Flashback: The Rwandan Genocide and The Seychelles Connection

On Saturday, 23 November, 1996, the Chief Reporter of The Independent, Steve Boggan, stumbled upon an issue concerning the Rwanda Genocide, that missed the culpability of numerous members of the Seychelles Government.


Had Mr. Boggan gotten a few facts correct, the International Courts of Justice, would have sent investigators to Seychelles before the dawn of the Millennium. Mr. Boggan came very close indeed but missed the mark, just a little.

80 Tons of Weapons in Seychelles

In the first paragraph of the article, he says,” For once, it appeared a UN arms embargo had worked. A Ship, the Malo, carrying 80 tons of weapons bound for troubled Somalia, had been seized by the Government of the Seychelles”.

The error of fact, in this article is this: The “Malo” was not seized by the Government of Seychelles per se.
The Maria or the Malo at the time, the Constitution of the Third Republic was being drafted. The Port Authority called in to James Michel who sat directly across me, his driver interrupted the proceedings, and gave him the news of a boat in distress. The Maria’s engine had broken down and the boat was adrift. The Harbour Master later confirmed that the name of the boat was the “Maria”. This was highlighted when the SBC film crew filmed the ship coming into port. The name “Maria” had been painted over quickly with undercoat, and “Malo” name next to it.
The duplicity of names was visible to the eye of even the television viewers. This issue was never explained by either James Michel or Albert Rene, and it was the beginning of a cover up that would end up in massacre of over One Million (1,000,000,000) Tutsi’s in Rwanda in April and May of 1994, one year after the Constitutional Commission convened the second time to draft a new constitution for Seychelles.


No Seizure on High Seas of Malo Ever Took Place

There was no effort by the Government of Seychelles to seize a ship with arms. Once the broken engine ship was brought to Port Victoria, the ship was bordered and inspected by Port officials. With the first crate being opened, the Customs officials called in the Army.


Then the 80 tons of arms was discovered and seized by the Government of Seychelles. Booty worth its weight in gold.

Mr. Boggan says in his article, “It was 1993 and the UN had banned sales of weapons to Somalia as warring clansmen reduced the country to chaos. “In impounding this ship, “James Michel, the Seychelles Defence Minister, said, “We did the international community a service.” Mr. Michel obviously was covering up the accident of stumbling upon the ship called the Maria then called the Malo. He neglected to say that the Port Authority of Seychelles simply were responding to a distress call and stumbled upon the 80 ton cargo of arms.

At the time, the arms consignment upon being seized by Government of Seychelles, was off loaded from the ship, and made its way to bunkers at Grand Police Bay Army base for storage. Under James Michel command as Minister of Defence, Seychelles Government had taken full uncontested control of all the Malo ship 80 tons of weapons.
As the death toll in Somalia had been mounted, Mr. Michel claimed that a great service had been done to the People of Somalia, in Mr. Boggan’s article.

Within the year, according to Mr Boggan and two (2) months according to me, the weapons had been targeted by unscrupulous operatives of a new arms procurement network....set up to devise ways of circumventing another embargo of sale of arms to Rwanda.”(Boggan Article).

The deception of calling the ship the “Malo”, allowed everyone, including the Government of Seychelles leadership, to infer that the arms were destined for Somalia. The question that the International Courts of Justice Committee on Rwanda Genocide need to answer, is what did the Manifest for the “Maria” list as its final destination? With that question answered, we will know if the new suitors for these arms were indeed new suitors, unbeknown to Mr. James Michel and Mr. Albert Rene, or were the suitors, just calling in to collect their goods, after a short delay and payment of handling fees.

Mr. Boggan writes inferring that Mr. Michel was too stupid to realize that the suitors for the 80 tons of weapons were indeed innocent purchasers. A brilliant publicity stunt by the reporter, if Mr. Michel was paying for the article he could not ask for a better escape valve.

