et les avocats le savent. Si votre visa expire sans que vous ayez déjà entamé les démarches de renouvellement, vous ne pouvez pas rester en Angleterre», affirme une source qui connaît bien la situation.
«Beaucoup de Mauriciens croient que l’Angleterre, c’est l’eldorado. Mais ce n’est pas vrai, la vie est très dure pour les immigrés. Des familles sont souvent déchirées parce qu’il faut que certains de leurs parents rentrent dans leur pays», soutient Bushan Deepchand.
D’ailleurs, son cabinet de consultant lance une campagne de recensement de tous les Mauriciens qui ont été déportés. L’avocat parle même de drame humain, puisque plusieurs immigrés ont eu des enfants en Angleterre mais qui, suite au problème de visas, ont été obligés de quitter le pays et de retourner à Maurice laissant derrière eux leurs proches et leurs biens.
«Nous ferons ce recensement pour alerter les autorités britanniques sur le drame humain que vivent les immigrés», lance Bushan Deepchand. Outre le recensement, le groupe d’avocats compte soumettre un rapport au gouvernement mauricien sur cette question.

The Seychelles Column - By Christopher Gill

Democracy Collapsing In Seychelles Today

It is now over Seventeen (17) years since the Seychelles moved from a one party dictatorship Communist junta regime run by France Albert Rene, to a multi party democracy, that ushered in a new era of hope and bought Rene more time to ply his corrupted ways.

In 1991-1992 the time the Western democracies which included United States, Britain , France, Italy, Germany all collectively placed Seychelles Communist Junta under pressure to make a transition to multi party democracy. All these countries sent high level delegations to Seychelles, to ensure the process was completed and they all helped to keep Rene’s hand to the fire, after the end of the Cold War.

The Commonwealth Observers Played A Critical Role

In the first elections, the Commonwealth Secretariat sent Observers to oversee these elections, and made numerous recommendations to establish a true democratic culture in the Seychelles.

The common Communist Junta response to these recommendations has been that it will take time to implement the recommendations, but they were welcome and that assured the Public and the Commonwealth, they would proceed with best efforts to implement democratic processes and most importantly, respect fundamental human rights and level the political playing field in Seychelles.

In effect, today we know, the Communist Junta was just buying time, and in the meantime, they have stifled Democracy in Seychelles. Today, Democracy is on the verge of collapsing.

Commonwealth Recommendations Totally Ignored

Of all the Commonwealth Observer recommendations in 1993, 1998, 2006, none if any have been put into practice.

Since 1991, we are in terms of democracy, with few exceptions, still in the One Party State Communist Junta Era. Human rights are still not respected, and the concept of equality before the law is still alien. I will elaborate on this later.

Seychelles and World Financial Crisis

As the World refocused on the financial crisis, and Seychelles itself became one of 12 states to default on sovereign bonds, and become the most indebted country in the world per capita in 2008, the focus of the Communist Junta, who had pulled the wool over the eyes of the international community for now 15 years, shifted from giving the impression that Seychelles was implementing democratic processes to literally surviving the bad economic policies of France Albert Rene’s successor James Alix Michel.

With that effort of survive borne out shear desperation, the true nature and intention of Rene and Michel in the early days of October 1991, now comes to light today, for the World to see today.

There was never any true good faith intention to move towards genuine democracy in Seychelles on part of the ruling Communist Junta.

It has all been a sham and a scam exercise on the international community and the People of Seychelles themselves. I highlight the main points below that reveal this. It is an indictment of evasion of democracy by the ruling Communist Junta for 17 years using the tools of violence, intimidation, fear factor.

1. Stringing Mancham Along For Over 17 Years

I have not always agreed with Former President Mancham or his policy of National Reconciliation from a position of weakness. But I know he and many other people have been strung along for 17 years needlessly on property acquisition settlement cases.

While the coup of June 1977 was perpetrated on a Nation, Mancham, since his return has been a financial prisoner of Rene and company, as he has had to endure long settlement negotiations on properties taken after the Coup. This has not strengthened Democracy in Seychelles, it has weakened it Democracy intentionally by the ruling Communist Junta.

2. Overpaying The Opposition

On the eve of Seychelles being declared a Bankrupted state by James Michel on October 30, 2008, in the previous year, Opposition MNA’s and Wavel Ramkalawan trekked up to State House and negotiated a 38% salary increase for MNA’s, LO, Leader of Government Business, Ministers, Vice President, and President. The salary increase, weakened the Opposition by feeding them to their hearts content on over inflated salaries for a part time job in the National Assembly. In the case of the Leader of Opposition and Leader of Government Business, they now earn an outrageous Rs. 1,800.00 per hour, for Five(5) hours work a week, sometimes less, or Rs. 36,000.00 per month. MNA’s earn Rs. 700.00 per hour, an outrageous sum when compared to the hourly wage scheme newly created wherein an average worker earns less then Rs. 20.00 per hour.

