AMBASSADOR FISCHER’S EMAIL TO DR FERRARI

SAY NO TO GRAND POLICE HOTEL AND MARINA

The marina and hotel development project at Grand Police has really angered the people of Seychelles and has awakened many from their long slumbers. The Grand Police project is nothing else but a pack of discordant lies and deception by the previous government of James Michel.

The land on which the hotel and marina is to be built belonged to a Seychellois, specifically the Deltel family. It was acquired by this same government during the one party state in the national interest. After the army moved out,  it seems Arabs turned out to be the owners of the land and government made available a group of SPDF personnel to secure the land so that no Seychellois could have access to it. Our own people, own government had been denying us the right to what is ours by birth; unimpeded access to the beach.

The government announced in 2007 that it had sold the land, which is just under a million square metres, to Loomington Investments for a hotel development project. This is about a quarter of La Digue. Nobody really knows exactly who Loomington are, as the company’s real owners are hidden behind an offshore company in British Virgin Islands.  Ever since, there have been a lot of speculations about what was really happening. The concerned citizens, wanting to preserve the area, searched for information as best they could. Government found it appropriate to play the game of cat and mouse.

T575 covers the area at the southernmost tip of Mahe where two of the most beautiful beaches in Seychelles are situated; Petite Police and Grand Police. It also has landmarks of extreme historical importance; the lighthouse, the plantation house and associated edifices. With possibly the largest wetland on the island with an immaculate ecosystem, the area is also a sanctuary for sea turtle nesting.  Say no to grand police hotel!

AP

SESELWA EN SEL DESTIN; Amesbury replies to Judiciary.

THE JUDICIARY IS ONE OF THE ARMS OF THE STATE/ GOVERNMENT. THE CABINET HAS 12 MINISTERS. THE LEGISLATURE HAS 33 MEMBERS AND THE JUDICIARY HAS 22 JUDICIAL OFFICERS, WHICH INCLUDES 6 MAGISTRATES 2 OF WHOM ARE FOREIGNERS. 10 JUDGES 3 OF WHOM ARE FOREIGNERS AND 2 NATURALISED SEYCHELLOIS. 1 MASTER, 1 REGISTRAR, 4 JUSTICES OF APPEAL 2 ARE FOREIGNERS AND 1 A NATURALISED SEYCHELLOIS AND 1 A SEYCHELLOIS.

 7 OUT OF 22 JUDICIAL OFFICERS ARE FOREIGNERS MAKING 32%. AND IF ONE INCLUDES THE NUMBER OF NATURALISED SEYCHELOIS JUDGES, THEN THAT FIGURE RISES TO 10 OUT OF 22 OR 45 %. THESE ARE FACTS NOT ATTACKS ON THE JUDICIARY.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT DO NOT BECOME PART OF THE CABINET, NEITHER DOES THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BECOME THE LEGISLATURE, THEREFORE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WORKING WITH THE JUDICIARY DOES NOT FORM PART OF THE JUDICIARY, ONE OF THE ARM OF STATE/GOVERNMENT.

I ASK IS IT ACCEPTABLE THAT 32% OR 45% (DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT) OF THE JUDICIARY IS MADE UP OF FOREIGNERS?

JEAN FRANCOIS FERRARI HON MEMBER FOR MT FLEURI HAS GIVEN US A FEW RECORDS THAT SEYCHELLES HOLDS. I WILL GIVE YOU ONE MORE. SEYCHELLES IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF FOREIGNERS IN ITS JUDICIARY.

42% OF THE MNAS IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IS FROM PL. WOULD IT BE ACCEPTABLE IF EVERYONE OF THOSE SITTING ACROSS THE FLOOR FROM LDS WOULD BE A FOREIGNER? IF IT WOULD NOT BE ACCEPTABLE IN THE LEGISLATURE WHY DO WE ACCEPT IT, IN THE JUDICIARY? OR EVEN IF 45%  of THE CABINET OF MINISTERS WOULD BE FOREIGNERS WOULD WE ACCEPT IT? SO WHY DO WE ACCEPT IT, IN THE JUDICIARY?

THIS IS ONE OF JAMES MICHEL’S LEGACIES. HE CHOSE TO GRANT SEYCHELLOIS NATIONALITY TO FOREIGNERS AND MAKE THEM JUDGES RATHER THAN APPOINT SEYCHELLOIS AS JUDGES, NOT THAT THERE WERE NO APPLICANTS FOR THE POSTS.

AT THE SAME TIME THAT JAMES MICHEL WAS GRANTING SEYCHELLOIS NATIONALITY TO A FOREIGNER SO HE COULD BECOME A SEYCHELLOIS JUDGE, ANOTHER QUALIFIED SEYCHELLOIS HAD AN APPLICATION PENDING BEFORE THE CAA, AS DID NICOLE TIRANT, AND AS DID SEVERAL OTHERS WHOSE NAMES I WILL NOT MENTION.

I AM TOLD THAT THE FOREIGNERS WHO ARE NATURALISED SEYCHELLOIS ARE CITIZENS ALL THE SAME, AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. MY ANSWER IS SIMPLE, IF A COW IS BORN IN A PIG STY DOES IT BECOME A PIG? THAT SAID, I TOTALLY AGREE THAT ONE SHOULD NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST A FELLOW “CITIZEN.”BUT IS IT OK THEN, TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST SEYCHELLOIS ATTORNEYS WHO QUALIFY TO BE APPOINTED JUDGES IN FAVOUR OF SOMETIMES LESS QUALIFIED FOREIGN ONES?

THE BODY MANDATED TO PROPOSE APPLICANTS FOR JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS IS THE CONSTITUTIONAL APPOINTMENTS AUTHORITY, CAA, AND I ASK YOU, HAS THAT INSTITUTION LET THE PEOPLE OF SEYCHELLES DOWN? WHO IS TO BLAME IF TODAY 45% OF ONE OF THE ARM OF STATE ARE FOREIGNERS?

