{"id":346,"date":"2010-06-10T16:03:34","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T16:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/2010\/06\/10\/letters-16\/"},"modified":"2010-06-10T16:03:34","modified_gmt":"2010-06-10T16:03:34","slug":"letters-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/letters-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Readers’ Response\/ Opinion<\/span><\/span><\/strong> <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To Our Readers\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Your views are of interest to us. They help us balance the argument in the correct perspective. We welcome you to draw our attention to anything or opinion expressed in the Mauritius Times (or any national or international event of interest) with which\u00a0you agree from your own angle or disagree due to a different appreciation of facts. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We will gratefully receive your communications at the email address:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

mtimes@intnet.mu<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>* * * <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>Open letter to the Honourable Chief Justice<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201c\u2026 OF BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Your Lordship<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I take the liberty of using the public media to address this letter to you as the issues involved are of public importance and should meet with public scrutiny. I therefore apologise at the outset for my lack of decorum in bypassing a more private means of ventilating my thoughts to you.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At a function hosted by the Bar Association yesterday, you announced that you had recommended to the President of the Republic, no less than 16 names of barristers to accede to the rank of Senior Counsel, and that such recommendation had been favourably entertained. I would first of all unreservedly congratulate you on your decision to proceed with these appointments as many of them are more than long overdue. I would also like to express my warmest and most sincere congratulations to each and every member of the profession on whom this special honour has been bestowed \u2013 they are all my friends and colleagues at the bar and have justly deserved the recognition they are now receiving. I would however comment on the opacity of the appointment exercise and the resulting perceptions of injustice and unfairness that permeate as a result of this lack of transparency.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, whilst we are all aware that a senior counsel (previously known as Queen\u2019s Counsel or QC for short) is a senior member of the bar who has earned respect and merit by reason of his exemplary track record over a number of years, it is less clear as to what these criteria are in benchmarking the standards required to be achieved by a prospective senior counsel. In the absence of clear and transparent guidelines, one is left to surmise on a number of fundamental questions, including (i) the qualities having retained the attention of the selectors, (ii) the democracy of the selection exercise, (iii) the correctness of the information considered in the selection process, and (iv) the impartial treatment of all potential candidates. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is no doubt for this very reason that the United Kingdom and a number of Commonwealth countries, having judicial systems like ours, have adopted clear procedures for the selection process of QCs. As opposed to being handpicked at random, prospective QCs in the United Kingdom are required to fill in clearly formulated questionnaires. The Queen\u2019s Counsel Appointments (QCA) is the independent body in the United Kingdom which makes recommendations for QCs from the Queen\u2019s Counsel Selection Panel. The website of the QCA defines the selection process as follows:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe award of Queen\u2019s Counsel is for excellence in advocacy in the higher courts. It is made to experienced advocates, both barristers and solicitors, who have higher rights of audience in the higher courts of England and Wales and have demonstrated the competencies in the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Competency Framework<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to a standard of excellence. \u201cAdvocacy\u201d includes both oral and written advocacy before the higher courts, arbitrations and tribunals and equivalent bodies. There is no specific requirement as to the amount of in court or written advocacy, so long as there is sufficient evidence for the Panel to reach a conclusion as to excellence in respect to each of the competencies.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The following guidelines are also issued:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCombined with the revised competency framework, the revised process serves the public interest by offering a fair and transparent means of identifying excellence in advocacy in the higher courts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The scheme:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– places the competencies required of an advocate at the heart of the scheme<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– places selection in the hands of an independent selection panel<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– includes appreciable \u201clay\u201d (non-lawyer) membership and judicial membership on the selection panel<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– includes a modern \u201cself assessment\u201d in relation to the competencies and ensures that the \u201cself assessment\u201d is taken into account at the stage of decision<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– contains no element of \u201cautomatic consultation\u201d or \u201csecret soundings\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– addresses the problem of \u201cvisibility\u201d by focusing the selection of references towards only those who have personally seen the candidate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– takes references from judges, practitioners, and professional clients, clients or client proxies<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– includes a face to face interview of the candidate, involving members of the Selection Panel<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– provides for the publication of information about the broad fields of law in which the candidate has demonstrated excellence as an advocate at the time of appointment<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– provides a mechanism for removal of the award for cause<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– provides arrangements for feedback to unsuccessful candidates, and for a complaints procedure<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– is wholly self-financing.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Turning back to our local situation, it is impossible to determine the parameters of the recent selection process (since there was no prior call for applications), nor is it possible to state that the exercise was fairly conducted. It is also unclear to what extent active presence in court (i.e. litigation practice) was a determining factor, but I note that in the last selection exercise in the United Kingdom, 5 honorary silks were appointed by virtue of \u201ctheir major contribution outside practice in court\u201d. I shall venture to use my personal situation to illustrate my above contention:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I was called to the bar 25 years ago; 3 out 5 eligible candidates in my year have been appointed as Senior Counsel.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have been an active professional practitioner and have developed specialised skills in commercial and corporate law.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I set up a structured law firm on the island more than 10 years before the coming into operation of the Law Practitioners\u2019 (Amendment) Act 2008.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My law firm was the first domestic law firm to be registered as a law firm with the coming into effect of the new law.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have been actively involved in research and publication. I authored on my own, two major works, namely \u201cCase law of Mauritius – A Compendium\u201d and \u201cCompany Law of Mauritius\u201d (in two editions). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have been actively involved in the continuing annual publication of the Mauritius Reports and have in association with Lexis Nexis, recently collaborated with the Attorney General\u2019s Office to publish the Revised Laws of Mauritius.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have spoken as a Mauritian expert commercial lawyer and promoted the local legal profession at a number of international conferences, including the International Bar Association.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I am the head of a practice consisting of a dozen lawyers and employing about 30 persons.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I must also strongly deplore the fact that no woman barrister has been appointed in the last selection exercise. It is a matter of regret that in a profession comprising of a number of women judges and magistrates, and an increasing number of women practitioners, not a single woman barrister has been found worthy of appointment as senior counsel to date. So much My Lord for equal opportunities!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your Lordship may construe my above \u201ccontestation\u201d as being a barely veiled attempt at securing a future appointment. To this, I would humbly state that I am fully conscious that in taking on the establishment in such a frontal way, I have voluntarily disqualified myself for any future appointments. In any event My Lord, my motivation in bringing my great disappointment to the glare of the public eye is not to draw attention to myself, but to the injustice being caused to a number of deserving barristers who may never know why they cannot aspire to be Senior Counsel.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Urmila<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lettre ouverte \u00e0 Jacques D\u2019Unienville<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Lorsque vous, le patron, vous oeuvrez dans l\u2019int\u00e9r\u00eat de vos artisans et de vos laboureurs, que vous travaillez en concert avec l\u2019Esprit de Dieu, notre Cr\u00e9ateur\u00a0\u00bb<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/em><\/strong>— P\u00e8re Guy Le Juge de Segrais<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

