Much missed: Elvis Dias in younger days
14th March 2024
By Lewis BetsyThis is such a sad time as I have lost another dear friend, Elvis Dias.He died four days after his 66th birthday and with family and friends, I attended his funeral at Our Lady of the Vi... more...
By Lewis Betsy  The scandal of what is happening with the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission is an outrageous insult to the people of Seychelles. In his State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ramkalawan referred to the TRNUC, but he never offered anything serious or concrete concerning what would happen to the victims. I had previously warned that the Commission looked doomed to fail.  Yet it must not fail. The Government must not let the victims down. The truth is that the TRNUC has become a joke for the LDS Government. They are playing politics with it and applying a delaying tactics strategy with the victims.  The time has come to say enough is enough. My case number is No 2 and I am sure by now the Government must have had an idea where mine and all the many other cases were heading. It is not that difficult. We simply want justice and compensation for all the hurt we have suffered since 1977.  Naturally, we need answers to achieve closure.  In the meantime, we are forced to wait and trauma continues to impact families. Those that decided to stay in Seychelles have also suffered, but it was their choice not to bring their cases to the TRNUC.  It appears there is a blame culture going on: We are not children of Seychelles now because we brought our cases to the TRNUC. However, the suffering goes on for all.. For some victims it is too late. They have died with no answers forthcoming. So I ask: Where are the lists and names of the perpetrators? Why is the President keeping the lists from us? Is he protecting someone? Of the few perpetrators who came to the TRNUC, only five or six of them publicly said sorry for what they had done. And that was it. I note that many other known perpetrators are out and about in town, mixing freely with the public. It has become a sick joke and we, the victims, are suffering. The fact is I believe the TRNUC has become such a shambles that no one wants to deal with it. The LDS have the power they want and are cynically running the country without a care in the world. They have no sense of responsibility or duty. The LDS government is trying to wash its hands when it comes to paying the victims – though I see that they managed to find the money to pay all the Commissioners.  Yet who set up this scenario in the first place? It was Ramkalawan and former President Danny Faure. Timing is all, of course, and there are elections next year. We’ve got to watch it, or LDS might use the victims again to get another term in office. The more you think about the issue the more it makes you sick. How on Earth are we ever going to achieve unity in Seychelles when this situation persists?
11th March 2024
By Lewis BetsyThe scandal of what is happening with the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission is an outrageous insult to the people of Seychelles.In his State of the Nation Address (SONA... more...
Hope: Lewis Betsy meets President Danny Faure at State House on 16th March 2017 to discuss unity.
11th March 2024
By Lewis BetsyI write this with a great sense of loss and despair. For decades now I have campaigned for my beloved Seychelles to achieve unity.It is now March 2024 and there is nothing like it in sig... more...
1st March 2024
By Lewis BetsyWe heard optimistic words about the future of Seychelles from President Wavel Ramkalawan in his State of the Nation Address for 2024, but will these hopes be fulfilled?He talked about th... more...
Expert: Alain St.Ange addresses the audience at the African-Asian Union ceremony
29th February 2024
Seychelles tourism expert Alain St.Ange was part of the awards panel that declared Sharm El-Sheikh the Tourism Capital City 2024.The former Tourism Minister for Seychelles who now heads his own touris... more...
Devoted mother: Helen Azolan
31st January 2024
By Lewis BetsyIt was with great sadness that my wife and I said a final farewell to our dear friend Helen Azolan.Helen, a much-loved mother of four, died aged 64, and Seychellois families and friends ... more...
Dedication: Rosie Bistoquet (picture The National Assembly of Seychelles)
8th January 2024
By Lewis BetsyI would like to pay a personal tribute to the life and work of Rosie Bistoquet, a member of the Seychelles National Assembly, whose life has ended so tragically.Rosie Bistoquet, 62 and a... more...
Best wishes: Lewis Betsy, publisher of Seychelles Life
20th December 2023
By Lewis BetsySeychelles Life would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.It has been a terrible time for those hit by the floods and then the massive explosion in Mahe.My heart... more...

We must pursue the idea of unity, the future of Seychelles depends on it

11th March 2024

Hope: Lewis Betsy meets President Danny Faure at State House on 16th March 2017 to discuss unity.
Hope: Lewis Betsy meets President Danny Faure at State House on 16th March 2017 to discuss unity.

By Lewis Betsy

I write this with a great sense of loss and despair. For decades now I have campaigned for my beloved Seychelles to achieve unity.

It is now March 2024 and there is nothing like it in sight… and the chances of unity taking on a tangible form soon are fading.

We can never forget the Hell we went through under Albert Rene, the dictator of Seychelles, and now we’re seeing another pattern similar to dictatorship from a leader we expected more from.

Certainly, President Wavel Ramkalawan has never committed any crime or atrocity and has  none of the brutality of Rene, but there are some traits that are deplorable.

Ramkalawan promised a lot of things before he was elected, now he’s a different person altogether. He doesn’t listen and he doesn’t keep his word.

He came into power on the back of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC), but today he’s treating the victims like imbeciles and fools and he thinks he can get away with it.

Former President Danny Faure believed in unity and we discussed it at some length when I met him at State House in 2017. He and Ramkalawan agreed to set up the TRNUC.

This was an important milestone in the troubled history of Seychelles.

Since my release from Rene’s jail and arrival in the United Kingdom on 1st April 1980, I have never stopped thinking about my friends and all the suffering that they and other Seychellois went through after the 1977 coup.

Indeed, the TRNUC were given many details when I submitted my case in 2019.

I met the late Sir James Mancham when in the UK and he told me that he was going to fight for National Reconciliation for Seychelles. It was an excellent idea, one worth pursuing.

In the UK, with my friend Bernard Verlaque, we launched a newspaper called the Seychellois International. It was the first newspaper printed abroad to tell the world what was really happening in Seychelles.

Unity has been a beacon for me. It has always been close to my heart.

President Wavel Ramkalawan called for unity in his 2024 State of the Nation Address. Sadly, this failed to impress because – shockingly – it is obvious he is not serious about the issue.

Nor it seems is anyone else in Government.

In the National Assembly at every single meeting, politicians from both parties are at each other’s throats. There is a walkout almost every time.

It is shameful. Surely it is time these MNAs grew up.

If we cannot get our National Assembly members to unite, how are we ever going to get the Seychellois people to unite?

We need mature and sensible politicians, maybe even new parties that reflect common sense and purpose.

However, here’s an idea I think will help unity.

We should arrange a convention where politicians from all parties, plus all the other organisations in Seychelles, can meet and discuss a formal process to achieve unity. Following that, they would hold a referendum so the people of Seychelles can vote on the matter.

Otherwise, I cannot see national unity in my lifetime. Failure to achieve unity would be a disaster morally, socially and economically. Seychelles cannot afford to lose this opportunity.