I quote:”Mr. Michel and his colleagues did not know it, but they were about to fall victim to Colonel Theoneste Bagosora. Colonel Bagosora , a former Rwanda government defence official, had become the master arms buyer for the Rwandan government in exile as it regrouped for what, had it happened, would surely, have been one of the bloodiest wars in African history. The planned returned to Rwanda was codenamed Operation Insecticide by Hutu militias.”

Now Mr. Boggan wants us to believe that James Michel controlled 80 tons of arms and he did not know who he was selling it to? Now that is incredible. Even Bollywood could not think of that one.
UN Unpublished Report on Arms Sale to Rwanda.

According to the UN unpublished report on the Arms sale to Rwanda, the Malo arms were sold using Zaire government End User Certificates (EUC’s).

Mr. Michel exercised no due diligence to verify that the end user certificates were valid. They usually are not. But he just accepted what was shown to him. No phone calls, no faxes, no investigation conducted by not even a lawyer in Zaire. No call to the government of Zaire. Check the Cable and Wireless records.

South African Apartheid Government Contact Makes Deal with Michel
 
The person that approached the Government of Seychelles in June 1994, to buy the 80 tons of weapons was a man named Wilhelm Terius Ehlers, known as Ters Ehlers, a former senior official in the apartheid government- and Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, a senior official of the Rwandan Ministry of Defence of the Hutu government in exile, in Zaire. These two men arrived in Seychelles to negotiate the purchase of the arms. It has been said, but not confirmed, that Glenny Savy did some of the negotiations on behalf of Mr. Michel and Mr. Rene.

When interviewed in Goma in February 1995 by the Human Rights Watch researcher, Colonel Bagosora said he had met with South African officials at the end of May (likely Teruis Ehlers) and June 1994 to arrange weapons shipments to the former Rwandan military. The officials (presumably Terius Ehlers) has refused to consider direct South African arms shipment but had offered to help to arrange shipments by other parties (presumably the 1994 Seychelles Government, headed by Rene and Michel).
James Michel and Albert Rene

The Shipment to Rwanda through Goma

The UN unpublished report says, on the nights of 16-17 and 18-19 June 1994, two planes of Air Zaire flew the weapons from the Seychelles government –controlled stockpile, to Goma airport. The weapons were then transferred to the ex FAR military forces in Gisenyi just across the border inside Rwanda.
The weapons included, anti tank and fragmentation grenades and high calibre ammunition. According to Human Rights Watch, an Air Zaire DC-8 aircraft with the call sign 9Q-CLV had transported the arms from the Seychelles to the Zairian town of Goma in two separate flights.


UN International Commission of Inquiry (March 1996)

The Commission found that a “highly probable” violation of arms embargo had taken place in June 1994 involving more than 80 tons of weapons purchased in Seychelles by Colonel Bagosoro ( Rwanda citizen), former high ranking officer of the former Rwanda-ese government forces.

The UN International Commission of Inquiry, now needs to ask whether Mr. Rene’s Government and Mr. Michel should have known that Colonel Bagosoro entering Seychelles with a Rwanda passport, would be legitimate grounds to question the authenticity of the Zaire sealed end user certificate?

A little hint to the UN International Commission of Inquiry on Rwanda Genocide: Colonel Bagosoro went through the VIP Lounge, at night under the cover of darkness. His entry into Seychelles, as a businessman will not be found at the Department of Immigration, nor will Mr. Teruis Elhers entry be found.

Finally, you can check with the ANC Government of South Africa, and you will confirm that Government of Seychelles, in 1994, made no attempt to clear Terius Elhers as a credible businessman in the purchase and sale of arms, carrying a South African passport.

The Statute of Limitations (SOL) on “Genocide” never ceases to run, especially for 1,000,000,000  people.
We Seychelles Freedom Party condemn acts whether direct or indirect that aid and abet genocide anywhere in the World. We call on the UN International Commission on Inquiry to get to work on the Rwanda Genocide and bring to justice all those that aided and abetted in the realization of Genocide in Rwanda in 1994.

