1 & 2) Information referring specifically to Gerard Moareau's relatives could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. Current information on the situation in the Seychelles among the available sources is very limited. However, one 1989 source dealing with the human rights situation in the Seychelles states:

"The government has, and uses, various means to stifle political opposition." [ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1989), p. 297.]

The same source quotes as an example of such means the forcible expropriation by the government of real estate "owned by Seychellois abroad known to oppose the Government". [ Ibid.]

In another section, the report states that "the Government has directly urged opponents to emigrate, an option that many have chosen over the years" [Ibid, p. 294.] and reports in another section that, at least in 1988, "many persons complain that applications for immigration to other countries mailed from overseas are confiscated". [ Ibid, p. 295.]

Other sources of information contradicting or corroborating this information could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. International Human Rights monitors such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have not included the Seychelles in their most recent international reports. Although a mid-1989 Africa Confidential issue [ Africa Confidential, (London, Miramoor Publications Ltd.), 28 April 1989, pp. 6-7.] reports changes in the Seychellois government's conduct towards the opposition, quoting "a more pragmatic approach", no reference to the requested subject is made.