— Louis Leclezio\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cher Jacques<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Je te connais seulement \u00e0 travers la MBC\/TV.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tu ne me connais pas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Permets-moi donc de me pr\u00e9senter. Je suis Louis Leclezio. Fernand Leclezio est mon p\u00e8re. Claude Noel, un des administrateurs de Savannah, est mon parrain.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A l\u2019\u00e9poque, mon papa \u00e9tait consid\u00e9r\u00e9 comme \u00e9tant un visionnaire et un avant-gardiste dans l\u2019industrie sucri\u00e8re et dans ses relations avec tous les Mauriciens. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ce constat se justifie pleinement aujourd\u2019hui quand on r\u00e9alise que papa a \u00e9t\u00e9 le pr\u00e9curseur de la centralisation des usines sucri\u00e8res. Une politique embrass\u00e9e pleinement aujourd\u2019hui par le gouvernement dirig\u00e9 par notre brillant Premier ministre, l\u2019Union europ\u00e9enne et les propri\u00e9taires sucriers. Du ciel, papa et nous ses enfants ici-bas, sommes heureux de voir qu\u2019il y a 60 ans, papa fut le fondateur de trois des quatre usines qui restent op\u00e9rationnelles aujourd\u2019hui.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Le r\u00f4le de papa dans la centralisation de FUEL, dans l\u2019est du pays, et la contribution de papa dans le d\u00e9veloppement et l\u2019expansion, \u00e0 travers la fermeture de Trianon par exemple, de M\u00e9dine dans l\u2019ouest, sont bien connus. Mais dans le Sud, concernant la structure de Savannah, son empreinte est moins reconnue. Les archives de la compagnie pourraient peut-\u00eatre te r\u00e9v\u00e9ler les faits \u00e0 ce sujet. Pour honorer la fondation de Savannah par papa, quoique Claude Noel ne f\u00fbt pas un membre de notre famille, il \u00e9prouva le d\u00e9sir d\u2019\u00eatre, non seulement administrateur de Savannah, mais aussi d\u2019\u00eatre mon parrain sur les fonds baptismaux en 1946. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Papa nous disait souvent comment il s\u2019\u00e9tait assur\u00e9 que Claude recevrait une compensation nettement sup\u00e9rieure \u00e0 la sienne, et ce, avec le consentement du board de direction de FUEL et de M\u00e9dine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

