SEYCHELLES REALITY

Those who may find comfort in knowing our presidential election process due in just a few days will include international observers should be aware that the SADC Electoral Observation Mission is the same body that has gone on record saying Robert Mugabe’s presidential mandate bestowed by voters in Zimbabwe was achieved through credible elections allowing the result to stand, no matter that fairness was observably lacking. “On the question of fairness, it’s very difficult to say everything was fair,” SADC election observer Bernard Membe said in the capital Harare as he summarised his report. SADC mission members are in Seychelles again now after observing the 2011 vote, still refusing to disclose what was found more than four years ago on the grounds that, “they do not want to affect the current election by divulging any of the findings from the previous election watch ... “, and promising to illuminate Seychellois AFTER this election concludes. It makes sense only in the context o...

Yes guys let’s blame John for all that goes wrong. Let’s shame him for our lacklustre PPBs. Let’s blame him when we lose. Let’s blame his absence for our poor performance. Let’s beat the shit out of him. Get real guys. John may not be here with us to vote but that will never ever diminish the value of what he did for democracy in the country. He probably singlehandedly did a lot more than the rest of us put together. – put his neck out , used, reused, packaged, repackaged and recycled by all, none of whom provided support and protection to him and his family, in spite of everyone knowing what difficulties he was going through and his needs and threats he had to face because of what he did for us. Taunt him and goad him as you please. John is irreplaceable. All the more reasons for him to remain safe at this juncture. Remember Micheal Arnephy, 2013 and Wavel Ramkalawan, 2006; after they had their skulls slip open; they have never recovered, probably never will. They are no...

Danny Faure and James Michel According to Vice President, Danny Faure in last night's PPB, the Government of Seychelles received a grant of $50m in 2002 from the Government of Abu Dhabi. This was paid to SMB which then used this to pay for commodities. This confirms exactly what we in Lalyans stated earlier but denied by JP Adam to the national assembly a few weeks ago. Government accounts in 2002 shows no receipt of any kind from Abu Dhabi. If what VP Faure says is correct, how come this $50m gift was never presented in 2002 to the national assembly as part of the budget by the supposedly hard working JAM who was Minister of Finance then and never declared in Government books ever never mind to the public at large who were suffering from severe FX shortages.  Now that VP Faure admits it happened, how come in SMB’s accounts of 2002 or any subsequent account of SMB, there is no mention of the $50m grant from the Government either! This scandal now takes a ne...

Viral Dhanjee ‘Pti Dimoun’ enters the ring & all bets are off. Whilst all the world leaders are currently, at COP21 in Paris, addressing ways to save humanity from man-made consequences of Global Climate Change, this evening we the people of Seychelles we will be subjected to the final round of PPB in the people’s fight to remove the devil that is, once and for all. It is not the fact that the opposition parties have been sleeping all this time, but JAM has to realise that the only thing that matters to the people of Seychelles is the CHANGE we so badly want. The opposition parties may well have been sleeping, but the people NOT. Jam was already on the back foot by the voices of the people on the social media well before the opposition parties decided to wake up, but now that they have what a powerful force has emerged. You can trash the political parties over and over again JAM but how do you fight the power of ‘dimoun ordiner’ and the ‘pti dimoun’ JAM? Ready for the knoc...

Tomorrow the country celebrates the Defence Forces Day. We the people salutes our boys and girls in Uniform on this occasion and wish to convey the pride with which we the people look up to them. We the people would take this occasion to remind our boys and girls in uniform of the oath they would have taken when swearing in: -- to uphold and defend the constitution of the Seychelles, its people and nation. SPDF The people would also remind our guys in uniform that they are one of us; that they share, and are part of, a non-violent, friendly, peaceful, docile population that enjoys happy living. The message from the people of the Seychelles to those in Uniform on the eve of the most important elections in the Seychelles is, be it before the elections, during the elections or after the elections, if given any order, before the execution of that order you ensure that the order is both legal and constitutional. Check it out before acting on the order. If you have any doubts, then ref...

Viral Dhanhee OPINION: 2015 Presidential Election Special– 3.The other fight; defining the political landscape, 2016 The other fight -All NEW presidential hopefuls have another very important fight before the election day. Remember the infamous rhyme ‘’En vote pou Ralph Volcere and a vote for Philip Boulle is a vote pou James Michel’’? Wavel will be playing that unsubstantiated tune again, and at an opportune moment that does not allow the president hopefuls targeted to respond in any way. All candidates would be smart to come out and warn the nation of Wavel’s coming battle cry, how unintelligent and inaccurate this statement is, but to expect it from Wavel. Wavel’s strategy has always been to absorb any opposition under his wing prior to the first round of the elections, under the guise of unity equaling strength! While I can understand the motivation for Wavel spouting such nonsense, I have never been able to understand why people buy it and fall for it. Wavel viciously tar...

