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Archive -Letter to the editor

Letter to the Editor - ‘Proud to be a Seychellois’ |04 September 2015

Reading your leading article this morning (Thursday 3rd September, 2015) that Seychelles passport holders will as from the end of the year no longer need a visa for travelling to Russia, got me excited and happy to sing our song, ‘I am proud to be a Seychellois’.

In a world which is bent on the closing of borders, the citizens of Seychelles must be exhilarated by the knowledge that today we are able to travel to the United Arab Emirates, to China, to India and to most African and European nations without a visa. This makes Seychelles citizenship a most valuable commodity. The world has indeed become our village but we must make sure that our world is not a village. Briefly, we must think BIG and when we visit other nations, we must make sure that we behave with both pride and humility and in a manner which uphold respect for our privileged situation.

We must now aim at tackling the Australian and US authorities for a free visa entry. Many Seychellois have families and a special affinity with both Australia and the USA – and I am sure we can make a good case for their consideration in the light of what we have so far achieved. But certainly the recent visa waiver agreements signed by the government of Seychelles constitute a remarkable achievement on the part of President James Michel’s administration.

Finally, let me avail of this opportunity to state that I am writing to President Barack Obama inviting him to earmark the reopening of a full embassy in Seychelles as an action to be taken before he releases the presidency of the USA.

If President Barack Obama and the US are real friends, then this longstanding anomaly concerning US diplomatic presence in Seychelles must be soon rectified.

 

James R. Mancham

 

 

 

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