A FEW YEARS AGO NICOLE TIRANT BROUGHT A CASE AGAINST THE CAA AND THE PRESIDENT, AT THE TIME MR. RENE CHALLENGING THE RE-APPOINTMENT OF SEVERAL MAURITIAN JUDGES. IT WAS ONLY AFTER THAT CHALLENGE THAT SEYCHELLES GOT ITS FIRST POST MULTI-PARTY SEYCHELLOIS JUDGE AND NICOLE TIRANT HAS CONTINUED TO APPLY FOR JUDICIAL POSITIONS EACH TIME A VACANCY HAS ARISEN AND IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE CAA AND THE PRESIDENT CONTINUE TO DISREGARD HER APPLICATIONS. AND AS RECENTLY AS 2013/14 MR. JAMES MICHEL CHOSE INSTEAD TO GRANT SEYCHELLOIS CITIZENSHIP TO A FOREIGNER SO HE COULD REMAIN AS A JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT BECAUSE HIS CONTRACT AS A FOREIGN JUDGE HAD EXPIRED. SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 4 OR 5 APPLICATIONS MADE BY NICOLE TIRANT AND OTHERS, THAT WERE  PENDING BEFORE THE CAA?

THE QUESTION IS, IF NICOLE CANNOT BE A JUDGE IN HER COUNTRY WHERE WILL SHE GO TO BE WHAT SHE WANTS TO BE? SRI LANKA, TANZANIA, MAURITIUS OR UGANDA? EVEN MORE RECENTLY THERE WAS ANOTHER FOREIGNER APPOINTED AS JUDGE, WAS HE MORE QUALIFIED TO FILL THAT POST THAN NICOLE TIRANT OR FOR THAT MATTER PHILLIPPE BOULLE WHO WAS THE SOLE CANDIDATE PROPOSED TO  JAMES MICHEL WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT BY MR. BONNELAME WHEN HE WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE CAA?

WOULD IT BE ACCEPTABLE IF THE EXECUTIVE OR THE LEGISLATURE WAS MADE UP OF 45% OR EVEN 1% OF FOREIGNERS? AND FOR HOW LONG WILL THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS CONTINUE?

IF THE CAA AND THE PRESIDENT CANNOT FIND LOCALLY QUALIFIED ATTORNEYS TO BE APPOINTED JUDGES HOW DID THEY FIND MAURITIANS, SRI LANKANS. UGANDANS AND TANZANIANS? THEY MUST BE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACES OR THEY ARE LOOKING FOR THE WRONG QUALIFICATIONS, OR  ARE THEY LOOKING FOR LOCAL ATTORNEYS WHO QUALIFY FOR SOME REASONS, OTHER THAN THOSE STATED IN THE CONSTITUTION?

THERE ARE SOON TO BE AT LEAST 2/3 VACANCIES IN THE MAGISTRATE COURT, 2 VACANCIES IN THE SUPREME COURT AND ANOTHER 2 IN THE COURT OF APPEAL. IF PRESIDENT FAURE’S MIND SET IS WHAT WE SAW WHEN HE PUT 3 QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED SEYCHELLOIS AS THE MANAGEMENT TEAM OF THE NDEA AND HAD THE COURAGE TO MAKE A SEYCHELLOIS CHIEF OFFICER OF THAT ORGANISATION THEN THERE IS HOPE THAT SOON THE JUDICIARY WILL HAVE 6/7 NEW SEYCHELLOIS MEMBERS.

RECENTLY BERNARD GEORGES WAS APPOINTED AS A JUDGE OF THE COMESA COURT IN SUDAN AND HIS CLERK IS NONE OTHER THAN JUDHOO THE MAURITIAN WHO SERVED AS A JUDGE OF OUR SUPREME COURT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. OUR SEYCHELLEOIS QUALIFY TO BE APPOINTED JUDGES ELSEWHERE AND ONE OF THE FOREIGNERS THAT THE CAA AND OUR PRESIDENTS HAVE APPOINTED IN THE PAST QUALIFY TO BE HIS CLERK. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

THE CHALLENGE FOR CAA AND PRESIDENT FAURE IS TO FILL UP THE 6/7 JUDICIAL VACANCIES WITH SEYCHELLOIS, BEARING IN MIND THAT IF THE CAA DOES NOT PROPOSE THEN THE PRESIDENT CANNOT APPOINT. AND I SAY IF, THE CAA CANNOT FIND SIX OR SEVEN QUALIFIED SEYCHELLOIS TO PLACE BEFORE THE PRESIDENT, THEN WE REPLACE THE PRESENT CAA WITH PERSONS WHO ARE NOT BLIND. WHY DOES THE CAA SEE FOREIGNERS WHO QUALIFY TO BE APPOINTED JUDGES BUT IT FINDS NO SEYCHELLOIS?

THE NATIONAL THEME FOR THIS YEAR IS: “SESELWA EN SEL DESTIN”. HOW CAN SESELWA HAVE A SEL DESTIN WHEN 45% OF ONE OF THE ARM OF STATE COMPRISES OF FOREIGNERS? MY DESTINY AS A SEYCHELLOISE SHOULD BE IN THE HANDS OF A GOVERNMENT THAT IS 100% SEYCHELLOIS. PRESIDENT FAURE TRAVAY I LA.

I AM THE FIRST TO ADMIT THAT SEYCHELLES HAS BENEFITED ENORMOUSLY IN TERMS OF ITS JURISPRUDENCE FROM SEVERAL FOREIGN JUDGES AND THEIR HARD WORK. I THINK HERE NOT ONLY OF THE COMMONWEALTH JUDGES WHO HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB IN HELPING TO REDUCE THE BACK LOG OF CASES THAT EXISTED NOT TOO LONG AGO.  MY PROBLEM IS WITH A CAA AND A PRESIDENT WHO REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE QUALIFICATIONS AND THE HARD WORK OF LOCAL ATTORNEYS WHO ASPIRE TO BE JUDGES IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY.

THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENT IS MORE OR LESS WHAT I SAID DURING THE RALLY AT ROCHE CAIMAN. MOST OF IT IS FACTUAL AND THE REST MY PERSONAL OPINION. AS A CITIZEN OF SEYCHELLES MY DUTY FIRST AND FOREMOST IS TO MY COUNTRY. WHERE I SEE THAT THINGS ARE WRONG I HAVE A DUTY TO MY COUNTRY TO SAY IT, SO THAT CORRECTIONS CAN BE MADE.

I am putting the above on Seychelles Daily so that the readers can judge for themselves whether what I said in my speech was cause for the Judiciary to make the press statement it made.