The time ticks, but it does not run out

One little detail UN Commission of Inquiry, if anything happens to me, you know who did it and prosecute that as well.

Christopher Gill,
Leader Seychelles Freedom Party.
E mail sezfree4u@yahoo.com

Comments

  1. The question is can the on going reconcicliation by completed without all actors invovle including PP participators ,coming froward and ask for forgiveness?I am also surprise that the governemnt of RWNADA one one land welcome Herminie but on the other hand Banned France Ambassador from attending event(The alter is understandable for France did not stop the genocide)But difficult to understand how those who provided the arms to committ the genocide Like PP representative Herminie was welcomed with open arms as if he was the survivor.

    The Rwanda genicde was the emblematic failures of the Interantionl community.Compensate UN failures back then to avoid the genocide(which is not the first the Un fialed remeber Sebreniska ,Sri lanak,Cambodia,on going genocide in Syria etc..)UN should ensure that all culprits invovled both directly and indirectly be deal with and force them to take their responsiblity.

    UN must also ensure that Seychelles does not come both UN and Obama Rwanda--and for that Un,USA should help Seychellois who are potential vicitms and face a potential risk of expereincing a genocide like that of RWNADA.UN would only prevent the killing field of the future only by heeding the lesson of past trageties.

    Jeanne D'Arc



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  2. The main purpose for the United Nations (U.N.) is to resolve issues between countries through diplomacy before countries resort to military force and before conflicts escalate. Unfortunately, the U.N. has consistently failed this goal and will continue being useless. Direct military actions, back room negotiations, and threats, that were not sponsored by the United Nations, have had the only real positive affects for change.

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  3. The reality is this, countries like the USA, Russia, India, China and the European Union are protecting their interests, there is nothing in it for them. They are using the "Arab colony of Seychelles" to fight piracy, hence protecting their trade routes. Make no mistake my friends, they do not give a damn about how free the "Arab colony of Seychelles" is. We are on our own on this one, it is up to us to keep fighting.

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  4. The United States of America is the self appointed police of the world. However the United States only gets involved in affairs that affect them either financially or are perceived as a threat.

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  5. United Nations only purpose to as a place for ambassadors to debate and try to resolve their country’s issues through diplomacy. Therefore, the United Nations is almost completely ineffective and useless at preventing and stopping atrocities without a slow and deliberating consensus of several members in the United Nations who almost never agree on anything.

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  6. The UN: Now imagine for a moment that if each time you call the police for an emergency, politicians would vote to decide months later if police officers should be sent to investigate or task action. This is preposterous, since the police need the freedom to act immediately whenever and wherever they are needed. As a result of the bureaucracy of the United Nations, the genocide of Dafur and other atrocities are knowingly happening throughout the world, yet no one is taking action.

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  7. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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  8. While RWAnda has taken the steps to reconcile its people,a SLOW GENOCIDE has been unfolding in Seychelles,one driven by greed rather than hatred.US;UN;EU,AU should act.The star actors of genocide and crimes gainst Humanity in RWANDA ,most are already facing justice,and to ensure that history do not repeat itself,it just to ensure that all perpetrators including FAR/MICHEL who played a big role in inciting the genocide by namely consiciously providing the arms to HUTUS to butchered TUSI.Without the arms provided by FAR/MICHEL the genocide would have probably not taken palce or at least it would not have been to the extedns that we know.Having AK-ç/ and BAZOUKAS supplied by PP,HUTUS were able while hours to literally eleiminated the whole TUSI tribe,which should PP do not supplied the amrs ,it would have been impossible for the HUTUS culprits to butchered so many innocent persons with their traditional files and bows .Since,the arms provided to HUTUS by thugtators FAR/MCIHEL ,those two marons should also face jsutice like all the other culprits and that before they could reach the stage of committing the same astrocity on their own people.

