President Obama moved by Mancham’s generosity |07 December 2015

Seychelles founding President Sir James R. Mancham following his return to Seychelles last Thursday from various peace-orientated overseas missions, received in audience the U.S. ambassador to Mauritius and Seychelles, Shari Villarosa, at his residence at Glacis-sur-Mer, Mahé.

Ambassador Villarosa delivered to Sir James a personal letter from U.S. President Barack Obama who acknowledged receipt of a collection of Sir James' recent books - "I want you to know that I am moved by your generosity --- Though we all come from different traditions and communities, I believe nations and individuals are stronger when they work together. By connecting across borders and cultures and holding firm to the ideals that unite us, we can move toward a future of greater peace and prosperity for all. Thank you again for your thoughtful gesture. I wish you all the best," President Obama stated.

Sir James availed of the opportunity to discuss with Ambassador Villarosa and Paul Gormley, Economic Officer who accompanied her, a whole range of matters of and concerning world issues generally and Seychelles-U.S. relationship in particular.

He said that all citizens of goodwill in the world had been saddened by last week's barbaric shooting in San Bernardino, California, which followed the recent attack on innocents in Paris on November 13, 2015.

Sir James said that these attacks were horrifying crimes, filling the city with grief and uniting people throughout the world in solidarity with the victims and with France.
These attacks, he said, were cold-blooded murders of innocent people - clearly crimes deserving punishment. But when crimes are used as the impetus for war, the crimes and grief are multiplied and the toll of innocents increases to become the norm.

"Surely we must cry havoc, but we must also be wary of letting loose the dogs of war," he quoted this declaration which was recently made by David Krieger,  founder and chairman of the California-based Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Sir James said that as a global citizen committed to work for world peace, he was glad to note that President Obama shares his view that the problem of violent extremism cannot be solved by military intervention alone.