Alexia G. Amesbury

PRESS STATEMENT

From: The Judiciary

To: All media

 On behalf of all judges and magistrates, the Judiciary wishes to respond to the public, verbal attacks on the Judiciary as an institution and on its non-Seychellois judicial officers specifically. These attacks include statements made at recent public political rallies and circulated on social media. The statement that the Judiciary is “in the hands of foreigners”, which has xenophobic undertones, is untrue. Less than 10% of the total judicial officers in Seychelles are non-Seychellois. The comments made in this regard constitute an attack on the few individuals who suspend their lives in other countries to assist the Seychelles Judiciary when we are unable to fill judicial positions based on applications received. Judicial officers cannot respond individually to attacks of this kind and nor should they have to. The Judiciary as a whole supports them in the important work they do for this country.

We wish to remind lawyer-politicians of their legal responsibilities under the Legal Practitioners’ Act, specifically of their overriding duty as ‘Officers of the Court’ under the Legal Practitioners (Professional Conduct) Rules, 2013 and their commitment to maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice. Breach of these rules is a failure of professional ethics.

The Judiciary is committed to transparency as an institution and welcomes the media to engage with it on the truth underlying any allegations that are made regarding specific cases.

We also stand by our commitment to fulfilling our mandate under the Constitution and are confident in the skills and independence of our judicial officers. We request that public officials and officers of the Court refrain from attempts to intimidate the Judiciary. We have a job to do and must continue to perform our functions independently and without fear of recrimination.

LDS MNA RUNS FOR DISABLED CHILDREN

Dear Editor,

Permit me to have a small space in your newspaper.

On the 26^th February 2017 I will be running in the 10^th Edition of the Seychelles Eco-Friendly Marathon. I have registered to run the 21KM on Sunday with dorsal #2090. I have been in training for the last 2 months to achieve this personal goal. I wish to use this opportunity to raise funds for disabled children from the district of Anse Royale.  I have complied with all the formalities and have got an approved Sponsorship form from the Seychelles Police to allow me to collect funds. This will be distributed through the ‘’Make A Child Smile’’ campaign and its aim is to help Children in need; the campaign has been doing this by making use of Social Media. We can as a community assist in making the situation more comfortable for our less fortunate children living with an extra hardship of a disability. I make an appeal to all those who would like to assist me in raising funds for these less abled children to contact me via email: flarue@nationalassembly.sc

Hon. Flory Larue

THE IRISH SCANDAL

Now that the National Assembly has taken a break and everyone has had the opportunity to assimilate the vast volume of corruption and irregularities that have been exposed and which obviously have plagued the country for years, the aspect which has caused a fair share of surprise, if not disgust, is the role of the Irish in the FIU and the NDEA.

It first started with the most ridiculous notion imported into the Assembly that the FIU should have a CLASSIFIED building in Seychelles. Harbouring such absurdity, the director of the FIU refused to reveal the existence of an office block occupied by the FIU Irish officers.

It was only after being threatened by a member of the National Assembly with contempt of the house for providing false information to the effect that the FIU office was in the Central Bank and that the FIU had no other office, that he admitted to the occupation of a building block by the FIU. Finally realising how totally ludicrous the classified notion had been, he ended up inviting all the National Assembly members to visit the office building, to dispel accusations of illegal activities in the building.

It is believed that the Irish FIU officers had fooled the director and all staff of the need not to disclose the existence of the building for security reasons, in order to hide a private gym in the office building for the Irish officers, at the expense of taxpayers.

Moving from the ridiculous to the tragic, the FIU pretended to know all manner of things about Al Shabab in Somalia, which was in fact no part of their stationary mandate, let alone the fact that the CIA and other European Intelligence agencies do not have much of a clue what is happening in that country where no one has been able to predict or stop terrorist attacks in the heart of the country, within its capital.

With all that claim to intelligence information, however, all laughed when they did not have a clue who owned the land and building they occupied.

Then came the cherry on the cake of information, the Irish lawyer who was paid over 3 million rupees a year as state counsel handling money laundering cases, had not managed to obtained a single conviction for money laundering during all the years that the Seychellois taxpayers continued paying him one of the highest salary paid to a civil servant in Seychelles and many times more than his boss the Attorney General.

As if the above was not enough to shock everyone, we also learnt that the FIU has according to them embarked on counter terrorism activity which is also totally outside their mandate, let alone the fact that none of the Irish had any knowledge, experience or clue about counter terrorism. Blown out of our minds, we also heard that there were also entities overseas and locally who had been paid millions of rupees by taxpayers to provide intelligence information. This one was offensive as they were taking Seychellois for a bunch of lunatics, as we all know that Interpol, FBI, MI5 and other multinational and National intelligence agencies gladly exchange intelligence for free to combat international criminal activities. Only crooks are paid to catch crooks, so the Seychellois need to know who were being paid.

The Assembly should now seek the names of all those entities which are being paid as no one is convinced that there are any other agencies out there.

Another favourite pastime of the FIU was to write fake and filthy reports on individuals to present to gullible and naive state entities to influence decisions against persons seen as opposition supporters. All done to carry favour with the Government of the day to protect their undeserving and highly inflated salaries.

Finally, to give themselves importance and frighten government into believing that they were indispensable, they used scare mongering tactics, the most nonsensical one being their advice to government, as disclosed in the Assembly, that Seychelles was a high risk jurisdiction when in fact, with such low volume circulating in our banking system, we are of the lowest risk, never mind that Seychelles officially is not ranked as high risk in all international indexes. How the FIU managed to fool the Government for so long is indeed most baffling, using in the process expressions like de-risking, totally out of context as they did not have a clue what it really meant in the financial and banking world.

It is heard on the grapevines that many of the Irishmen working with the FIU and NDEA are leaving the country and if that is true, the Government and Police will have failed this country for the feeling out there is that all the Irishmen who have worked in the FIU or the NDEA should be immediately investigated and if it is too late, as all the Irish officers have gone, then Government has a duty to cleanse this country of the dubious activities of the FIU whereby most of the funds taken from the bank accounts in Seychelles were claimed to be taxes owed by those clients to foreign jurisdictions, but the FIU never fulfilled the sovereign obligation of Seychelles to remit such taxes to the countries to which those taxes were alleged to be due, but instead kept such funds and swindled all those countries while the Government closed its eyes though clear evidence had been given that such illegal practises were taking place.

Government should now audit those funds taken by the FIU and to save the honour and reputation of this country, return such taxes to those respective countries, regardless whether they will laugh at us that our FIU were collecting taxes on their behalf with no proof whatsoever that it was due in the first instance, but only collected by threats and harassment.

