‘When elephants fight the grass gets trampled’ |20 February 2018
The construction of a military, aviation, maritime and communication facility by India for Seychelles is based upon the naive assumption that the Seychellois people can be easily duped and fooled by double talk. For the cold reality is that by having such a facility inevitably means being aligned, thereby making our territory and people a target and our rich and diverse eco-system a potential victim, particularly in these times of tense international rivalry.
The Indian High Commissioner’s announcement last Friday neither represents the interests of our people or the environment, but represents solely the current agenda of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, responsible for executing a political programme which has:
(I) Stoked continuing anti-Muslim violence in India
(II) Targeted western Christian groups.
(III) Remained unclear on its‘No-first use nuclear policy’ (NFU).
(IV) Seized the accounts of Greenpeace and removed their licence.
(V) Increased tensions between China and Pakistan.
(VI) Been considered by scholars to have been complicit in the Gujarat violence as a form of ethnic cleansing.
Modi has had his finger on India’s thermo-nuclear war button since 2014 and signed more recently contracts with the French for building High-pressurised Nuclear Power stations. Europe to date has not resolved the problem of its nuclear waste; instead the Italian Mafia have been paid to dump it in southern Italy or to scupper ship loads in the Mediterranean. Where will India be dumping its waste one wonders. Greenpeace had nobly proposed a responsible and sustainable development programme which would have addressed India’s agriculture production and energy needs in an intelligent and enlightened manner. In response the accounts of Greenpeace were seized and funds frozen due to its opposition to G.M. crops, coal fired and nuclear facilities which included weapons. Finally, the Delhi High Court found that the freeze on funds to be ‘Arbitrarily Illegal’.
Seychelles after Independence wisely commenced a ‘non-alignment’ policy under Albert René of: “Remaining non-aligned and exploring friendly ties with other countries” followed by James Mancham’s: “We need to remain non-aligned, friendly to all – enemy to none”. An aspect which is inherently ingrained in our spirit of being Seychellois, but it would appear that since the Multi-Party State we have seriously lost sight of our direction and focus as a Nation, focusing instead on imitating other countries, importing without discernment their mistakes and lack of moral values. There are welcome exceptions of course, but they are just that, the exceptions and not the rule.
Soon after independence this Nation took back its cultural values so that we could: ‘Create what it is to feel free and proud of our past’. Sadly today, all our libraries are closed and the Ministry of Culture often gets described as the ‘Phantom Ministry’. In this context we may ask poignantly: “How many people who visit these beautiful islands go away having experienced a trip in a pirogue or taken a ride in a traditional camion, let alone seen the ‘Annual Mahé to Praslin pirogue race’?”
So, not only are our leaders back-sliding on the ‘Non-alignment’ issue and the original ‘Culture policy’ but the ‘Seychelles Islands Foundation’ has now managed a volte-face on its own mandate of: “SIF’s mandate is to protect and conserve Aldabra and the Vallée de Mai.” Let’s be clear, in the event of war all those ‘gentlemen agreements on engagement and facility contracts’ get thrown out of the operation’s room window, where Assomption and Victoria would appear in every military strategic map worldwide. In such a scenario, not only Aldabra, but potentially all of Seychelles will be fully exposed and targeted, solely due to an irresponsible agreement to accept Indian military presence on Assomption. As one gentleman at Saturday’s protest at the Clock Tower pertinently said: “When elephants fight the grass gets trampled.”
India, China, America and Russia are currently involved in playing a dangerous game of maximising their territories and increasing their sphere of influence in other states and territorial waters in a finite world. Seychelles is considered a push over and it will be if we are not vigilant and realise that the Trojan horse had arrived as police vehicles. Vehicles which have taken our force off the ground where crime abounds and those drug addicts unfortunately are two or three steps ahead of the authority. When executing a break-in and theft, they are very enterprising, leaving no trace for forensic evidence and knowing too the timing of the patrols and often utilise a lookout.
It is humbly requested that the Indian High Commissioner, Dr Ausaf Sayeed, reflects on this military issue and has the courage to give genuine support to the wishes of the Seychellois. Meanwhile it is tentatively suggested that Dr Sayeed may also wish to consider a more pressing issue at home before things get out of hand: That is the palpable tension that is building up, particularly over Indian Nationals taking work from Seychellois together with the discontent created by contractors who bring in lorries and their own drivers. This clearly is an insult to our hard working drivers who provide an excellent level of service at a reasonable cost. Another poignant example of appreciation of differences against our people was when there was a shortage of cement, but not for Indian workers who were able to obtain thousands of bags, could we get six? No, and for three weeks nothing. This practice of discrimination against our indigenous people has to stop. There exists the ‘actively lazy’ yes, but today you find that unfortunately among many races regardless of colour.
This is the time to move away from fear, ignorance and the false idea of military security, erroneously held values which only go to play their part in creating an unsafe world and those voids in people’s lives that so often get filled with alcohol, drugs or anarchy.
Instead, today there is the urgent need from State House, embassies, schools and homes to implement a framework which develops a well balanced material and spiritual life, a lifelong journey for every individual which produces mental discipline, love and compassion, a consciousness too that we are all interconnected souls and the natural environment is sacred. It works incredibly well in Bhutan and the Community of Damanhur near Turin and would be a model well worth adopting here for our beloved Seychelles, where we could proudly go forward hand in hand for peace without weapons of destruction - as a noble example to the world. Ghandi would have honourably walked that talk.
Love, Light and Peace.
James Warren Des RCA
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Seychelles NATION newspaper.