3. Pensioning Opposition

Another measure taken to weaken the democratic foundations of Seychelles, has been the erroneous pensioning of politicians. Some will be paid out Seventy percent (70%) of their monthly stipend for life. This has the effect as we have seen, of discouraging opposition from being alert, affective and responsive to the needs of the democracy. Opposition MNA’s have gone to sleep from a case of perpetual over feeding for life. They no longer have to perform.

4. Use and Threat of Force At La Misere

When the residents of La Misere took to the streets this year, to protest the water source contamination resulting from Sheik Khalifa Al Zayed Bin al Nayan’s castle at La Misere, the Minister of Home Affairs Mr. Joel Morgan, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Quarte, invoked the use of the Public Orders Act 1991, a One Party Communist Junta legislation, to threaten the protestors with use of violence and force, if they should continue to protest and assemble in a Public area, in groups of more then three (3) persons at a time.

Both Commissioner Quarte and Minister Morgan, used full air time on SBC the Nation’s Broadcasting apparatus, controlled by Mr. Antoine Onezime, the Communist Party Junta propagandist, to air their views on prime time news broadcast. SBC never question the veracity of implementing the provisions of a One Party State law versus the right of the protestors to peacefully assemble under the Constitution of the Third Republic. At that moment, SBC went to sleep and saw no evil, heard no evil, spoke no evil, questioned no evil. It is a travesty for democracy and Mr. Antoine Onezime has brought shame upon the entire crew of SBC for his inaction.

5. Burning Lydia Jumeau’s Car at La Misere

Immediately, after this broadcast was made to the Nation, the car of Madam Lydia Jumeau, a front lines protest organizer, at La Misere, was doused with fuel and torched in the darkness of the night, at her residence under a garage.

This incident, attest to the lack of commitment to true democratic process and ideals in the Seychelles, under the ruling Communist Junta till today, in 2010.

Again, the SBC under Mr. Antoine Onezime, did not see the correlation between the lead protest organizer being threatened and her little car being set ablaze. No news coverage, but for Regar, Weekly and a facebook You Tube film on the MSR page, which international reporters caught and followed up with subsequent articles.

6. Sheik Khalifa Al Zayed Bin Al Nayan

The Constitution of Seychelles provides that all persons are equal under the laws of Seychelles, Article 27 Equal Protection Clause. However, the ruling Communist Junta, has blatantly ignored this Constitutional Article, and has openly defended the special treatment of Sheik Khalifa Al Zayed Bin Al Nayan.

Because the special treatment is widespread, and unabated, without restriction, Sheik Khalifa has a free for all in Seychelles, to the point that he has openly interfered in the internal affairs of the Seychelles, to the extent, that his involvement will be determinative of the coming elections due to extensive largess and funds being donated to prop up a failed regime.

This includes:1. Buying 30 buses to prop up a collapsed bus system,2. Funding a scan centre at the hospital to prop up a collapsed health care system;3. $15 Million for a military base;4. $16 Million for two generators for a collapsed electricity grid system;5. BMW’s for transfer of VIP, to prop a failed Government; and other gifts like planes and boats, tickets to the Formula 1 Races with dinner for the President and over night flights.

In exchange, Sheik Khalifa has been granted free import duties on all goods he has brought into Seychelles, which we believe exceeds $300 Million in taxes.

These funds, if collected as they could have been, could settle much of Seychelles external debt and set a solid practice of equality before the law for all residents, citizens and visitors, hence strengthen our democracy. Instead, the Communist Junta, has done the direct opposite, and has weakened our democracy.

Our creditors are put on notice that these funds are available.

7. Eden Island Project

The Eden Island Project has violated the norms of Equal Protection in article 27. One can only ask who is really behind this project, when a Government baby sits an investor to the extent that laws, norms and policy, are broken to forsake the Tourism Industry and purchasers of Eden Island to the benefit of Eden Island Development Company and Eden Island Management Company.

Eden has recently been given permission to continue to operate its once illegal apartment pool as a hotel. Eden Management has the exclusive right to market these apartments as hotels and the owners will not be able to do so independently or in cooperation with each other.

The decision sidelines Eden’s original project memorandum and allows it to venture into a business it did not put the Public on Notice , that it would be entering.

If the Constitution of Seychelles is suppose to be the legal document that determines all rights in Seychelles, today, it has been sidelined as a symbolic document of little meaning with the recent decision of Eden Island.

This only weakens the respect for democratic practice in Seychelles and it will have a long term adverse impact on the economic stability of Seychelles, and Eden Island as an investment. The Promoters are hoping they can sell Phase Two fast. Hence the sale contracts will provide for tender of 75% payment for villas once the roof is up. Roofs may go up before the foundations have set.

8. Breaking Into Democratic Party Office

Between 2005-2010, the Seychelles Weekly, has earned a reputation of reporting on many controversial issues, and exposing many politicians of wrong doing.