If these countries do not accept such funds, then it should be refunded to its original owners as they had been cheated under false pretences. Government has in many instances been warned that FIU officials who were the watchdog over money laundering, were themselves engaged in money laundering when they took a part of the funds in the bank account which they alleged albeit falsely, was dirty money and allowed the owners to go away with the rest in order to get a quick buck without proper court proceedings.

The final question which remains is whether the government institutions duped by the FIU were simply stupid or were they in connivance. Only a proper investigation will reveal the answer which is essential to avoid a repetition in future when it is apparent that even the Central Bank and the Attorney General’s Chambers merrily went along with it all, with even the courts obliging by extending freezing orders for several period of 180 days to allow the FIU to embark on the fictitious tax collection exercises.

Source:Seychelles Weekly

DANNY FAURE FAILING TO WALK THE TALK

LD622, LD1097 and LD1103 are 3 more plots of the infamous 40 that SPPF/Parti Lepep amassed for peanuts. This was first revealed by now LDS MNA Flory Larue in her campaign PPB for Anse Royale back in August 26^th 2016. These go along with LD730, LD702 and LD704. A famous nightclub called La Noche once existed on LD622. La Digue has truly been milked by Parti lepep and there’s no proof the peanuts were actually transferred to Government coffers.

Now the honeymoon period is over; the good guy act is just that, an act. So far on these issues Danny4 the fourth President of Seychelles hasn’t walked the talk; in fact he’s in deep comatose on the 40 plots of SPPF/ Parti Lepep land grab. Nothing is being done!

He tells everybody to be transparent and accountable; but apparently forgot to include himself. Is Danny4 really working for Seychelles or just pretending to? His history is one of putting Parti Lepep first on his priority list. Parti lepep abused their power; that is corruption. Danny4 signed many of these land transfer documents to SPPF/Parti Lepep. Will he now reverse these abuses in the interest of Seychelles?

LDS COMMENDS DECISION TO END JUNE 5 PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) commends the decision announced by the President to end commemoration of June 5 as a Public Holiday.

On behalf of the other leaders and the members of LDS, I express the hope that the decision will set us firmly on the road to national reconciliation and unity. We believe that this is an important symbolic step which can be supported by other actions to bridge the division that has been a part of our history.

There is still much work to be done to secure lasting unity in our nation but a noble mission can only be accomplished by meaningful steps .

Likewise, we welcome the call to a renewal of spirituality and hope that we can as a people find the right path to this noble goal.

I reiterate our best wishes to all the people of Seychelles for good health and prosperity in 2017 and for peace and unity in our country.

Roger Mancienne January 1st, 2017

Chairman, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa

HAPPY NEW YEAR WISHES FROM LDS LEADERS

The Leader of the Opposition Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan and the Chairman of Linyon Demokratik Seselwa, Mr Roger Mancienne, together with other leaders of LDS, present their most heartfelt wishes to everyone in Seychelles for a joyous celebration of the New Year. They express sincere wishes for a happy and prosperous year in 2017.

2016 has been a remarkable year for Seychelles. It is one in which the people of Seychelles have shown a positive spirit to contribute their ideas and efforts towards building a better country. We believe that Seychelles has taken a great step forward towards unity and solidarity.

On behalf of LDS, we take the opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work in taking care of their families and in their contribution to the nation as a whole. We commend especially all those who work to serve others selflessly.

We look to the future with great hope that we will continue to progress as a nation. Even today, we do not know all the challenges that lie before us in 2017 but we can be confident that if we work hard and with a positive spirit we will be able to overcome these challenges.

On behalf of all the LDS Members of the National Assembly and our District Representatives, we extend the best wishes to everyone for a joyous celebration of New Year’s Day with their families and friends.

We hope that each and everyone will enjoy good health, prosperity and happiness in 2017.

Happy New Year.

December 30, 2016

LINYON DEMOKRATIK SESELWA

IMMINENT DISASTER

Prominent businessman, Marc Houareau, voices out on social media against the 13^th month salary about to be forced on the private sector by the Government.

“If this bill passes, both PL and LDS will be responsible for many jobs that will be lost in Seychelles.

 

There is an air of entitlement in this country that needs to go away but it continues to linger because of politicians whose judgments are blinded by trying to win votes. Most do not understand how businesses operate, let alone the difficulties of doing business in Seychelles today. Competition is global today, and margins are being eroded year after year. Adding another unnecessary cost burden instead of addressing the minimum wage issue to alleviate poverty in the country is a huge mistake. This is not the way forward to ensure future employment and to grow our tax base. This political expediency bill will simply kill jobs in the country and wages will be frozen for many workers. Adding 8-plus percent to a company's operating cost can only cause prices to escalate as many will have to increase their prices in order to afford this new expense, and the customer/consumer will feel the pinch even more.

Lest we forget, former President Rene also dropped a similar bombshell many years back with his 5-year tenure compensation package which until today, remains a huge burden to most private companies in the country as it became an overnight, unplanned liability on their balance sheet. Now add the highest business tax (30%) in the region, VAT, CSR, and other increasing operating costs, and it does not paint a rosy picture for private sector growth in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Government continues to expand and overspend, continues to compete with the private sector, and has doubled its budget in 5 years to the tune of SR 7.9 billion. And let us not forget our local and foreign debt of some SR 10 billion which seems to be forgotten by many in Government. But who knows, maybe just before the next election, our smart politicians will come back to the Assembly to propose a 14th month salary as by then, the voters would need a new incentive.”

Source: Facebook

PRESS RELEASE

REPORT ON MEETING OF LDS LEADERS WITH PRESIDENT AT STATE HOUSE

The third meeting of LDS leaders with the President was held today at State House. The following is a brief report on items covered.

1. Suspension of Ministers connected to cases under investigation

LDS called for the suspension of two ministers who have been connected to cases which require investigation.

One is the case of Minister Charles Bastienne who has been alleged to have received payment from a Nepali businessman in respect of recruitment of Nepali security guards, reported in the media this week. LDS is submitting this case to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The other is in connection with a seizure of heroine on Praslin reported on SBC in which a link to Minister Mitcy Larue has been reported. This involves a police investigation. LDS believes that Mrs. Larue cannot continue as minister with oversight on police matters while this case is ongoing.

2. Investigation of DBS Loan schemes

LDS called for an investigation into loan schemes operated by Development Bank of Seychelles to check allegations of abuse and improper management.

