ABU DHABI FUNDED SEYCHELLES COASTGUARD BASE
A storm in a tea-cup?
We reproduce herewith an article that appeared in the opposition newspaper 'Regar' last weekend. This has prompted the Minister of Home Affairs, Joel Morgan to go on the offensive, taking the newspaper to task, claiming breach of national security, compromising the sovereignty of Seychelles and instigating criminal inquiry against the newspaper.
It is interesting to note that the minister (who is the chief spokesman of the government and has already filed several lawsuits against the same newspaper that exposed some of his wheeler-dealer transactions) is claiming breach of state security concerning the military base plans done by UAE and not the government of Seychelles. Additionally plans were not marked "Secret" and nor does the base exist. In a previous story on SBC (local broadcasting station) Lt. Col. Laurencine was telling the whole country what the base would look like, with shots of the area where the base would be located. So the matter was already in public domain, hence far from being a secret!
It is common knowledge that the base (a 'gift' to the tune of US$ 15 million) is first and foremost for the personal protection of Khalifa who has several homes including two palaces at Barbarons and the recent one being built at La Misere, a plot of land that was gifted to him for 1 (one) Seychelles rupee. A huge tract of land in the south of Mahe is being developed as a 'super marina' to harbor the mighty man's yachts and sea toys and he requires full protection by his own navy who will no doubt be the prime users of the base - which has it's own mosque to cater for the UAE contingent.
We are of he opinion that this storm in a tea cup is just another shenanigan by the minister in his futile attempt to muzzle the opposition on a controversial issue that is hitting a raw nerve with the majority of the population - a few months away from the next general election. There is a serious wave of anti-Khalifa sentiment in the country as the present government loses its way by gifting prime real estate to the Sheik in a desperate effort to bail themselves out of an economic hole.
The Right to Free Speech and Right to Information cannot be curtailed as the government faces a public backlash and has all its wheeling & dealing exposed!
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33 comments:
Thanks for the comment. I note that for once, you guys on STAR have not done your favourite thing which is bashing the SNP. What a relief! Have you finally realised that you, the SNP, Volcere and everyone in the opposition are actually in the same boat trying to steer Seychelles to better and more prosperous ways?
Be brave guys. Acknowledge that the SNP is doing a good job and praise them when necessary ... like today. You actually sound embarassed to be reporting a good thing done by the Regar and the SNP. When it's bad, you are the first to scream that the SNP MNAs earn fat salaries; now that they have shown you that they are worthy of every rupee they earn, you must be brave enough to recognise their value.
Do it! It will not make you a lesser man, Christopher.
It is the pressure of MRS that is making SNP change course.If MRS did not exist SNP would have continued on the same track.It is a good step forward butit is not enough.Now that PP wants to sue Regar maybe Regar should take this opportunity to sue PP also for gifting Khalifa our land and of course it would be an opportunity to ask PP where is our billion.Morgan said Interpol might be call in,that is a good idea. Once it is here Interpol can also check in the illegal arms deal pp made with Rwanda which resulted into a genocide.
Jeanne D'Arc
Well SNP man-
I have this comment to your comment.
SNP is not a target if it works. It becomes a target when it sleeps.
SNP is not my favorite target, but we need to call an Ace an Ace, a Spade a Spade.
I will defend anyone's right to Free Speech to my death, hence defending SNP in this fiasco vs. PP on the virtual military base issue that does not exist.
I defended DP VS. SNP when you refuse to publish Weekly.
Now, after getting some public sympathy for your woes with the PP, SNP, you have an obligation to unite the Opposition. All its parts, in a sincere manner, if you want to be taken seriously today.
Secondly, you have an obligation to come clean on the 56.75% salary increase you gave yourself with PP in conspiracy and the 70% pension issue.
Thirdly, you need to make public and take action concerning Bernard Georges being the Notary on Scr. 1.00 land sales to Khalifa, the man who is having funded the base, at issue.
PP is the target, SNP, unless, you muddle about with them.