This is healthy in any democracy, and should be encouraged even by the persons who become the subject of such articles. The strength of Freedom of Speech is not in the speaker or writer, but in the listener and subject of the Speech to exercise due tolerance and accept the critic if true and not defendable, defend it if false and defendable.

However, in that same period, there have been many break-ins into the Seychelles Weekly office, which is also the office of the Democratic Party. The break ins show the lack of tolerance by the ruling party of opposing critical views. It demonstrates that the ruling party, fundamentally does not believe in the right to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, protected under Article 22 of the Constitution. The Freedom document, our Constitution, is being taken to be a sham cover document, to only allow the Communist Junta to function with the credit of being democratic, but in practice, Democracy, does not exist in Seychelles today.

The irony of these incidents at the Weekly-DP office , is that the Seychelles Police, controlled by State House, itself, has not come up with one suspect for the break ins though fingerprints have been found. Yet, the Police has a budget of Rs. 125 Million per year to deal with crimes. But political crimes go unsolved habitually in Seychelles.

9. Burning of the Regar Printer

Sometime in 2005, during the heyday of the SNP aggressive and positive critic of the government of James Michel, the Express Printing (Regar) printer was set on fire after an office break in. The printer was down for a few months, and Freedom of Speech had been trampled upon again. Since that time, to participate in the process, Regar, has toned down, as not to offend the subject of its articles; a compromise that compromises democracy and destroys it at the same time. This political related crime, has gone unsolved, because the culprits are the ruling Communist Junta themselves.

10. Breaking of Ferrari’s Head and Ramkalawan’s Head by SSU

On October 3rd, 2006, not long after an election, the SSU openly attacked Jean Francois Ferrari, and Wavel Ramkalawan in the corridors of the National Assembly precincts. A crowd has gathered to protest the license fee of Rs. 800,000.00 and restriction of political parties from broadcasting. However, the PL through SBC and propagandist Antoine Onezime, broadcast liberally in the name of the Nation every night, a disparity in opportunity that demonstrates Seychelles is not even close to being a democracy. Ferrari and Ramkalaawan then toned down to continue to participate in the process. This weakened democracy and has helped it collapse. The culprits of this incident were actually promoted.SBC the state broadcasting company remained silent on the promotion.

11. Breaking into the MSR Office

Most recently, the MSR office was broken into and all hard copy documents taken along with manifestos and stickers. By coincidence, this incident took place only two days after Mr. Hendriks Gappy, the Registrar of Political Parites and Electoral Commissioner, refused to certify MSR as a political party in Seychelles, using provisions of a One Party State law, to circumvent a primordial provision of Article 22 the Right to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression and Right to receive and impart ideas protected fully under the Constitution of Seychelles.

If these provisions are not given full unfettered effect, there is no democracy in Seychelles. If a group of Citizens cannot participate in elections, then elections cannot be free or fair. Nor can the political playing field be levelled if players cannot even make it to the field to participate in due time. MSR filed registration documents Five (5) months ago. Fine finger prints were taken from this crime scene as well.

12. Threats of Violence and Intimidation Attempted Drug Fixes on Opponents to Attempt to Silence them into Submission

Throughout our multi party experiment with the Communist Junta government led by France Albert Rene, and now James Michel, an ex Colonel and both coup plotters, the road has been rocky and bumpy for anyone at any given time, that opposed the corruption of the Junta.

When opposition has been meek and weak, the Opposition has been allowed to co exist and share in cocktail party canapes.

When opposition has been steady and assertive, they have been attacked, threatened with violence, intimidation, drug plants, breaking of offices, stealing of documents, burning of printers ,burning of cars, and so forth.

When the Opposition works as it should, they are constrained with threats of violence, intimidation, counter violent attacks, to subdue them, and set their work back. The pattern involving the DP, SNP, now MSR is obvious and serves as an indictment of the Communist Junta’s intention to never allow Democracy to take a deep root in Seychelles.

These acts, because they have been systematic for 17 years, with a distinctive pattern, demonstrate that we are still in a one party communist junta dictatorship, with only the basic dressings of Democracy in place to please the west and investors that are fooled by the window dressing. With the window dressing up, projects like Eden Island can take investors money. With the dressing down, the investors will see the gamble of Eden for themselves.

People of Seychelles, the international journalists, international community, I call on you all who believe in the promises of Democracy, to place light on the situation of the Republic of Seychelles.

Today, in our country, the ruling Communist Junta is making a mockery of Democracy and they are making a mockery of civil conduct in the affairs of men.

Though we are a small country, every person deprived of the right to persuit of life, liberty, happiness, and denied the right to be equal before all men, must live a life of fear and intimidation, sometime violence, is a life lived in vain. This Truth is self evident.

Next week, I will write part II of Democracy Collapsing in Seychelles Today and focus on the crumbling structures.


SESEL POU SESELWA!

MAY GOD BLESS ALL FREEDOM LOVING SEYCHELLOIS!