3. Progress on issues raised in previous meetings.

The meeting reviewed the progress made on several issues of concern raised in previous meeting. Among the items covered:

i. Proposals for Reforms : The drafts for a Freedom of Information Bill and a new Seychelles Human Rights Commission Bill were presented and will now be taken up by the National Assembly. Progress is being made on several Constitutional and amendments which will be part of a package of reforms which to be brought to the Assembly by March next year. These will apply to Electoral Commission, Constitutional Appointments Authority, SBC , anti-Corruption Commission and several others.

ii. CSR Tax : The list of recipients of the CSR Tax will be revised for next year so that politically affiliated organisations (e.g. Jj Spirit Foundation) will not be eligible.

iii. Replacement of Mayor of Victoria : The Members of the National Assembly whose districts fall within Victoria will name a candidate for Mayor for appointment by the President until a new system for election of the Mayor is put in place together with district council elections in 2018.

iv. Cost of living and doing business : The mandate of the STC will be reviewed to direct it to the core goal of anchoring prices of commodities.

The Minister for Finance has taken up discussions with the telecommunications companies to reduce costs of services. Opening up the local market to other companies is being considered.

v. District Administration : Instructions have been issued to district administrators that district facilities should be open to all. MNAs will be entitled to use facilities for any function serving their constituents, such as meetings. without any charge. A reasonable fee will be charged for use by other parties.

4. Matters brought to the attention of LDS by the President.

i. Offices for MNAs . A programme of setting up offices for MNAs will begin next year. The order in which needs are addressed will be decided by leaders in the Assembly.

ii. Pensions for MNAs. A new Pension Scheme for MNAs will be presented to the National Assembly for consideration. They will be eligible for pensions at age 60 after serving one term or at age 55 after serving three full terms.

iii. 2017 Budget : The 2017 Budget will address measures to reduce the cost of living and to ensure inclusiveness in economic growth. A property tax for foreign owned properties will be introduced.

Roger Mancienne December 02, 2016

Chairman, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa

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

31 years have passed since the young, popular exiled resistance Seychellois leader, Gerard Hoarau, was shot dead outside his home in London. 31 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 33 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.

His current LinkedIn profile; British spy and MI5 agent?

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 Justice Potts 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?

Margaret Thatcher meets Albert Rene at Downing Street in April 1985; a few months before Gerard is assassinated.

On the 5^th of June 1977, Seychelles was taken by force by 33 men which included Chief Architect Albert Rene as referenced by Kevin Shillington’s official biography of the dictator. The biography states that Rene had begun planning for the coup immediately after the lost of the 1974 General Elections. The bloody coup was not an uprising or a revolution; they attempted an Orwellian twist of the truth to justify this act of terrorism.  A revolution is when the population rises up in revolt against the current authorities; not 33 opportunists! Shortly after this act of terror in 1977 and referenced on page 214 of the same biography it reads “evidenced by MI5 allocating one of their agents to keep constant watch on Rene`s daughter Pandora, who was studying for a degree in environmental science at Leicester Technical College. They feared her security might be threatened as a way of getting at her father”. Was this unnamed MI5 agent at that time a Mr Ian D. Withers? It is odd that British Government offered protection to a dictators daughter shortly after the coup!

Gérard Hoarau’s murder remains an open case file, according to the British police, but in Seychelles, his death is an open wound that can never heal until the truth is told.

THE D`ARROS ISLAND SPECIAL RESERVE SCAM

The public`s call to be heard on the decision to turn D`Arros Island and Saint Joseph atoll into a “special reserve” has fallen on deaf ears. The Parti Lepep government will now allow the scam to go ahead.

It is common knowledge that Abdul Mohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, the Saudi national involved in the Plantation Club takeover scandal, is the person who presently has control over D'Arros Island, and is also the founder of Save Our Seas foundation. We know the special reserve is not being created because he is interested in conservation, but merely a smoke screen to extend his control over St. Joseph atoll for his own exclusive pleasure.

 Now he wants us Seychellois and our visitors to be further deprived of our patrimony, what bloody cheek! This is the same man who has blocked access to Val Mer beach in Baie Lazare, and has caused serious environmental damage in the reefs of D'Arros.

 
  He is a shark freak, alledgedly involved in chumming activities around our islands. A couple years back, two of his staff were devoured by shaks while chumming for their boss in the Grand Police bay area. A similar incident was repeated at D'Arros more recently, but the person involved survived his injuries this time. He obviously gets away with a lot of mischief with impunity because high government officials are well entertained at his luxury villas in Val Mer. Even his private jets have even been used by high government officials on their private overseas travels in the past. It all stinks of CORRUPTION at the highest level! It is high time that the message is passed to this Arab that SEYCHELLES IS FOR SEYCHELLOIS, NOT ARABS, and the time of his flouting our laws is OVER!

By Jacques Pool

DANNY FAURE BETRAYS OUR PUBLIC SERVICE

In his first actions as President, Danny Faure has betrayed the people who work in our public service and parastatal companies. With the appointments of political activists to senior leadership positions in these organizations, he has shown that the competence and commitment of professionals mean nothing. When it comes to promotion, it is those who have earned political favours who get the top jobs.

The appointments have put a whole crew of former Parti Lepep MNAs and failed National Assembly candidates in top positions of Principal Secretary or Director-General in the public service and as Chief Executives in state-owned companies.

The people who staff these organisations have made them their careers. The organizational charts of the organizations should show a clear career path to the top jobs so that people can see their way up the ladder. Promotion must be on merit.

The only acceptable way for appointment to the top jobs is through promotion within the ranks, or when vacancies occur that cannot be filled internally, through open recruitment. The vacancies should have been advertised for anyone to apply. Political cronyism is the wrong path to leadership.

In these actions, Mr. Faure has broken the principles to which he has just given his commitment. One of them is the separation of party and state interests. With the appointments, these organizations have been stuffed with political activists who will make them even more political. The objective of de-politicising the Public Service is out the window.

Even the appointments of three former ministerial candidates to the position of Secretary of State is wrong because that position has up to now been filled from public service ranks. They have come to be seen as administrative and not political positions.

One of the commitments which Mr. Faure has expressed is for the creation of a Public Service Commission which would regulate such matters as promotion. This has been endorsed precisely to make the point that appointments and promotions cannot be at the President’s pleasure. What is now the point?

Also damaged is the objective of national unity. It is clear we cannot build unity on political partisanship. After expressing the wish for national unity, Mr. Faure has turned the other way. 

