Seychelles strengthens ties with genocidal Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 June 2014, 06:50 GMT]
A delegation led by genocide-accused President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa met Seychelles President James Michel on Saturday at the Seychhellian capital Victoria and the two have vowed to strengthen diplomatic and political ties. While the Rajapaksa has opened up a Sri Lankan High Commission at Victoria, Seychelles also plans to open up its diplomatic office in Colombo in this year. “Seychelles will become the gateway for Sri Lanka into Africa and Sri Lanka will be a gateway for Seychelles into Asia,” Seychelles News Agency quoted the Designated Minister of that country Vincent Meriton in a report on Sunday.

The two countries have also signed a joint commission on bilateral cooperation.

Earlier this month, on Seychelles National Day on 18 June, US Secretary of State John Kerry had conveyed his hope that Seychelles would play an active role in "promoting stability throughout the Indian Ocean region".

After Maldives, Seychelles is yet another small island of strategic significance, that is in the radar of US, India and China, to come out in explicit support of Sri Lanka.

Tamils of Tamil Nadu origin form a minority in the islands of Seychelles. They were taken there in the British colonial period.