    Jeanne D'Arc

    Jeanne D?Arc

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  9. There is no justice servbe or deliver in Seychelles under PP thugtators.Crimes and punishment,in an orderly society,one follows the other.It is foolhardy to beleive that a country rule to fear and terror can ever sustain its internal contradictions.

    In order to act towards the sprit of brotherhood one must have a BOND which can tie everybody into a fold---PP does not ahs that than division to offer..It seems PP thugees feel no bond with other Seychellois.

    Jeanne D'arc

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  10. You saw the REMEMBER MR PIALLYA MEMORIAL ON SBC:Apart from MERITON,there was a forest of INDAIN,who just came to our shores ,who know little about MR PILLAy ,making great glorifying statememnts ,as if they grew with Mr Pillay,went to school with him,and present themsleves as real Seychellois and a good firend of Mr Pillay.And the strage thing is,Mr Pillay memorial was conducted in a conference room not in the chruch he used to go.

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  11. Drug and drug money confsicated by governemnt or its agencies should belong to the state.In oganized society,Durg and drug money is retained for(5-7 years depedning on country)in evidence for potential appeals,or longer,depending on the wishes of presecution.Each juridiction has there own set of rules,regulations and laws,but general the drug and money would be disposed of(by at least two witnesses)or they will be kept.(drugs could be use for training or future investigation operations).Money goes back to the parent governemnt not the agency which confiscate the drug and money and is used to imporve securtiy and services of country's services.etc..etc..etc....But if the confiscated money is then proven not to be becomng from drug trafficking then money should be return to owner.In Seychelles all is done in secrecy.


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  12. Some words of Ageing popualtion.
    Part One.

    What are the consequences?The notion of an ageing population is normally framed in terms of added Pension and healthcare,for they have the main reprecursion of National revenues.But it has other consequences such as property,housing,employment etc...
    PENSION IMPACTS:Ageing affect pension is two main ways:Benefit will be more numerous and they will claim benefits over a long period of time.One challenge will be to guarentee adequate income for old people without creating an unbearable burden for the younger groups.In thoer words,decline in the ratio of workers to pensioners will cause burden on those who are still working.This would create disincentives to work and disincentives(e.g capital)for futre investment thus could be a fall in productivity.2)Life expectancy is continually increasing while retirememnt age is staying the same.Thus,number of years spent in retirememnt is increasing,3)Higher wages income affects longevity ,but not age of retirement,thus higher income is associated with a greater number of years spent in retirement.


    HEALTHCARE IMPACTS:In reality,birth and death account for the majority of indiviudal lifespan healthcare costs.Althoughmthere is a link between ageing and healthcare,those costs rise more in the over-65s mainly becuase more people die in this age bracket.

    The real issue related to ageing is a decline in the population workforce,driven by falling fertility rates and increase in longevity.The impact goes far beyond healthcare.Without increase in birthrates this will slow the economic growth and drive up transfers to the elderly with taxes and social insurance contributions.

    NOTE BENE__PP politicians want to off set low fertility through Immigrantions/EXPATS/GOPS.It is a time bomb and bad hope,for its cpnseqwuences are more constraining than healthcare,Pension cost etc...on society.

    Jeanne D'Arc
    continues below

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  13. I urge all readers to pass this article on to your friends, and foe. Expose PL for what they are.
    The time to say NO to PL is now.
    Help expose them to the international community for what they are.
    The work of SFP is making progress everyday.
    Help us make the difference we must make in the lives of our children tomorrow.
    We can make our world a better place for them.
    Seselwa Unite For Sesel Pou Seselwa!

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  14. Part two,

    It put down and pressure on borrowing and public sector net debt as expats are more likely to be of working age than the population in genral.As a stock theory,replacing ageing population with EXPATS/Immigrants seems to make a bit of superficial sense.It creates a tempory fiancial WINDFALLS----but it iwll be a long-term problem,becuase increased life expectancy is a continuing process.(EXPATS get old too).More importantly.Sub-replacement fertility at such low levels will lead to substantial population decline which cannot be compensated by IMMgrants/expats.There is a fundamental dynamic of fertility that realtes to the long-term viability of a society,an economy and a culture.(FERTILITY levels are not susutainable).It is time to face the fundamental probelms and seriuosly explore possibilities foe encouraging people to have children.

