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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?
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Extra flights will boost tourism in Seychelles... and BA is back

14th October 2017

New opportunities: The Air France “Joon” flights are due to start in May (Photo: Courtesy of SNA)
New opportunities: The Air France “Joon” flights are due to start in May (Photo: Courtesy of SNA)

Tourism in Seychelles will be given a welcome boost with two airlines – British Airways and Air France – opening up new flight schedules.

British Airways will resume direct flights to Seychelles in March after ten years.

The airline will start operating two non-stop flights per week from London Heathrow from March 24 next year using its newest fleet of aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The departure flights from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 will be on Wednesdays and Saturdays and the return flights on Thursdays and Sundays.

Air France has announced that it will be operating scheduled flights from Charles De Gaulle airport Paris, from May 5, 2018, using its new sister airline “Joon”.

The new airline, which is targeting a younger clientele, will operate flights to Seychelles three times a week using its Airbus A340-600, to be replaced by an A350-900 by 2019.

Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, Seychelles Minister for Tourism, said: “It is necessary to see how we can cooperate and have a good development on the French market to bring French tourists to Seychelles.”

This development, he said, had “to be well coordinated to ensure that France remains the first tourist market to Seychelles”.

According to the local National Bureau of Statistics, France is second in terms of visitor arrivals to Seychelles with almost 30,000 visitors to date for the year.

Representatives from Air Seychelles, the Seychelles Tourism Board and the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority are holding discussions with representatives of Air France on technical areas of their operations.

Roy Kinnear, chief executive of Air Seychelles, said that Air France is free to operate in Seychelles as there is an “open-sky” policy in place.

Two of the Air France flights to Seychelles are on the same days as Air Seychelles' flights to Paris. 

Mr Kinnear said: “We need to be clear about what is right for Seychelles as a country, and what is right for Air Seychelles.”

Welcoming the British Airways announcement, Mr Loustau-Lalanne said it was “the best news for the Seychelles’ tourism industry”.

He went on: “We were all devastated when British Airways pulled out in 2004. The return of British Airways to the Seychelles with two non-stop flights from London Heathrow in 2018 will provide a boost, especially to our Five Star establishments.”

Sherin Francis, chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, said: “Seychelles has in the past years at every given opportunity expressed its interest to see British Airways serving the destination again and the invitations were even extended from the highest office in Seychelles. We are happy that this long-awaited day has arrived.”

She added: “The UK is a very important market for Seychelles and the team at British Airways can count on our support for this route.”

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ director of network and alliances, said: “The Seychelles is one of the most beautiful places on earth and we’re delighted to be adding this collection of islands to our extensive route network.”

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