Viral Dhanjee OPINION: There may be honour amongst thieves, but is there honour amongst politicians? James out. Michel in. – won by the system, not at the polling booths? What lies ahead: ROS. --- POU ANVOYE, PA POU ANVOYE? James Michel warned earlier this year, ‘’People in glass houses do not throw stones’’. This was meant solely for the break-away cluster of ex- SPPF/PL ministers and technicians who surfaced as the new political party, ‘Lalyans Seselwa’. There were massive expectations from the public that we were in for a spectacular fireworks show, in that for once we would know the inner (maybe even dirty) secrets of the SPUP/SPPF/PL era. Thus far, people have been disappointed. Campaigning has started earnestly, elections will come and go, but no stones will be thrown. Those concerned would be good boys and pay heed to Michel’s warning. But what are these stones that Michel cautions against throwing? Skeletons no doubt, which if known to the larger public would ra...

Mr Viral Dhanjee OPINION: 2015 Presidential Elections -1-The Players. Peaceful, Free and Fair? Peaceful, Free but NOT Fair. – Which will it be? And who benefits from either? The Players: Yet another Election Day fast approaches, a day that most believe could well be the most important day in our republic's history. Others are not so optimistic. The players: What started with eight political parties and a declared independent candidate in the run-up, the hype and political temperature, and especially expectations naturally on the high. Will there be a new beginning? Will there be any new players at this last minute? At least players that could make a difference? Four weeks before the election, we already have some drop outs from the race. Having done some initial contributions, but having failed to really take off, ICUS now supports the candidature of the independent candidate, Mr. Philip Boule, and SUP supports the candidature of Lalyans Seselwa. Having failed to create...

Ahmed Afif I note the response of this day by State House rebutting the validity of information we have received concerning some planned ambushes against key members of Lalyans Seselwa. The statement further urges me to substantiate these allegations.  For many re asons, however, I will not divulge the sources of my information as I cannot and will not compromise the safety and security of my sources. How can I trust the security services when to this date they have not resolved cases involving direct attacks against pets and property of members of Lalyans Seselwa as well as the opposition in the period leading to the Presidential elections? At least 9 dogs of two opposition party leaders were killed in 2 separate incidents at their residential premises within a space of a few days only recently. At my home, I have noticed on several occasions in the recent weeks, vehicles said to belong or operated by the state security apparatus either tailing me or parked c...

James Michel Members of Lalyans Seselwa has just learned from reliable sources that state security agents, the army, NDEA and some select Tazar personnel have been assigned the task of planting illegal substances or weapons at the residential premises of key members of Lalyans Seselwa with the objective of ambushing them at the appropriate moment, charging them for illegal possession and keeping them under detention indefinitely. According to their information, this operation is masterminded by State House. One o f the key objectives it appears is to prevent Ton Pat and Lalyans Seselwa from successfully lodging their nomination for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates on Nov 11th 2015.  "We will bring this to the attention of the Electoral Commission immediately and alert the public so they know better if indeed this rogue regime reverts to these cowardly tactics at this late hour".    Patrick Pillay, Leader Of Lalyans Seselwa "To ...

Nations such as Belize, Marshall Islands, Seychelles and Vanautu - which are all included on a European Commission 'blacklist' of international tax havens - have all received cash handouts from the UK Government. Under a controversial new law introduced by the Prime Minister, Britain is legally obliged to spend 0.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on foreign aid spending. However, critics of the foreign aid commitment reacted with fury after it was revealed millions are being handed over to countries that set minimal or even zero tax rates. An investigation by the Independent  found that, for example, more than £1.8million of UK cash was given to the paradise Caribbean island of Anguilla in 2013. This is despite the nation - which has an estimated population of less than 15,000 -  charging no income, capital gains or any other form of direct taxes on residents or companies, with it described as a "zero-tax jurisdiction". In total, 13 countr...

