It appears to be the Round Four of the Corruption Cycle involving the Environment Ministry, Chief of Protocol Ahmed Rasheed and the determination to stop anything being built in H. Ameeneege at any cost. This is irrespective of the fact that this hotel would feed several poor Maldivian families by providing employment to local people. Now that the Environment Ministry has once again given the go-ahead to start the piling activities, the campaign to stop it seems to have begun with a vengeance. All this seems to be mainly directed at protecting one family and that is of the Chief of Protocol, Ahmed Rasheed. This is primarily because the palace where he lives, H.Athiriveli (his wife owns several other houses), is built adjacent to the Asters building and with the windows facing east, towards Ameeneege. So he does not want his view blocked by a big building there. more
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Dictator promotes his brother-in-law Abbas to Minister rank
Male' - As part of the on-going promotion spree by the Maldives Dictator, Abbas Ibrahim, President of the National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research, was promoted to the rank of Minister on Wednesday. Abbas, a brother in law of the Dictator, was demoted from ministerial position after he fell out of favour and has been lurking around since at the Linguistic Centre since for more than 10 years. Earlier he held cabinet posts such as Fisheries and Agriculture Minister as well as Minster for Presidential Affairs. On 9th February, the Dictator increased salaries of minister, deputies and state ministers and have been going wild promoting his cronies to the ranks. In addition to the hefty pay package of a minister rank official, Abbas will also get more than 25,000 for being a member of both parliament and the constitutional assembly. This is the Dictator paying his cronies handsomely ahead of the presidential election this year. Abbas is an infamous pyromaniac who ran a long campaign in the capital in the 90s, torching several properties, on the orders of the Dictator.
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Late Saleem's funeral to take place in Colombo tonight
Breaking News Update
MDP Saleem passes away
Breaking News
Colombo - MDP regional President for South Huvadhoo Atoll, Saleem Ali passed away very suddenly this morning after suffering a heart attack. He has been in Lanka for the past couple of months settling his family there. Mr. Saleem is one of the most prominent activists of MDP and has been under pressure from the Dictator as he is constantly called to appear in court and was jailed a few times in the last couple of year. Mr. Saleem is also a close relative of DO Editor in Chief, Sappe'. Saleem will be greatly missed. On behalf of DO readers and members of MDP, we send our deepest condolences to Saleem's family and pray to Almighty Allah to grant him eternal bliss.
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Violence! Violence! Violence! - the Dictator's dirty deals
Editorial
Dhivehi Observer, 16 December 2007
"Violence! Violence! Violence!" When those three lethal words left Dictator Gayoom's lips during that now infamous interview, there were some among our people who did wonder if the protest was all about violence. Now, two years later, the realization of those words have come to fruition. Now, we are wiser as to why those words oozed so smoothly out of the Dictator's lips. Violence is what he knows. Violence is what he practices. Violence is what he will resort to in the future.
To be fair on our own leader, it is not unusual that in dictatorships, the criminal fraternity is utilized to further a Dictator's cause. In this regard, Dictator Gayoom is no pioneer. Quite often violent gangs, juvenile delinquents and drug dealers are used to promote an undesirable agenda while the regime turns a blind eye. This way the regime maintains its "innocence" in front of its citizens and the international community at large, while all their dirty work is continued by these elements. 
The Dictator also uses these criminal elements to harass all his opponents. When Dr. Hassan Saeed and Ahmed Jameel resigned as the Attorney-General and the Justice Minister respectively, he used one such gang to throw oil on to the houses of the former Ministers. Apparently the Dictator later laughed about it and said, "a small incident happened last night", referring to the unsavoury attack.
While all this continues the people of Male are living in total trepidation about the spiralling violence. They are not safe inside their homes. They are not safe outside their homes. One does not know when one would be mugged, knifed, or even killed. Male' has indeed become the gang capital of South Asia.
However, the Dictator's "contribution" to our society as the patron of these gangs goes much deeper. The question is why have our youth fallen into such bottomless pits? The answer is fairly obvious. Poverty. While we claim that the Maldives is one of the newly developing countries with a per capita income over $2500, our most vulnerable stakeholders, our youth, are growing up in disillusionment. With poor education, lack of decent housing, and very little chance of a respectable job with a reasonable pay in the 21st century Maldives, and almost zilch chance of reaching the higher echelons of society, our youth are easily driven into drug abuse and crime. And who is there to exploit their vulnerabilities? Our very own Dictator Gayoom.
It is all very well to blame Chikaa and Rabarey (and the numerous others) who partake in these violent activities terrorizing our society. While not condoning their criminal actions, we also need to look beyond these misguided youth. Deliberate lack of social policies has left our young people extremely exposed. It is not rocket science to know that children growing up in hardship and from deprived backgrounds could internalize their problems and release them later in a violent form. However, this regime is turning a blind eye to these problems because the Dictator can later use these young people for his own benefit. He entices them with lucrative offers of money or to turn a blind eye to their undesirable actions in society in return for them to do his dirty work.
It might have been a gang of young people who murdered Ali Ishar. However, it is Dictator Gayoom who is the real Grim Reaper.
