Editorial

Editorial

WE RESPECT THE STRUCTURE OF STATE

In an article in the monthly magazine ISOLA BELLA, Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly was mentioned as one of three that carried banner headlines welcoming the President Hu Jintao to Seychelles.

Of the three newspapers mentioned, one belongs to the Government of Seychelles – but is used by the ruling party – SPPF, as a party propaganda sheet at public expense. The other, The People, is of course the organ of the SPPF. Both of them were making party political points.

We, on the other hand, carried the headline in respect of the structure of state. Mr Hu is the de jure president of a sovereign state with which our country has diplomatic relations. He was in Seychelles on a state visit. It is incumbent upon us, as a respectable newspaper, to make him feel welcomed. Regrettably, he was not permitted to meet with the ordinary Seychellois. It may or may not have been entirely due to security concerns.

JEAN SULTAN WILL BE SADLY MISSED BY MUSIC LOVERS!

Jean Sultan well known and much loved local musician passed away last Saturday. It is a sad moment for his family, friends and all his fans, which comes from all sectors of society. Jean Sultan will be remembered as a colourful and jovial character always smiling who made the Port of Victoria a joyful place to be when he worked there. Jean was affectionally known as “Papa” and all who knew him had great admiration and respect for the man.

However people have been saddened in the way the State Media chose to eulogies his memories on Wednesday evening, this week, during a special news item to honour the popular singer. That Jean Sultan was an ardent SPPF supporter is a fact that no one can deny. The SBC took advantage of a sad situation to engage in party political broadcast on behalf of the ruling party. Would SBC have done the same if Jean Sultan was an SNP or a DP supporter? Only Ibrahim Afif can answer this question. Shame on you Afif for turning the death of a respected individual into political propaganda. There was no need for pictures of political rallies - Jean Sultan had recorded enough musical video clips to fill an entire series.

This situation is hard evidence proving the systematic abuse of the state funded broadcasting media by the ruling party for party political purposes. It is a despicable act, one that SBC should be genuinely shameful of. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family, friends and fans of Jean Sultan irrespective of their political affiliations.