Law and Order Committee holds first meeting |05 December 2006

The meeting took place in the precinct of the Central Bank building.

The committee was appointed in the wake of political incidents during the month of October which started with the one on the third of that month in front of the National Library, where the police had to intervene to disperse an unlawful gathering by opposition supporters.

The committee’s mandate encompasses such issues as respect for law and order, the general framework and notion of law and order, as well as the handling of public incidents by the forces of law and order.

It is also aimed at providing a platform for dialogue whenever difficult situations arise in the country.

The eight-member committee is chaired by Francis Chang-Sam, a former attorney general of Seychelles. The other members are Patrick Herminie – Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly; Wavel Ramkalawan – Leader of the Opposition; Bishop Denis Wiehe of the Catholic Church; Bishop Santosh Marray of the Anglican Church; Gerard Waye-Hive – Commissioner of Police; Jenny Adrienne – Director of Customs; and Jean Paul Adam from the President’s Office.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, chairman Chang-Sam said that the purpose of the first session was for members to agree on a schedule and a timeframe by which they will have to hand in their first report to the government.

Noting that the committee could not meet before yesterday as not all members could be present, Mr Chang-Sam said that the committee has in principle agreed to come up with a first report in early March next year.

He said that this is due to the fact that the committee will be dealing only with the first item on its agenda – the October 3 incident -- during its next meeting in late January.

Mr Chang-Sam stressed that while the event of October 3 will constitute their initial report, it will not guide the dealings of the committee, whose mandate he said is very vast. 

Responding to comments that the committee is duplicating work already being undertaken by other such grouping, for example a committee of the National Assembly which has been mandated to seek a consensus on how to maintain law and order in the country, Mr Chang-Sam said that the Law & Order Committee is indeed justifiable as it is not politicized, and takes into account the contribution of different parties.