Seychelles National Assembly calls for TRNUC successor body to be created

The National Assembly also reported on several points of the debates in the TRNUC report. (Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - The taking of appropriate steps to follow up on the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) Report and the establishment of a successor body, are two calls for actions made by the Seychelles National Assembly in its Majority Report.

TRNUC, which was established in 2018 to work on settling past political divisions and grievances that were a result of the coup d'état in Seychelles on June 5, 1977, submitted a copy of its report to the National Assembly, which was debated upon from August 1 to 4.

To ensure that there is true and fair deliberation from both the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa party and the United Seychelles opposition party, two reports were submitted - a Majority Report and a Minority Report.

In its Majority Report, the National Assembly called for "the state to take appropriate steps to follow up on the TRNUC Report, in particular, for the implementation of its recommendations so as to complete the process required in its mandate, which will preserve the truth and further the objectives of reconciliation and national unity."

The Seychelles parliamentary body also called for "the establishment of a successor body, which is recommended by the Commission and supported by the National Assembly as the means by which decisions may be made on the recommendations and implemented by state institutions."

The third call for action is for the successor body to consider the views expressed by the National Assembly in the implementation of the Commission's recommendations in general.

The National Assembly also reported on several points of the debates in the TRNUC report.

On the TRNUC recommendations, it said that both parties in the National Assembly have endorsed in general the recommendations, but disagreed on the implementation.

"The LDS (Linyon Demokratik Seselwa) majority expressed reservations with regards to some and the manner in which they should be implemented, while the US (United Seychelles) opposition called for their implementation in their totality," said the report.

On the TRNUC's recommendation for justice, LDS argued that the recuperating of unlawful gains from the coup d'etat to compensate victims should be considered as a primary measure and the proper legal and procedural frameworks be considered.

The opposition party expressed the view that the National Assembly should not decide how the recommendation should be adopted but that it should be implemented in its totality as called for by TRNUC.

On reparations, the Commission has recommended a spectrum of reparations with the most prominent being apologies to the victims and monetary compensation.

The National Assembly report stated that although both sides agreed that there was a need for both, they disagreed on who should be responsible and how they should be implemented.      

"The US opposition argued that the TRNUC Report called on the state to be responsible in regards to both apology and compensation and that this should be accepted unequivocally," said the report.

"The LDS government side did not dispute the responsibility of the state but argued that those responsible for the injustice which has been caused had a primary responsibility in both apology and compensation," according to the report.

In the conclusion of the Minority Report, the US caucus said that given that the TRNUC process was deemed complete and a report presented, it feels that its recommendations should be adopted.