C\u2019est cet esprit de g\u00e9n\u00e9rosit\u00e9 et de justice envers les autres, les plus petits comme les plus grands, qui, selon papa, faisait sa force, celle de son entourage et surtout celle du pays.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cela fut reconnu par plusieurs membres du gouvernement travailliste pendant des d\u00e9cennies. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pour sa part, le p\u00e8re Guy Le Juge de Segrais, dans un sermon adress\u00e9 \u00e0 papa et maman lors de leurs noces d\u2019argent, faisait aussi ressortir\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0Trop souvent, les industriels ne cherchent qu\u2019\u00e0 mesurer leur succ\u00e8s par rapport aux profits de leurs entreprises. Mais vous, cher Fernand, c\u2019est avant tout le bien-\u00eatre de tous, que vous recherchez. C\u2019est pourquoi vous avez toujours vis\u00e9 beaucoup plus haut que la m\u00e9diocrit\u00e9. L\u2019esprit des entrepreneurs sortant tous du m\u00eame moule n\u2019\u00e9tait pas le v\u00f4tre. Vous avez compris mieux que tous et vous vous \u00eates assur\u00e9 que c\u2019est seulement lorsque vous, le patron, vous oeuvrez dans l\u2019int\u00e9r\u00eat de vos artisans et de vos laboureurs, que vous travaillez en concert avec l\u2019Esprit de Dieu, notre Cr\u00e9ateur. En cette ann\u00e9e 1961, alors que vous c\u00e9l\u00e9brez vos noces d\u2019argent, l\u2019\u00e9glise universelle c\u00e9l\u00e8bre le 70eme anniversaire de l\u2019encyclique \u2018Rerum Novarum\u2019 du Pape L\u00e9on XIII. Cette encyclique fut reconnue comme \u00e9tant la charte des travailleurs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Mon cher Fernand, quand je passe en revue la charte de vos accomplissements, le plus \u00e9difiant et celui qui vous \u00e9l\u00e8ve le plus, est bien ce que vous avez fait pour am\u00e9liorer les conditions de vie de vos travailleurs, en leur fournissant des maisons confortables.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0En ce faisant, vous avez r\u00e9pondu g\u00e9n\u00e9reusement \u00e0 l\u2019appel de l\u2019encyclique d\u2019un Pape, qui lui aussi, sortait de l\u2019ordinaire. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Vous m\u00e9ritez, \u00e0 travers cet accomplissement gigantesque sur notre toute petite \u00eele, la reconnaissance de l\u2019Eglise Catholique Universelle.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0J\u2019aimerais souligner que, personnellement, je reconnais que le monde entier a bien besoin de capitaliste catholique visionnaire comme vous pour combattre le communisme dans nos villages, sur notre petite \u00eele et dans le monde entier.\u00a0\u00bb <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cher Jacques, depuis mon retour au pays et apr\u00e8s un tour d\u2019horizon, autre que notre honorable Premier ministre et son r\u00f4le pr\u00e9pond\u00e9rant aupr\u00e8s de l\u2019Union europ\u00e9enne en faveur du pays et de l\u2019industrie sucri\u00e8re, je me suis souvent demand\u00e9, qui, aujourd\u2019hui, strictement dans l\u2019industrie, occupe un peu la place que papa occupait dans le pass\u00e9.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Apres t\u2019avoir bri\u00e8vement observ\u00e9 \u00e0 la TV, tu me parais \u00eatre celui qui pourrait porter le flambeau visionnaire et avant-gardiste de papa.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Je dis bien \u2018parais \u00eatre\u2026\u2019. Quand tu m\u2019auras convaincu que tu ne te retourneras pas pour mordre la main qui a, il y a plus de 60 ans de cela, tout planifi\u00e9 pour nourrir tous \u00e9quitablement et non encourager la gourmandise de certains, quand tu auras prouv\u00e9 que tu souscris pleinement \u00e0 l\u2019id\u00e9ologie d\u2019un des fondateurs de Savannah, alors je serais heureux de dire\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0Tu es le digne porteur du flambeau\u2026\u00a0\u00bb<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ta contribution dans le juste d\u00e9nouement des n\u00e9gociations entre l\u2019industrie sucri\u00e8re et les artisans et laboureurs viendront me confirmer qui tu es vraiment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Je termine en te laissant savoir qu\u2019aujourd\u2019hui, je ne suis que le fils de Fernand et sans aucun int\u00e9r\u00eat financier dans l\u2019industrie sucri\u00e8re. J\u2019ai investi le temps n\u00e9cessaire pour t\u2019\u00e9crire cette lettre dans l\u2019int\u00e9r\u00eat de notre pays et de tous ceux qui oeuvrent pour le rendre meilleur pour tous.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sur cette note, je termine en te disant que papa et moi aimions particuli\u00e8rement le s\u00e9ga de Serge Lebrasse qui disait si justement\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0A be mwa si mo pa travaye tablissement tombe lor la paye\u2026 a be mwa si mo pa travaye l\u2019\u00eele Maurice tombe lor la paye\u00a0\u00bb<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Il serait important de le parodier en disant\u00a0: \u00ab\u00a0a be NOUS<\/span> si nous<\/span> pa travaye pou la zistis sociale, nous<\/span> tou pou tomb lor la paye\u00a0!\u00a0\u00bb<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cher Jacques, j\u2019ai essay\u00e9 de t\u2019appeler \u00e0 ton bureau et sur ton portable, mais en vain. Je reconnais qu\u2019en cette p\u00e9riode, tu as beaucoup d\u2019autres chats \u00e0 fouetter et aussi \u00e0 caresser.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