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Why the Maldives needs a transitional government
"This is how fair and free elections can be ensured," Benazir Bhutto recently told reporters after demanding that President Pervez Musharraf hand over power to a caretaker government in preparation for next year's Pakistani general elections. She knows what she is talking. Dictators and their kleptocratic governments are not famous for bagging fair-play awards in elections. For a copybook example of a poll conducted under a dictator one needs to look no further than the Maldives national referendum of August 2007. In the no-holds-barred campaign of Gayyoom's ruling DRP Party, administrative offices in the islands and atolls were turned into party campaign offices. Government officials were given hasty promotions on election eve to 'motivate' them into becoming party activists for the occasion. Public money flowed freely to bribe communities and individuals to rig the polls.
To prevent such flagrant rigging, some countries have adopted the practice of handing over power to a transitional government to preside over elections. A transitional government is a temporary ruling organization usually put into place pending the establishment of a permanent government. A caretaker government is similar and is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government. Caretaker governments may also be put in place when a government in a parliamentary system is defeated in a motion of no confidence or when the parliament is dissolved, to rule the country for an interim period until an election is held and a new government is formed. Such practice is common in UK, Australia and other parliamentary democracies.
Bangladesh has adopted this practice with considerable success in minimizing electoral fraud. They appoint a caretaker government led by a former chief judge to rule the country for 3 months before an elected government takes over.
In Bangladesh, the practice of rigging elections started during the military regime of General Zia and continued under General Ershad. The Parliaments elected through these rigged elections were used to legitimize their usurpation of power. This practice continued till 1996, when the blatant rigging of a by-election at Magura led to such public outrage that Begum Zia's government was forced to accept the proposal for a caretaker government and enact the necessary change in the Constitution.
The Bangladeshi experiment with this system in 1996 proved to be a success. Neither side complained of rigging. Admittedly there were minor complaints but on the whole the elections were accepted as free and fair. Both the national and international observers expressed satisfaction about the arrangements.
The justification for caretaker governments springs from the deep distrust of the outgoing government amongst the people. It is the result of repeated failure, on the part of the elected governments, to conduct elections fairly and honestly. It is also the result of the government's shameless manipulation of the levers of power to rig the election in order to ensure its own victory. In such situations opposition parties know they do not stand a ghost of a chance to win if the ruling party remains in office.
In this respect how has Gayyoom's government conducted itself over the last 3 decades? It is an open secret that through his brother Hameed who controlled the atolls, Gayyoom managed to turn every past presidential election into a farce, making it an inter island competition to get the highest percentage of votes for the dictator. While the Chiefs of winning islands got promotions and their islands rewarded with development projects, underperforming chiefs and their islands were penalized. When the people of Kelaa Island in Haa Alifu Atoll dared to reject Golhaaboa in the 1998 elections, their island was treated like a pariah for years.
To avoid the plight of Kelaa, the chiefs of other islands devised innovative methods to get the votes right. In one island, the chief duped the islanders into giving 100% 'yes' votes for the dictator by instruction voters to put a big 'yes' on the ballot paper if they liked him and a small 'yes' if they did not. Many katheebs inspected the completed ballot papers and prevented them from being put in the box if negative. If after all this, someone still manages to cast a vote against the dictator, katheebs had devised many interesting backup methods to fish out the vote papers and 'clean' them.
Golhaa and his brother Hameed used these methods in all past elections including the latest in 2003. He may of course claim that the rigging occurred before he became a born again democrat in 2004. But the referendum of August 2007 was rigged just 3 months back, after the dictator had claimed he was fully 'reformed.' Thus one would have to be extremely gullible to believe he will play fair in the coming elections. So a caretaker government is a must to ensure the next election is free and fair.
But getting Gayyoom to agree to a transitional government will be easier said than done. He knows that a camel could pass through the eye of a needle more comfortably than he could win a free and fair election. So, he will need a lot of persuasion to agree. This is where well-wishers in the international community can help the country's transition to democracy.
History shows that international pressure is crucial in getting dictators and warring factions to agree to share power. In recent examples from Africa such as Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo, vital roles were played by EU, US, the African Union and South Africa in 'persuading' the dictators and warlords to agree to transitional governments.
Next year's presidential election is perhaps a once in a lifetime chance for the present generation of Maldivians to see a democratic government in their country. They would certainly hope that friends in the international community will not let them down in their hour of need.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Eyewitness account of 1988 coup attempt and aftermath
| NSS | November 1988 | ||
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| Mohamed Ibrahim, Bahaaruge, Mulhadhoo island, Haa Alifu atoll. | Husain Adam Maavaage, Kulhuddhufushi island, Haa Dhaalu atoll. | ||
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| Abdulla Zuhairu, Shareefaa- manzil, Thinadhoo island, Gaaf Dhaalu atoll. | Mohamed Hasan, Rabeeuge, Dhiyamigili island, Thaa atoll. | ||
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| Kuda Thutthu son of Kuda Adam, Kauslip, Maafannu, Male'. | Kuda Nevithutthu Maniku, Vattheenige, Henveiru, Male'. | ||
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| Husain Mohamed, Mabusthanuge, Thulhaadhoo island, Baa atoll. | Adam Naseeru, Sheydeevilla, Henveiru ward, Male'. | ||
It was the second day of November in 1988 when my son had high fever and my wife had a hard time during the day because she quite young and needed medical assistance which we had not received. Our only son was in danger of brain damage and we were putting wet towels on him to reduce his temperature.