For LDS, Mr. Faure has also broken the spirit of dialogue which he said he wanted to promote. Of particular significance are the appointments in state-owned organizations because such appointments were raised in the first meeting to promote dialogue. The state-owned organizations are meant to have their own Boards, which should be composed of members who can be independent. It is these Boards who should determine the appointment of Executive Officers.

The decisions on these appointments are enough to cast doubt on the sincerity of the declarations that Mr. Faure has made as President. As we have come to appreciate time and again, actions speak louder than words.

Roger Mancienne

PRESS RELEASE

APPOINTMENT OF POLITICIANS TO PUBLIC SERVICE POSTS VIOLATES PRINCIPLE OF DELINKING

Linyon Demokratik Seselwa expresses its disappointment that President Danny Faure has failed to apply cardinal principles of a democratic system in the appointment of top government officials announced yesterday.

In numerous instances, political figures have been named to positions in the public service, in clear violation of the separation of politics from the structure of the public service. These appointments are unfair to people who have chosen a career in the public service as professionals in that politicians are appointed over their heads, thus depriving them of the opportunity of promotion.

This is the case with the appointments of Mr. Patrick Herminie, Mrs. Marie-Louise Potter and Mr. Dick Esparon as Secretary of State, which is a public service position and presented as such in the announcement. Persons who have held this post up to now have been appointed from the public service and it has been regarded as the top of the career ladder for the public service.

Other political figures have been appointed to positions of Principal Secretary straight from politics. These include Mr. Kevin Vidot and Mrs. Jennifer Jasmin who were both members of the National Assembly for Parti Lepep, and Mr. Fabian Palmyre who was a candidate for the party in the last National Assembly elections. The same criticism applies to a former MNA, Ms. Cheryl Vengadasamy appointed as a Special Advisor, also a public service post, in the Police Department.

The proliferation of Special Advisor posts for persons with previous political connections is also a misuse the public service career structure.

These appointments come after President Faure has expressed his commitment to the delinking process which means the separation of the political and state structures, and also to the creation of a Public Service Commission which would regulate career issues such as promotion. What we are seeing is simply politicians being rewarded with posts in the civil service when the need to depart from such practices has been acknowledged and endorsed.

Roger Mancienne October 31, 2016

Chairman, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa

MONKEY BUSINESS AT THE JUDICIARY

Judiciary is making a mockery of the constitution.

The provisional cause list of the next session of the Seychelles Court of Appeal, which is set for 28 November to 9 December, discloses several cases to be heard by a panel of appeal justices that include Dr. Satyabhooshun Gupt Domah, despite the fact that the second five-year term of the Mauritian national’s appointment came to an end on 4 October 2016.

On 5 September 2011, the President of the Republic of Seychelles appointed Justice Domah for second and last of term of five years. The instrument of appointment reads:

WHEREAS you, SATYABHOOSHUN GUPT DOMAH, have been appointed as a JUSTICE OF APPEAL of the Seychelles Court of Appeal under Article 123 of the Constitution, and the said appointment will expire on the 3rd October 2011,

AND WHEREAS you are not a citizen of Seychelles,

AND WHEREAS further the Constitutional Appointments Authority has recommended to me that there are exceptional circumstances to appoint you as JUSTICE OF APPEAL for a second term of office,

NOW THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred to the President under article 131(4) of the Constitution, I, JAMES ALIX MICHEL, PRESIDENT, appoint you

                        SATYABHOOSHUN GUPT DOMAH

To be a JUSTICE OF APPEAL for a period of five years commencing on 4th October 2011.

GIVEN under my hand and the Public Seal of Seychelles at State House on this 5th day of September 2011.

 Article 131(1)(e) states: a person holding office of Justice of Appeal…….SHALL vacate that office in the case of a person who is not a citizen of Seychelles, at the end of the term for which the person was appointed.

So who authorised his extension to May 2017 in the face of the above. This is effectively a third term which is not allowed under the constitution. According to a communique from the judiciary, “this is due to the fact that a constitutional case delayed the expiry of his term of office. Therefore his term ends in May 2017”; what nonsense!

Did the CAA recommend this term or extension thereof to the President, and did the President re-appoint or extend his term of office until May 2017? Article 131 (4) "The President may, on the recommendation of the CAA in exceptional circumstances, appoint a person who is not a citizen of Seychelles and who has already completed one term of office as a Justice of Appeal or Judge for a second term of office, whether consecutive or not, of not more than seven years."

Barely a month ago, we all saw Mr. Danny Faure swear an oath of Allegiance to the Constitution and now if he allows this monkey business he will be violating his Constitutional and Presidential Oaths(both oaths were taken before the Chief Justice), and the Constitution. It must be remembered that a President can be removed for violation of the constitution. Remember that in 2011 when Mr. Dhanjee challenged Domah's  re-appointment the CAA had only recommended a further TWO years but President Michel gave him a fresh term of FIVE years.

MERITON LAND SCANDAL

Minister Vincent Meriton’s daughter, Vladislava Vincentovna Meriton has bought land at Glacis; she is busy building. Going by her NIN number, she must have been made a citizen of Seychelles only four years ago. It is without doubt that someone high up the echelon of power has been behind the transfer because two portions of land (Parcels H10904 and H10906) had to be amalgamated into one (H10908) to suit lady Meriton. Minister Meriton, the papa of lady Meriton oversaw the whole transaction as per power of attorney vested in him by his daughter. Some people know how to get things done properly.

Was she ever on any list or as suspected did she bypass the list? Some original natural born Seychellois from the same district have been on the land bank list for over 15 years. These ordinary Seychellois were even told 5 years back that there was no government land available in this district; what a miracle for Lady Meriton.

Amalgamated and sold in the same day

There is a well published land allocation policy of the Parti lepep government of one piece of land per person, or if you have (private) land already you cannot get government land. Was this a stealth attempt to bypass this!

While many Seychellois find it hard to buy land from government even if they have the cash, others manage to do so without much hassle. The 1851 square meters of land has been transferred for a sum well below the market value of land. Is this anomaly enough to request the resignation of Minister Meriton?

LAWYER REQUESTS POLICE TO INVESTIGATE JUDGE

Judge Perera accused of the serious crime of forgery but no CAA investigations. This article is from Seychelles Weekly in 2007.

A criminal complaint was lodged with the police this week, against Supreme Court Judge A.R. Perera. The complaint was made by attorney, Mrs Alexia Antao. In her complaint, Mrs Antao has asked the police to conduct a criminal investigation of Judge Perera for forgery. According to the Penal Code anyone found guilty of forgery is liable to imprisonment of up to 3 years if convicted.