Christopher Gill
Unite the Opposition? Certainly. But surely you, Twistofer, do not expect to be part of the process. How can it be otherwise? You were in the opposition and you publicly spat in the face of your uncle James Mancham, your DP colleagues and all the people of Bel Ombre who had voted for you.
Just give me one good reason why you should now be trusted. Even the SPPF don't trust you. When you tried to snuggle up to them after your "cross the floor saga", they refused to take you on board. They have many more years of experience than me in politics and I am sure that they can smell a rat when there is one around. On that fateful day when you buried your political career, it was you the rat of the day ... and you have not changed a bit since then.
Go dig a hole somewhere and disappear Twistofer!!!
.. and a very big rat he was!
Uniting the Opposition is a serious matter and required if we expect ourselves to remove PP from power.
Now, you may be more preoccupied with my problems with Mancham then Mancham himself, or myself.
This only shows you live in the past, and have no agenda for the future.
That only translate to an opposition of deception with an objective of just filling pockets.
Seychelles does not need that. Change your ways, and change your approach.
A little honesty would be a good start, if you are capable of that.
My hands are clean. Can you say that about Bernard Georges, Ramkalawan, Ferrari, and the lot who have done nothing but fill their pockets, over the plight of the People of Seychelles for the last 10 years?
I grant that the begining you put up a good fight while Mancham went to sleep, but what have you done lately?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's?
Losers lose because they lose focus!
Get focused SNP twisto!
Christopher Gill
Big rat-
I do not compromise when it concerns the people's money. So the term applies to you, not to me.
C Gill
I can't see how the government can prosecute Regar for revealing "official secrets'. Presumably Regar, not being a government employee, has not signed the official secrets act. Is everything that the government does and does not want to announce on SBC a state secret and cannot be talked about by anyone ? They are making a fool of themselves.
They are miffed that their little dirty secret and the latest in a long line of grubby deals with the Sheikh has been laid bare for all to see.
It is now public knowledge that there are some 100 pick up trucks contracted to work for Khalifa at La Misere. These poor pick up owners have not been paid a dime for the past 3 months and are still waiting for their money from Abu Dhabi. Can James Michel please ask his best friend Khalifa to pay these poor drivers their dues on time. They have obligations to meet, they have families to feed, some have bank loans to service !
James Michel, Please Help !
Sheik Khalifa, pay the 100 truck drivers you owe them money for your work.
In the future, be sure they are paid on time.
Do not overstep on our cultural social values.
If you cannot pay, offer an apology for the late payments for what ever reason, then pay what you can.
Stop using Seychelles and stop using Seychellois!
This is not an (oficial) secret because anything secret can't be offical then it is public.,This has to do with giving away a nation sovereignty and allowing a foreign country to establish an illegal state within a sovereign state.it is a criminal act. Pp wanted to hide its last crtiminal act from us because it knows this would fueled arger among the population after the all it previous wicked deeds.It is time to screw the ass of pp and bring them for justice.
Jeanne D'Arc
The State can prosecute anyone for any act under the sun. That is the way it is in Seychelles and probably elsewhere in the world. We have so many criminal laws that i bet that there is one which covers the REGAR situation. Only the courts (the same one Judges which the SNP cheers for often) will decide on that.
But over the years i have learnt that REGAR quite often publishes information without giving much thought to the consequences.They have gotten 'beze' for much less than that....Lousteau Lalanne although decision reversed on appeal but as a political party one cannot hedge its existence on the judiciary especially in Seychelles. I do not believe that SPPF will prosecute REGAR, to do so would be in favour of SNP, but they will probably harass them over time with this! In the eyes of the public (especially since after the limited success of the Coast Guards) touching the army is sacrilege especially if it is perceived as putting the lives of the army personel at risk.
In all i would say REGAR got it wrong but may gain some capital depending on what SPPF does. Dragging them to court may just be in favour of SNP.
Vox
Gragging SNP in the court to do what?The dealpp with Khalifa whether selling our land illegal or llowing a foreign force to biuld a permanent base in our sovereign country is illegal becuase it was not approved by the parliament .It is just a decission taken by a handful of crooks without the consent of the people.it fact PP should be facing the court not SNP,snp has just done the duty inform the people of Michel wicked act of treason.