Apre tou sa ki mwan John Denis monn fer pour esey amenn en sanzman Sesel, ozordi mon vwar mwan pe ganny ensilte par bann dimoun kin dan sa menm lalit ki mwan. An Septanm 2015 monn kit Sesel pour mwan al a letranze pou fer detrwa keksoz personel ek mon fanmiy. Mon ti fer tou dimoun otour mwan konenn ki mon pou absante pou enpe letan. Ozordi deryer mon ledo zot komans fer rimer lo mon lavi. Zot pe dir ki James Michel in pey mwan en kantite milyon pou mwan kit pei. Eksa kwa ki pli fermal , sa I sorti dan labous bann dimoun dan lopozisyon. Bann menm dimoun ki ler mwan mon tipe ekspoz bann voler dan gouvernman, zot zot tipe maske sa bann voler e protez zot. Mon pros pou bez nonm zot non sa bann karya…. Mon leker I desire ler mon tann tousala akoz mwan zanmen mon deza ganny en sou ek personn. Le 25 out 2014, mon ti ganny aprose par en state security agent kit i dir mwan prezidan I oule war mwan, e dapre li I pou fer mwan vin ris. Mon ti dir li ki mon pa oule...

Opposition parties in the island paradise of the Seychelles have cried foul after the lead challenger to the president in coming elections was arrested over what they say are trumped up charges of molesting a Sri Lankan “houseboy”. Patrick Pillay, a former High Commissioner to Britain who welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the islands for their honeymoon four years ago, was questioned by police last week and is now waiting to hear whether the Attorney General will charge him. A former minister, in April he announced the birth of a breakaway party from the Parti Lepep, the all-powerful ruling group which has in various incarnations run the country for 36 years. He is accused of bringing a 30-year-old Sri Lankan, Gihan Fernando, to the principal island of Mahe against his will, forcing him to work as a virtual slave between December last year and February this year, and making sexual advances towards him. The “revelations” came just a month before Sey...

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) on Thursday said its officials had seized crystal meth worth more than R16-million at OR Tambo International Airport this week. Sars issued a statement following Wednesday’s seizure of a bag containing 20.6kg of the drug that “had come to South Africa from Abu Dhabi via the Seychelles”. The discovery came after customs officials “stopped two baggage handlers for questioning and decided to search an unaccompanied bag that they had in their possession”. “The officers became suspicious after detecting a strong smell of glue and sent the bag for a scan‚” Sars said. “Customs’ new high-tech baggage scanner revealed an image of a concentrated substance and the bag was then physically searched.” The crystal meth they uncovered was valued at R6.18-million. Sunday saw customs officials discovering more that R10-million worth of crystal meth in a passenger’s baggage after stopping him for a random inspection after he had arrived on a fli...

Today in Seychelles can no longer write about the Damienne Morel murder. Chief Justice Mathilda Twomey who will hear the murder case, issued an order that was served on the editor of the newspaper a few hours ago, prohibiting the newspaper from writing about the court proceedings without the court's order.  The request for a gagging order was made by defence attorney Anthony Juliette. Juliette later tried to intimidate the daughters of late Damienne Morel outside the courtroom. He was talking to his client - Damienne's former husband and father of her two daughters - together with his family members when one of them asked the lawyer not to be too loud for fear the daughters would hear. Juliette then started swearing at them. Among them were four witnesses to the case.   The case was supposed to be heard by judge Burhan and no explanations were given to explain why the case would no longer be heard by the head of criminal division but instead by justice Twomey. ...

(Lanka-e-News -24. Aug.2015 , 11.30) The Financial crimes investigation department (FCID) that is conducting investigations based on a complaint had unearthed a wealth of information regarding the colossal sums of money earned fraudulently via robbery of public funds by the Rajapakse family which have been remitted to Seychelles Island and are with the Seychelles State . It is also revealed that the Bank of Ceylon branch which  was opened in Seychelles some time ago has been used as a center for their money laundering activities. With a view to obtain the relevant files and the details of the account holders  in connection with the complaint , the FCID had submitted a B report  B-663/15 to the Fort magistrate. Investigations had disclosed that there is no valid reasonable ground to open a Bank of Ceylon branch in Seychelles. Yet , from the beginning , when considering the money exchange that took place, a massive  sum in excess had been ...

Robbers target at least three yachts in the Seychelles On 11 August, the counter-piracy Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 conducted a joint operation in the Somali Basin aimed at strengthening international cooperation in preventing piracy and illegal trade in the region. The exercise involved both military and non-military authorities from Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, USA and Japan, who took part in the operation that also extended to the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman. The operations indicate that, although levels of piracy have reduced in the region since the peak of activity in 2012, the threat remains of real concern on an international level. Two late reports were received this week regarding robberies in the Seychelles. On 21 July at 0300 hrs local time, an unknown number of robbers boarded an anchored sailing yacht, Ceilydh, in Victoria Harbour, Seychelles. The robbers swam to the yacht, boarded and stole personal electronic items, a small amount of cash and t...