The old Forum Mancham and Diego Garcia issues

[Grandlarousse]

Sven Olof Lindblad made Seychelles’ cultural ambassador

14-April-2015
• As he hosts Seychelles’ Founding President Mancham as ‘global perspective guest speaker’ on National Geographic Orion Indian Ocean cruise


Sven Olof Lindblad, son of the late Lars Eric Lindblad who pioneered eco-tourism globally and who brought his cruise ship Linblad Explorer to Seychelles in the mid 60s before the opening of the Seychelles International Airport, was on Saturday night conferred with the title of an International Ambassador of Seychelles culture by the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange at a special reception which the founding President of Seychelles Sir James R. Mancham hosted at his residence in honour of Mr Lindblad.
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=245095

[Grandlarousse]

Luxurious cruise ship National Geographic Orion in Seychelles waters

20-April-2015
Mancham gives guests an enlightened lecture on Aldabra




“Seychelles and Aldabra in the context of global geopolitics” was the title of the address which Seychelles’ founding President Sir James Mancham delivered to 120 privileged passengers and 80 officers and crew on the luxurious cruise ship National Geographic Orion as she cruised from Astove Island of the Aldabra group towards Desroche Island of the Admirantes group on Thursday April 16, 2015.

The Aldabra atoll is 400 km from the nearest mainland. There is little soil, practically no fresh water, no guano, no phosphate, no deep-water anchorage. The jagged coral can quickly tear shoes, and feet, to ribbons. The atoll is an inhospitable and even dangerous place. And therein lies its value to science. Over the centuries Aldabra has proved unattractive to sailors, fishermen, settlers and commercial interests. No other Indian Ocean island - and few islands anywhere in the world - has been spared human interference for so long.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=245145

[Grandlarousse]

Swaziland princess finds wisdom in Mancham’s history

02-May-2015


The office of Seychelles’ founding President James R. Mancham has released a message Mr Mancham has received from Princess Sikhanyiso of Swaziland who represented the King of Swaziland at the recent Carnaval International de Victoria.
The message reads:

“The Kingdom of Swaziland is blessed to have participated for the first time in the Carnaval International de Victoria. Thank you for the hospitality in your breathtaking island; all will be duly reported to His Majesty.

“Your personal achievements have inspired me to never give up on life no matter the level of adversity. I learned forgiveness and reconciliation of the highest magnitude, having read your history. Such wisdom.

“As I patiently await your books, I will convey your wishes to visit His Majesty upon his return from Jakarta.”

It is to be noted that Mr Mancham was this week in Baku attending a meeting of Le Club de Madrid which was attended by over 80 former heads of states of democratic nations on the topic of ‘The quality of democracy prevailing in the world today’.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=245272

[Grandlarousse]

Trust essential for new World Order, Mancham declares

04-May-2015
In 2014 Henry Kissinger who was US secretary of state (from 1973-1977) defined World Order as “a set of commonly accepted Mr Manchamrules that define the limit of permissible action and a balance of power that enforces restraint where rules break down, preventing one political unit from subjugating all others”.

Today's world, however, seems to be experiencing the blurring of those limits, with world powers entering a conflict rhetoric unheard since the fall of the Berlin Wall

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=245283

[Grandlarousse]

Mancham guest of honour at the Mandela Washington Southern Africa fellowship conference

11-May-2015
● Will deliver keynote address

Former President James Mancham will be guest of honour and deliver a keynote address at the Regional Conference for the Mandela Washington Fellows from Southern AfricaThe office of founding President James R. Mancham has confirmed that the former President has accepted an invitation of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Organisation to be guest of honour and deliver a keynote address at the Regional Conference for the Mandela Washington Fellows from Southern Africa.
The conference will take place in Johannesburg on May 19 focused on the topic ‘The pitfalls of bad leadership’.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for young African leaders is a flagship programme of President Barack Obama for Young African Leaders Initiative (Yali) that empowers young people through leadership training and networking. The 2014 Mandela Washington Fellows have 500 of Southern Africa’s promising young leaders aged 25-35 who have achieved records of achievements of positive change in their institutions, communities and countries. The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders enjoys the support of three US-funded organisations – (i) the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), (ii) IREX, which is a Washington-based international non-profit organisation providing thought leadership and innovative programmes to promote positive lasting change globally and (iii) the Lead Africa Foundation which is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the quality and standards of leadership at all levels of African society.
All sub-Saharan countries are represented among the Mandela Washington Fellows and 50% of the fellows are women. In fact 75% of the fellows hold mid-level or executive positions. At this year’s conference Seychelles will be represented by Christopher Lespoir (MA), who is an Air Seychelles/Etihad pilot, chairperson of the Seychelles Young Leaders Association (SYLA) and who was last year elected chairperson of the Regional Advisory Board for Young African leaders of Southern Africa. Mr Lespoir will be accompanied by Fatoumata Sylla, director general for Youth Affairs in the Office of the President, and Sheryl Vangadasamy, elected member of the National Assembly for the Mont Buxton constituency.
Besides Sir James the conference will be addressed by two other dignitaries – Moeletsi Mbeki, a political analyst, author and entrepreneur who is a director of several companies and is chairman of KMM Investment (PTY) Ltd. Mbeki, who is the son of ANC leader Govan Mbeki and younger brother of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, is also deputy chairman of the South African Institute for International Affairs, an independent think tank based at the University of Witwaterstrand as well as a member of the executive committee of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies; and Ms Joyce Warner, senior vice-president and chief of staff of IREX. At the moment she is also overseeing and serves as a senior technical advisor to a grant and contract portfolio of over $125m in public and privately supported education and youth programmes.
In a statement from Glacis sur Mer yesterday morning Sir James said he felt deeply honoured to have been invited to address what he described as ‘the future leaders of Africa’.
“Africa’s tremendous potential is before us waiting to be tapped. The challenges are great but so must be viewed the excitement of being among those called upon to provide the dynamism and quality of leadership which the continent deserves at this changing time in order to make it clear that Africa is on the move and can no longer be classified as the forgotten continent,” said Mr Mancham.
Former President Mancham accompanied by his wife Lady Catherine will be leaving Seychelles next Sunday. Following the Johannesburg conference, they will be visiting Cape Town for discussions and talks with the management and scholars of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and socialising with friends in South Africa.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=245354

[Grandlarousse]

Re-opening old wounds: Chagossians in Seychelles tell of trip to visit home islands


The main plantation house, called 'Grann Kaz', once the heart of a thriving coconut industry, lies abandoned and forlorn (Alvin Tirant)

(Seychelles News Agency) - A small group of six Chagossians residing in Seychelles recently returned from a week’s tour of their homeland, re-living a tragedy spanning six decades; the forced removal of hundreds of islanders from their home, to make way for a US military base.
The six joined similar groups of Chagossians living in Mauritius and the UK for a special tour of the Chagos archipelago in early May.
The small group from Seychelles travelled to Chagos by flying Emirates Airlines to Dubai and Bahrain, from where they were brought across to Diego Garcia by a US military transport plane.

- See more at: http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/art ... z0rJb.dpuf

[fecas-ecsvs]

Chagos islanders go to supreme court in battle to be allowed home

Former residents of the Chagos Islands who were forcibly removed from their homeland more than 40 years ago will take their long legal battle to the UK’s highest court on Monday.

They are going to the supreme court in London to challenge a decision made six years ago by the House of Lords which dashed their hopes of returning home to their native islands in the Indian Ocean.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/j ... eturn-home