Jeanne D'Arc
I can't see in which way how revealing the "secret" about hte base is a matter of national security in any way whatsoever.
The fact itself that we need a navy base to protect our waters is an embarassment for Seychelles as in any island nation with respect for itself, a navy base should be a thing we all take for granted. Alas this is not the case as our previous prezident, yes the useless Viagra chewing twat that has fucked off to Australia, put all the state's money on the army to protect him and not the nation.
The worst embarassment of all is that the Zil Perseverance was supposed to be for housing as far as I remember, not for a navby base or a bleeding mosque, especially one just minutes away from the one that is already persecuting Victoria 5 times a day with its wailing 'alla-alla-annou-al-pwenti-boyo-ansam'. I wonder what JAM has to say to that?
Patrick X
We need to modernize our forcw.But let us check the reality of things.In most cases Somalis pirates enter into our waters in the Aldabra zone and then sail downward .Should it makes more sense to biuld a permanent base in the region e.g on Assumption island -an isalnd situatted betwEen AlDABRA AND ILE AUX VAUCHE in order that our coast guard can react to the threat such more rapidly.? Or is it becuase Gleeny savy refuse to give the isalnd for a base?
Jeanne D'Arc
Regar was right to publish and take the flak afterwards. We need a few political martyrs to galvanise the opposition. Who better than Ramkalawan, Ferrari or Mancienne ? What's a few months or years in jail ? Mandela spent 27 years in jail and, as they say, the rest is history.
wE all praise Regar for this first ever move in the right direction,something MSR has been calling on him to do for a while now.I just hope it is the begining of a process for change and that RAM unite its party with DP and other movement for change in order that we finish with one of the last communist country left in this world.
Jeanne D'Arc
Reply to third post.
It seems you are very concern about MSR , its members and leader.It can't just be because you had a nightmare ,it must be more than that.Probably you one of those PP's mosquito who has been sucking this nation blood for the last past decades and thought you would be able to do so for internity.
Now that MSR has brought the light in the darkness you were living in ,you realize that PP has used,abused you and thus made you a culpit of thier crimes and that makes your flesh creep.
Don't be afraid,MSR believes in justice you will have all the rights you need to defence yourself,but one piece of advice start by telling the truth becuase this will spare you from treason.
Jeanne D'Arc.
As I said, Regar was write to publish and take the flak afterwards.
Photos of the armed secret police raiding newspaper offices are bad for the international image of any government that is trying to convince the world that its one-party dictatorship ways are behind it.
Parti Lepep just cannot abandon its gestapo psyche.
Khalifa has become such a divisive figure.
PP will never abandon its gestapo psyche like any other gestapos the wolrd had known,the only solution is for us to take into the streets and get rid of those gangsters.This was the case in the so called East block like countires such as Romania,Poland etc. PP amd Michel must experience the same faith.
Getting Michel and pp out must not only be mentioned but supported .,La Misere residents have already paved the way.
Jeanne D'Arc
Khalifa is suffering the curse of Parti Lepep. Anyone who gets close to them soon comes to grief. He will find his immense wealth useless in such a predicament.
Now even the former Irish Prime Minister Fitzgerald, one-time consultant to Parti Lepep government and after a bob or two from that government, has had his international image tarnished by the Irish arms running saga being debated in the Irish parliament.
Parti Lepep not only searched Regar's offices when Joel Morgan went into a pique following disclosure about land transactions between him, his wife and the state, they also locked up the editor of Weekly for good measure.
They don't do things by halves, as they lapse into one-party state mentality.
Newspapers friendly to the Parti Lepep government receive no such unwelcome attention. They must be feeling left out.
It says a lot for the men in the Catholic Church leadership when they cannot distinguish a mosque from a chapel.
It says a lot for the men in the Parti Lepep leadership when they are prepared to exploit the threats posed by Somali pirates as a cover-up for their grubby secretive deals with Arab Sheikhs.
As they all seemed to have been brain-washed by Khalifa's petro-dollars,what is left is for us to take to the streets as La Misere residents have been doing and once and for all finish with this communists.
Jeanne D'Arc
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