Ex-Seychelles leader condemns treatment of Lai

‘TOTALLY WRONG’: Wavel Ramkalawan reiterated his opposition to his nation’s revocation of Lai’s overflight permit in April, while lauding bilateral commercial ties

Former Seychelles president Wavel Ramkalawan on Thursday said that his government’s last-minute revocation of overflight permission in April for President William Lai’s (賴清德) chartered aircraft en route to Eswatini was wrong and should never happen again.

“This [the decision] was totally wrong. And this is why I stood up, and the leader of the opposition also stood up to condemn that decision. And I hope this doesn’t happen again,” Ramkalawan said in an interview in Taipei.

Ramkalawan was in Taiwan mainly to attend Liberal International’s 65th Congress in Taipei. He is an Anglican priest who served as president of Seychelles from 2020 to last year.

Former Seychelles president Wavel Ramkalawan speaks during an interview in Taipei on Thursday.

Photo: CNA

Lai had originally been scheduled to travel to Eswatini on April 22. The trip was suspended after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar abruptly revoked overflight clearance for his chartered aircraft.

Taiwan accused China of being behind the moves by the three Indian Ocean island countries. The foreign ministries of Seychelles and Madagascar said they had rescinded the overflight permissions in accordance with their “one China” policy.

Taiwan subsequently rescheduled the trip, and Lai visited the African kingdom from May 2 to 4 aboard King Mswati III’s aircraft.

After his government made the decision in April, Ramkalawan issued a statement condemning it.

“Seychelles has a long-established commercial relationship with Taiwan based on fishing agreements which have been beneficial to our country,” the April 27 statement said.

“Its citizens have been free to enter or transit through our territorial waters and airspace. Overflight permission to the Taiwanese President should not be an issue in our relationship with China,” he said.

Asked about the statement, Ramkalawan said his country should respect international aviation protocols, adding that “to allow a plane to fly in the airspace should never be considered political. Whoever is on the plane.”

He added that Lai was set to make “a friendly visit to a friendly country” and that Seychelles’ Civil Aviation Authority had already given the go-ahead.

“And it was the president [Patrick Herminie] who admitted in a press conference that he himself intervened to say no, to cancel,” he said.

At a news conference on May 7, Herminie said that Seychelles remained committed to the “one China policy” and did not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, a report by the English-language Seychelles News Agency said.

Herminie said he had been briefed on the matter and had requested the cancellation of the overflight authorization, the report said.

Ramkalawan said the incident “has put Seychelles in a bad light.”

“Because it shows that Seychelles is not respecting the ICAO’s international standards, but rather using politics for whatever reason to interfere,” he said, referring to the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Asked whether he believed China was behind the last-minute cancellation of the overflight permit, Ramkalawan said that he did.

“It’s obvious, and I believe that China was also behind the decision of Mauritius and Madagascar,” he said.

He added that he had been warned by the Chinese embassy before traveling to Taiwan for the conference.

“I make it clear. I am not under the thumb of any country. I make my decisions,” he said.

Asked about future cooperation between Taiwan and Seychelles, the former president praised Taiwan for its leadership in semiconductors and many other sectors, including fisheries.

“And you are contributing to the world’s economy, to the prosperity of all nations of the world. So, therefore, because we’re talking about development, Taiwan should be considered a partner, and that’s the way I see it,” he said.