SEYCHELLES REALITY

 Some principles are bigger than politics. Human dignity, freedom, equality and fundamental rights are not a bargaining chip. They are the foundations of a decent society. There are certain things in life that should never be compromised. A government that supports a genocidal regime is as criminal as the regime itself. An administration that prostitutes itself with a regime that murders thousands of civilian, women and children included a regime that engages in displacement of an entire population in order to steal their land is as criminal as the regime itself. No excuses can wash the blood from their hands.  Seychelles delegates remained seated when Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly. They were amongst the few countries that did not walk out. The excuse of staying neutral does not apply when there is blatant human rights violations, abuse and genocide.  However today we have learned that the government of Mauritius have refused landing rights to an...

People who publicly identify themselves with someone who spends his time on social media trolling, intimidating and promoting violence should seriously reflect on the message they are sending. Allegations that such individuals are rewarded and even welcomed into the company of the President of Seychelles are deeply concerning. Encouraging this kind of behaviour does nothing to benefit society. On the contrary, it fuels division, hostility and disrespect, dragging public discourse and the country reputation to an increasingly low level. Seychelles deservers better than the deliberate creation of division among its people The President clearly shows little respect for the dignity of his office. His behaviour and the company he chooses to keep project an attitude that is crude and unbecoming of a head of state. A President should unite and elevate the country, not contribute to division or lower the standards of public discourse. Seychelles deserves leadership that respects both the offic...

  Wavel Ramkalawan’s recent visit to the United States for President Biden’s US-Africa Leaders Summit last week left people with more questions than answers. Although ostensibly joining other leaders from across the African continent for a summit meant to focus on civil society, business, diaspora and youth leadership, one could not help but wonder whether or not the administration had other hopes for the visit. Seychelles, as is the case with quite a few other African nations, has been falling victim to Russian influence. The ongoing war in Ukraine has seen the Russian Federation increasingly isolated globally and looking for allies across the world susceptible to their narrative. Seychelles, under the leadership of Ramkalawan, is a particularly ripe potential ally, considering the central role that Seychelles has played and continues to play in providing offshore accounts to circumvent tax or sanctions, laundering money and facilitating extensive illicit activities. Ramkalawan ha...

  The story which one would have anticipated to be making waves recently in Seychelles is the surprising banning of the Seychelles Independent News (SIN) from presidential press conferences by   Wavel Ramkalawan . Claiming, quite strangely, that the country was “moving towards a more serious media”, the President took the decision to ban the publication from press conferences on the basis of the claim that they were publishing defamatory material about his administration. The move was strongly criticised by the Association of Media Practitioners Seychelles (AMPS), who condemned the President’s “ostracising” of the Seychelles Independent and sought to engage with the Statehouse on the issue to no avail. Strangely, despite the above-mentioned reasons given for the paper’s banning from presidential press conferences, the issue had never been raised with AMPS, whose responsibilities including addressing such issues among their media house members. Similarly, AMPS denied having any...

  President Ramkalawan, has for quite some time now, been overplaying the nature of the Seychelles relationship with the European Union. During a February visit to the Embassy of Seychelles in Brussels and in a meeting with European Union officials as well as EU ambassador to Seychelles, Vincent Degert, Ramkalawan made sure to, “on behalf of the government and the people of Seychelles express our appreciation for the strong partnership that exist between Seychelles and the EU”. The President similarly attempted to leverage this relationship during his recent address to the nation, where he made sure to emphasize cooperation between the European Union and Seychelles, conveniently ignoring criticism recently levied against his government’s activities in the human rights field. Of course recent developments in Seychelles have been followed closely by European Union officials, as well as international human rights organizations. All have expressed their concerns over the direction in w...

  The right of a defendant to legal representation is one of the most basic aspects of international justice. No matter how horrific the crime, every person accused of committing a crime is entitled to having their case heard with the help of an attorney in a court of law. This seems to be true everywhere but in Seychelles, where the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACCS), under the leadership of May De Silva, has been denying the Valabhji couple, defendants in the case sinisterly named “Operation Black Iron” their right to legal representation. Of course, the ACCS, and the foreign lawyers which they have employed throughout the course of the trial, such as barristers Michael Skelley & Ed Vickers of London’s Red Lion Chambers, are far too proficient in the technical aspects of the law to directly deny defendants legal representation. Especially in a trial that has been so heavily covered in the international press. Rather they have come up with an intelligent way of doing so while m...