J\u2019ai tout de m\u00eame trouv\u00e9 cela une dr\u00f4le de co\u00efncidence, qu\u2019alors que l\u2019Esprit me poussait \u00e0 te contacter lundi matin, tu \u00e9tais \u00e0 la messe. Cela me motive encore plus \u00e0 te contacter et \u00e0 publier cette lettre, en esp\u00e9rant qu\u2019un jour, un pr\u00eatre ou un \u00e9v\u00eaque t\u2019adressera les m\u00eames \u00e9loges que le p\u00e8re Guy le Juge de Segrais adressait \u00e0 papa. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bien sinc\u00e8rement<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Louis Leclezio<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0
9 juin 2010\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Publi\u00e9 sur le blog\u00a0:
www.lleclezio.blogspot.com<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Un appel \u00e0 l\u2019intelligence d\u00e9mocratique<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Je voudrais en tant que chef religieux de notre pays solennellement inviter les deux parties si essentielles \u00e0 la vie publique \u2013 le gouvernement et la presse (du moins, une section de celle-ci) \u2013 qui s\u2019affrontent ouvertement et avec une hargne certaine, \u00e0 revoir leurs assises.<\/span><\/p>\n

Le gouvernement vient d\u2019\u00eatre \u00e9lu et doit, selon le mandat qui lui a \u00e9t\u00e9 conf\u00e9r\u00e9, g\u00e9rer le pays au cours des cinq prochaines ann\u00e9es. Des probl\u00e8mes difficiles l\u2019attendent auxquels il lui faudra courageusement et dans l\u2019urgence trouver des solutions\u00a0: la pauvret\u00e9, le gu\u00eapier que devient l\u2019\u00e9ducation, les ravages de la drogue, le ch\u00f4mage, la violence\u2026 il lui faudra focaliser toute son attention et toute son \u00e9nergie sur ces probl\u00e8mes. Pour ce faire, la totale collaboration de toute la presse lui est indispensable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Les journaux, rappelons le, ont pour noble fonction d\u2019instruire et d\u2019informer dans un espace de libert\u00e9 de parole et de mouvement. Ils assurent par leurs analyses, mais aussi et surtout par leurs critiques, une a\u00e9ration n\u00e9cessaire \u00e0 la vie sociale et d\u00e9mocratique.<\/span><\/p>\n

