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Mancham’s eagerly awaited book on the way |29 August 2014

Mahé Publications Ltd., Publisher of VIOAS magazine and which has been appointed as distributor of the book of former President James R. Mancham entitled, ‘SEYCHELLES – The saga of a small nation navigating through the cross-currents of a big world”, has announced that the books have been printed in San Francisco and is now on the way to Seychelles where Mr Mancham is expected to launch its publication on Friday September 12, 2014.

Derek Pothin, marketing director of Mahé Publications Ltd, spoke to us briefly about this work which is divided into seven parts – each covering topics of Mr Mancham’s life and insights into political, cultural and economic wisdom.

The first part is the story of Seychelles from the colonial times to independence, covering the incarnations of the country’s three Presidents – James Mancham, Albert René and James Michel.

Part two is an overview of the Michel’s government and its goals. “Reading this part, one can become an expert in the current politics of the current Seychelles government,” he declared.

“The next part (Part 3) provides an overview of the relationship of the Seychelles to other nations important to it. Here one can learn about the plight of small nations amid the struggle for world power among large nations, from the Cold War to our multi polar world with the rise of China and India,” Mr Pothin explained.

Part four contains a description of the most important outlying islands of Seychelles – including who owns it. This is followed by an account of International Associations that former President Mancham have been actively involved with, over recent years, often in a leadership capacity. These organisations, according to Mr Pothin, are all related to topics that nations and leaders must understand if they are to successfully navigate their nations in the world.

There is a chapter concerning “International Anecdotes”, conveying an understanding of several leading figures in the world which Mr Mancham has known personally – ranging from Charles de Gaulle of France, Pierre Trudeau of Canada, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II, CIA handlers and even the notorious Ugandan leader Idi Amin.

“These constitute pieces of wisdom that can only be accumulated in a lifetime of international travel, diplomacy and political leadership and are very helpful in making sense of current events when they arise.”

These, according to Mr Pothin, is the view of Mr Gordon L. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Peace and Publisher of Paragon House – the company in St. Paul, Minneapolis, USA, which is publishing the book.

It is to be noted that Paragon House also published Mr Mancham’s books, ‘War on America – seen from the Indian Ocean’ and ‘Seychelles Global Citizen’.

So far as Mr Pothin is concerned, his preferred part of the book are the concluding thoughts of Mr Mancham on “The Future” – taking into account the limitations of current forms of governance and human nature. It contains an Epilogue that emphasises national reconciliation that downplays the role of political parties and emphasises the importance of all in a nation working together to move forward together.

In his concluding Foreword to the book, Publisher Anderson states – “In a world dominated by politicians and bureaucrats seeking primarily to profit personally from a position in government and ethnic groups, religious groups and political parties trying to twist the power of States for their own use, Mancham stands out as one of the few statesmen that can be said to have put the interest of all people above the interest of specific individuals and groups.”

According to Mr Pothin, the over 400-page book which also contains a photo gallery, will be put on sale at all leading bookshops in Seychelles as from September 13 at R300 a copy.

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