Alexia Amesbury then Antao and Judge Perera

 The complaint concerned proceedings and court records in a civil case dating back to October 2006. On October 17th at 10.00 am, court officials called a civil case with lawyer Philippe Boulle representing one party and Mr France Bonte representing the other side. The court record for the proceedings of that particular day was placed before Judge Perera for his signature. We reproduce below that record:

Mr Bonte: Your Lordship may I move in terms of my prayer.

Court (Judge Perera): There was an application for stay by Mr Boulle.

Mr Bonte: Your lordship if he has filed (sic) a reply now we take a date for ruling.

Court (Judge Perera): I will take an order on this. The case is fixed for ruling on 20th October 2006 at 9.00 am.

However, that proceeding does not appear on the records of that case. Instead, we have the following:

Mr Bonte: Your lordship may I move the motion be dismissed for want of appearance.

Court (Judge Perera): There was an application for stay by Mr Boulle.

Mr Bonte: Your lordship if he has failed to support the motion today, I move for dismissal.

Court (Judge Perera): The motion for stay of execution of judgment dated 22nd March 2006 was listed to be supported today. The parties are absent and unrepresented. On the application of counsel for the respondent, the motion is struck out.

This transcript was the one signed by Judge Perera as well as the court reporter. That last document, according to Mrs Antao, is the subject matter of the criminal investigation lodged by her with the police. Mrs Antao cites the Seychelles Penal Code which defines forgery as “the making of a false document with intent to defraud or to deceive”. The code goes on to elaborate what the “making of a false document” entails. Section 333 states:

Any person makes a false document who:

a)      makes a document purporting to be what  in fact it is not;

b)      alters a document without authority in such a manner that if the alteration had been authorised it would have altered the effect of the document;

c)       introduces into a document without authority whilst it is being drawn up matter which if it had been authorised would have altered the effect of the document.

In an exclusive interview, we asked Mrs Antao why she has brought the complaint against the judge when she had not been mentioned in the transcript. “It is precisely because my appearance for Mr Boulle has been removed from the proceedings that alerted me to something drastically wrong had taken place.” She said. According to the cause list, the case was to be heard at 10.30 am not 10.00 am. Below is a transcript of the entire proceeding as it is recorded on the tape:

Mr Bonte: Your Lordship may I move in terms of my prayer.

Court (Judge Perera): Mr Boulle is not here.

Mr Bonte: It is alright, may I move in terms of my prayer. We take a date for judgement.

Court (Judge Perera): There was an application for stay by Mr Boulle.

Mrs Antao:  Is it a case for Mr Boulle?

Court (Judge Perera): Yes

Mrs Antao: Can I stand for him? I am ready, willing and able but un-instructed.

Mr Bonte: Un-instructed. So sit down my friend. Let me go about my business.

Court (Judge Perera): There was an application for stay filed by Mr Boulle.

Mr Bonte: Yes.

Court (Judge Perera): With your reply.

Mr Bonte: Yes. Now we take a date for ruling.

Court: I will make an order on this. The case is fixed for ruling on 20th October at 9.00 am.

Judge Perera, a Sri Lankan by birth, arrived in Seychelles 25 years ago. At the time, the judiciary served the whims and fancy of the one party state dictatorship led by Mr Rene. Under the Constitution of the one-party state introduced in 1979, no one enjoyed the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms as we do today under the third Republic Constitution. The fundamental law was not even one-party state constitution but the constitution of the SPPF.

During his long career in Seychelles, Perera served a stint as Registrar of the Supreme Court. As a foreigner, Perera could only serve one term of seven years as a Supreme Court judge since, according to the Constitution of the Third Republic, he could not be reappointed. Perera somehow served two stints as Supreme Court Judge while still a foreigner. However, when his second term expired, Perera applied for and was granted citizenship, the consequence of which is life tenure as a Supreme Court judge. This sleight of hand has been condemned by Seychellois lawyers and politicians as an assault on the spirit of the constitution.

This is not the first time that Judge Perera has courted controversy in regard to court proceedings. In 1994 in a civil case brought by Ms Kathleen Pillay against the Russian airline Aeroflot and the Seychelles Government, Judge Perera ruled in favour of the Airline, which was represented by France Bonte. According to sworn affidavits  by two lawyers present in the court,  Ms Pillay stood up and shouted at the judge “Once again you have protected your post” and then stormed our of the court. According to these two lawyers in their affidavits, the lawyer for Aeroflot, Mr Bonte, addressed the court saying “My Lord this is a contempt of court”, to which Judge Perera replied, “I will report this matter to the Chief Justice” and then said to the stenographer, “Make a note of what has been said and I shall refer the matter to the chief Justice to deal with”.

The next day, however, Ms Pillay was served with a notice signed by Judge Perera, to appear before the Supreme Court two days later to show cause why she should not be dealt with for contempt of court.  However, when Ms Pillay applied for the transcript of the proceedings to prepare her defence, court officials informed her that Judge Perera refused to give back the file. Later, however, Ms Pillay received an extract of the proceedings from Judge Perera which had words, “Before I initiate proceedings for contempt” added.  During that time, in a sworn affidavit, Ms Pillay challenged the correctness of the record and said “… the extract provided to her was to the best of her information knowledge and belief, a false record of the proceedings”. Her allegation was further supported by the sworn affidavits of the two lawyers who were present in court on that day.

Earlier this year one of the parties in the case when Mr Boule was not present made a complaint against Judge Perera to the Constitutional Appointments Authority (CAA) to have the judge investigated by a tribunal for his conduct. When the complaint was given publicity by Nouvo  Vizyon Magazine, Perera inexplicably decided to offer an explanation to the magazine in a long letter justifying his action. In this letter, Judge Perera admitted to “recording the proceedings in chambers on the draft of the transcript of the earlier court proceedings.” Again according to him “that was no dishonest or corrupt, nor a falsification of record.”

Referring to her criminal complaint against Judge Perera the attorney, Mrs Antao, said “By his action, in my view, Judge Perera has shown that he has no integrity, is unfit to be a judge and I believe that in the eyes of the Seychellois people he has lost credibility as a judge. How many have won or lost their cases as a result of this kind of conduct. His conduct has further degraded the embattled judiciary. The judge has clearly become an embarrassment to our once reputable institution.”