Les journalistes et les gouvernants \u2013 mais aussi, l\u2019opposition \u2013 doivent voir large et mutuellement \u00e9viter les indignes antagonismes personnels. Qu\u2019ils \u00e9vitent l\u2019insalubrit\u00e9 d\u2019un climat de suspicion bas\u00e9 sur le non-dit, les sous-entendus, mais aussi, la violence tant verbale que mat\u00e9rielle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Au cours des ann\u00e9es difficiles qui viennent, il nous faut imp\u00e9rativement conforter la sauvegarde d\u2019une politique intelligente de compromis. L\u2019espace de libert\u00e9 ne saurait \u00eatre r\u00e9duit\u00a0: au contraire, rendons plus large notre \u00ab\u00a0Agora\u00a0\u00bb afin qu\u2019un d\u00e9bat sain fait dans le respect d\u2019autrui am\u00e8ne les r\u00e9ponses essentielles \u00e0 notre mieux-vivre. Evitons \u00e0 tout prix ce point dangereux o\u00f9 le fouet remplace le dialogue\u00a0: quel que soit celui qui le fait claquer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ainsi, ce serait temps de susciter entre les diff\u00e9rentes parties concern\u00e9es un espace de dialogue qui permettrait au pays de devenir encore une fois un exemple pour le monde. Que la libert\u00e9 de Parole prime sur la r\u00e9pression des sentiments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vive L\u2019\u00eele Maurice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mgr Ian Ernest
<\/span><\/em><\/strong>Ev\u00eaque de Maurice<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

8 juin 2010<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

* * *<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Apropos \u2018<\/span><\/span><\/strong>Identitag<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In his article \u00ab Identitag \u00bb, published in the Mauritius Times<\/em> of 4 June 2010, Dev Virahsawmy starts by stating that \u00ab The Constitution recognises 4 ethnic groups \u00bb: this is a distortion.\u00a0 <\/span>The First Schedule section 31(2) regarding \u00ab 3. Communities \u00bb, the Mauritian Constitution states under (4) (4)<\/span> that \u00ab For the purposes of this Schedule, the population of Mauritius shall be regarded as including a Hindu community, a Muslim community and a Sino-Mauritian community; and every person who does not appear, from his way of life, to belong to one or other of those 3 communities shall be regarded as belonging to the General Population, which shall itself be regarded as a fourth community<\/em> \u00bb.\u00a0 <\/span>The term \u00ab ethnic group \u00bb is not mentioned. Ethnic group is a controversial term normally used for non-white races.\u00a0 <\/span>Moreover, a religious community is certainly not an ethnic group.\u00a0 <\/span>Also, General Population is a residual category for those who do not wish to be identified under the first three heads, which, for administrative purposes is \u00ab regarded as a fourth community.<\/em> \u00bb<\/span><\/p>\n

D. Virahsawmy misleads readers further when he speaks of \u00ab Afro Creoles \u00bb, term which he dismally confuses with Afro-Mauritians.\u00a0 <\/span>By definition, a Creole is a person of white European descent born in inter-tropical colonies, or a slave (or his descendants) who speaks a Creole language based on the language of the slave\u2019s masters.\u00a0 <\/span>Creole also refers to certain plants and animals in those colonies.\u00a0 <\/span>Hence, an \u2018Afro Creole\u2019 would be a (White European) Creole in Africa not Mauritius.\u00a0 <\/span>But White Africans, for example, in South Africa or Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), do not consider themselves as Creoles. Where did he fabricate this from?\u00a0 <\/span>It is a product of his politics in the late1960s and certainly not a product of linguistics!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The reason why there is no separate \u00ab Christian community \u00bb is simply because at the time of the drafting of the Constitution, Christians did not make such a case.\u00a0 <\/span>There is nothing preventing them from doing so now.\u00a0 <\/span>But some Afro-Mauritians of Christian faith want to be identified as (Black) \u201cCreoles\u201d, a term born in slavery and servility against which Mauritians are protected in the Constitution.\u00a0 <\/span>Such a term is clearly unconstitutional. It is also of discriminatory as it excludes, for example, Indo-Mauritians of Christian faith as well as Franco-Mauritians who are the true Creoles, a tag which they reject.<\/span><\/p>\n

Concluding on a totally different subject, Mr Virahsawmy, who says he is thankful to Jesus, pleads for Mauritians with \u00ab different sexual orientation \u00bb, meaning homosexuals, and for those who are \u00ab sex workers \u00bb, meaning prostitutes, when those practices are condemned in and offensive to Christianity and other religions!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

M Rafic Soormally<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

London\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/p>\n

We may decide to publish your comments or the relevant parts thereof if we consider that they will help our readers better understand specific contexts and maintain MT as the foremost and most balanced analytical newspaper of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Readers’ Response\/ Opinion \u00a0 To Our Readers\u00a0 \u00a0 Your views are of interest to us. They help us balance the argument in the correct perspective. We welcome you to draw our attention to anything or opinion expressed in the Mauritius Times (or any national or international event of interest) with which\u00a0you agree from your own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-5A","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}