    SOLUTIONS:(MUSt maybe be a multi-pillar solution)

    -Modernization of PEnsion and healthcare systems---To lessser the current high dependence of the income of public budgets n the sale of tangible good where sales will fall,tax burden should move un te same direction(that reduces taxes,or reduction of tax itself).
    -Extends retiememnt age--This contributing to assist productivity and contribute to tax revenues;reduce debt levels and interest payment,is intended to create SAPCE for futute age-ralated public spending:Wages have to be sufficently flexible to adjust to porductivity:The first and second pillars are hybrid.The fisrt pillar is demographic while te second pillar is mainly economic.
    In a nutshell for a second performance of the first pillar,every year income should be higher than spending.Concerning the former,too little income(basses for contribution)might br a problem,and we realize that the ability to make babies,who become active citizens and welcome the fiancing of the second pillar,requires the employers/employees contribute as wellas on the potential of assets to yield returns.

    Jeanne D'Arc
    Aprt toe
    continues below
    -

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  15. Part three

    IDEAS FOR NEW PENSION/HEALTHCARE SCHEME
    -A Universal state Pension schemem which supply depends on two factors:The average salary of the insured and second the number of years during contribution.OR CANCEL CSR and tax on interst(maybe others too)and reaplce it by a more effective system,namely similar to the swiss known as(13 monthly SALARY)What is it ,how it works?A 13 monthly salry is an annaul salary divided by13,with 2 lumps paid in DECEMBER. Example:a person earns a monthly salry of CHF 4000 monthly(double 8000)-----withdrawing tax for JUNUARY and NOVEMBER is---calculated for CHF 40000------CHF 188 per month.This would be a simplified form of paying tax,and since it is paid on DECMEBER,it reduce paer work costs.The different of CHF 4000 is then paid into the sucerity social contrribution,IN Seychelles this could be halfed --half for healthcare and half for PENSION constribution.

    -Option 2---Public PENSION--basic pension financed by genral tax revenues and consisting of three elelemnts:LAbour,capital and spouse income.

    Option 3:A PENSION level based of FAL_RATE basic PEnsion and earning-ralated supplmentary that covers all employmed and self-employed persons.

    Option 4:Group Insurance Contracts can be a dominant financian vehicle for occupational plan.

    Option 5:governemnt contributes a ercentage of National revenues into a speical account thus creating fund for long-term care and needs(390-50 years time plus).

    In the closing,the challenge of the future is to address the work-retired ratio,via rising retirememnt age,employment policy,and immigrantion/EXPATS/GOP policy.The challenge is to ensure that our citizens can grow old in dignity and that they can continue to participate in the socio-economic life as citizens with full rights.At the same time,their rights should not be incompatible with those of thoer groups,and reciprocal ralations should be encourage.

    Jeanne D?Arc

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  16. There is other steps that Pp can take to generate money to cover Pension and healthcare ,without sucking the private sectors with all kindsof taxes .
    for instance.

    While the 13 monthly salary could be effectively aplies to employees earning the National average wage,all those earning a a higher salary such as ministers,Members of Assembly etc... could be ask to make indiviudal contribution that is a direct contribution from their monthly income-

    -Foreigner employees resident in Seychelles and whose gross salary does not exceed lets say--sr 250,000,but who has additional sources of income or assets,should be oblige to file a tax return.But that only on extra income.

    _Domiciliary Companies=which is a company,cooperative,or foundation with only administrative activities in Seychelles(e.g headquarters of multinationals).

    -Exapts whose contract exceed 5 years could be made to contribute on gross income.

    - Foreign Residents or temporary residents, perfroming gainful activities in Seychelles,should be subjected to tax liability.etc...etc...etc..etc

    -

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