This newspaper is of the view that if the authority concerned (CAA) does not intervene now and rescue the judiciary from itself, then they too would be responsible for the utter degradation of the judiciary unless such a judiciary serves another agenda contrary to that provided for by the Constitution.

Source: Seychelles Weekly 2007

NOTE:  There was never a tribunal for Judge Perera or any suspension by President James Michel. According to research the Judge was called to answer a few questions secretly behind closed doors by the then CAA Chairman France Bonte; this was a massive conflict of interest as Bonte was also implicated in the case. The investigations were buried even before it started.

LDS CONDENMS SUSPENSION AND INVESTIGATION OF JUDGE KARUNAKARAN

PRESS RELEASE

Linyon Demokratik Seselwa condemns the decision of President James Michel to suspend Judge Durai Karunakaran and to initiate an investigation, through the Constitutional Appointments Authority, into matters which have not been specified relating to his decisions and conduct.

The decision of President Michel, taken at the request of Chief Justice Mathilda Twomey, is an unprecedented and unjustified attempt to subject the Judiciary to the control of the Executive.

LDS considers that the decision is politically motivated and a measure of retaliation because of recent rulings by Judge Karunakaran in controversial cases related to the electoral process which were not in the political interests of President Michel and the Parti Lepep.

Judge Karunakaran has served the country for more than 30 years in an office of great responsibility, as a Judge of the Supreme Court and also as Acting Chief Justice, without any allegation of impropriety or complaint against his professionalism. There is no doubt that the action against him at this time is connected to the recent cases in which he has been involved.

LDS calls on President Michel and all the leadership of Parti Lepep to respect the independence of the Judiciary and refrain from using the power of the Executive and state institutions to further political interests.

Roger Mancienne October 11, 2016

Chairman, Linyon Demokratik Seselwa

SEYCHELLES PAST; THE DARK HISTORY

MASONIC MAFIA LINKED TO EDGWARE MURDER

The machine gunning of exiled Seychelles opposition leader Gerard Hoarau on the steps of his Edgware home last November was widely treated as yet another example of 'International Terrorism' at work. However, new evidence brought to light by French sources lifts the lid on a bizarre conspiracy involving the international heroin trade, the Mafia, a secret Masonic Order, and the would-be assassins of the Pope. Hoarau was the President of the Seychelles National Movement (SNM) and led the guerrilla 'Mouy6ment Pour La Resistance' (MPR), a right wing emigre coalition formed to overthrow the current government of the Indian Ocean micro state and its President France Albert Rene.

Since last February the SNM newspaper, the Seychelles Freedom Herald, published in London and smuggled in quantity to the Seychelles, has been waging a campaign against the influence of the Mafia in the archipelago—which has, been growing with President Rene's blessing. From its own investigations, supported by items in the Italian, American and British press, the SNM has concentrated its at- tack more and more on the man it considers to be the Mafia's key figure in the Seychelles, Mario Ricci.

Mario Ricci

 Aged 55 and a resident of the Seychelles for the past dozen years, Mr Ricci runs a large number of enterprises in the country, including hotels, housing developments and a tea company. Since June 1984 he has been officially accredited as Ambassador of the Order of the Knights Hospitalers of Malta to the Seychelles government. This American order is recognised by hardly any other country and has nothing to do with the charitable Rome-based Order of the Knights of Malta, but through it Mr Ricci enjoys diplomatic status and privileges, including immunity. He is also very close to President Rene, and sees him often.

In its last issue, dated September, the Seychelles Freedom Herald published letters from the Ministry of National Development in the Seychelles capital, Victoria, and from Barclays Bank showing that Mr Ricci had transferred nearly two million Seychelles rupees (about $271,000) to the ruling party, the Seychelles People's Progressive Front, in return for the indemnity of one of his Seychelles companies, Oceangate, received at its nationalisation in 1984. Oceangate, registered in Panama, received a cheque worth $500,000, when the normal practice in the Seychelles is for such indemnities to be paid in Treasury Bonds which cannot be cashed for many years.

The article ended with an announcement that "in a future issue the Herald in conjunction with an internationally famous publication, will expose on of the biggest financial scandals involving Rene and Ricci." Was this threat perhaps at the root of the decision to eliminate Gerard Hoarau? Hoarau knew Mario Ricci well. He spoke fluent Italian and became one of Mr Ricci's best friends when the latter arrived in the Seychelles. Their relationship developed over the years, and when Gerard Hoarau joined the opposition to the Rene regime, Mario Ricci partly funded the MPR, while re- maining on excellent terms with the President.

Albert Rene

At this point some of the wider ramifications became apparent. The MPR is attached to the shadowy French-based organisation, Confire'nce Inter- nationale des Resistances en Pays Occupis (CIRPO) run by extreme right wing publisher Pierre de Villemarest to ferment 'armed struggle' against Communist regimes across the world. It has a strong input from E. European emigre groups—including the current pretender to the throne of Albania—and is in touch with the S. African-backed NRM in Mozambique and the Nicaraguan Contras.

There has been speculation of some CIRPO involvement in the failed Seychelles coup attempt of four years ago.

During the preparations for the plot hatched in Room 412 of the Carlton Hotel in London in 1982, Mario Ricci gave Gerard Hoarau a credit card to enable him to pay expenses. But the room was bugged and in November 1982, the Seychelles radio broadcast recordings of the plotters' conversations. Gerard Hoarau was convinced that Mario Ricci organised the planting of the bugs and then passed on the recordings to President Rene. Even so, the two men continued to see each other regularly, their last meeting taking place in Switzerland a year ago.

However, by now convinced that Ricci was playing a double game, Hoarau must have then fallen out with his colleagues in the MPR and been threatening to expose the Mafiosi's drugs and currency operation in the Seychelles.

Gerard Hoarau had already exposed other scandals, amongst them that of the surprising protection extended by the Seychelles in 1984 to Francesco Pazienza, a Mafia big shot who was sought by the FBI, Interpol and the Italian police in connection with his supposed involvement in the P2 Masonic Lodge scandal and the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano in Italy and drug dealing in the United States. Pazienza was finally arrested in New York travelling under a false name on a Seychelles passport which he said had been given him by President Rene.

Pazienza was also alleged to be one of the controllers of the crazed Pontificide Mehemet Ali Agca—as part of a wider plot to 'destabilise' Italy in preparation for a fascist takeover, it will be watching his trial with interest.

Nick Reilly

Source: Indian Ocean Newsletter

NTERNATIONALT1MES VOL. 86 No 2. PAGE FOUR