I had to stay up late to help my son. A relative called me and said there were a few mercenaries shooting on the roads in Male'. At first, I thought it was a NSS exercise for the Republic Day celebrations. By then, my son's fever was down and he was sleeping. After a night without sleep my mind was racing and I decided to find out what was really going on.
I went out of the house and down through the lanes, and I saw a few people running for safety and then I found a boy I knew with blood on his knee. He was running for life after being shot. I stopped him and asked what was happening. He said there were a few Tamils trying to occupy NSS headquarters and he ran off.
I moved on and came to the oldest mosque in the island and in front of the minaret I could see a man on the road next to his bicycle and calling for help. I realized he was also shot. I tried to get close to him and stopped at the junction and looked around and saw a few guys in check-shirts shooting at NSS headquarters. As soon as one of them saw me 200 yards away, he ordered me to get back or he would shoot. I had no way to help the man dying on the road. My son needed me too. I went down the next lane and again I ran into people shooting, so I hid and had a good look at them.
They were moving back to back, so that anyone coming behind them would be seen. There were no NSS around and the roads were completely empty. I thought, what are the NSS doing to save us? I went back home and by this time my wife had woken up and she was looking after our son. I went back onto the streets and headed to the waterfront. There, people stared as if they were watching a live war game.
I could see the man who is supposed to raise the flag at 6am for the Foreign Ministry getting a hard time from a Tamil who was telling him to back off, which the flag bearer did, ultimately. But at first, the old man did not realize what a gun could do! The Tamil guy realised the old man was a bit simple, so he patiently warned the flag bearer several times before he obeyed.
Meanwhile, the Tamils were busy getting the islanders from the dhoanis as hostages. All these poor dhoani people were taken in a line in front of a building near the president's jetty. Still, there were no NSS on the streets of Male' and people started to wonder what the problem was and making angry remarks about the shops not being open. Fortunately, I had enough food at home for at least a week. What about the people who had to buy their food each day?
I was just about to cross a road and there was firing because the Tamils were not feeling safe when people moved around. I heard the sound of a bullet passing only an inch away from my face before hitting a nearby building. I decided to get away from that place and went into back streets. I met a friend who said the BBC had been reporting there were 200 dead. That was a shock to me. It wasn't true.
People were given wrong information. They were also told that leaders of the government had been seized by the Tamils. The Tamils went to the Telegraph complex and fired many times but fortunately the communication system kept operating because they couldn't take control of the building. They cut off the power but they put it back on by evening after many respectable people had been arrested by the Tamils.
People said the leaders had hidden under their beds and in barrels for hours in fear of their lives. The Indian government was contacted by a friend of mine and a lot of accurate information about the situation was passed to them.
An old friend of mine asked me to check if the guards at the President's house were safe. I went out and passed by the gate of the Indian Embassy. There was an old policeman and young one shivering with fear from not knowing what could happen next. They were shocked to see me. I tried to speak to them but their answers were limited. Anyway I asked them what I could do to help but they had no idea. I told them where the Tamils were located and then moved on because they were obviously too confused and my life was in danger.
That evening, I was close to NSS headquarters and I could see hand grenades blasting in front of the building and many people forced to sit along the waterfront.
I had two hours of sleep after dinner and went back onto the streets. By this time, the shooting had decreased though a few bullets were being fired into the air.
Then I learnt that the Indians were coming; they were very close to Male' and planned to land at the airport. I was up very late that night. I went towards the back of NSS HQ where there was a big hole in the wall. Firing had stopped around the area so I wheeled my bike along and slowly headed towards two dead people. One was an NSS officer in a white shirt and the other was a Tamil. He had a gun. The blood on his body had dried. I picked up his gun, removed the bullets and put the gun back. Then I went on to the duty-free shopping complex. There was a person on the rooftop firing occasionally at NSS HQ but he did not see me. There was a pile of empty bullet shells and the door was broken.
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The following day was Friday and the NSS were out on the streets and people complained because they were not on duty before and now they were trying to arrest suspects. People in Male' who had grudges, blamed people they didn't like and many were deceived by false rumours.
The Tamils had captured a ship and left with hostages. The Indians fired at the vessel and it had been holed at least once. The Indian warship gave chase. Some of the Tamils had not been able to board the vessel and they were still in Male', hiding wherever they could.
The Indians entered Male' with bazookas and heavy fighting equipment to attack the remaining Tamils. These weapons could have destroyed everything in the island and I wondered why they were so heavily armed.
On Saturday, I had to visit a resort island and I left that afternoon on a dhoani for the hour and half trip. I was worn out and decided to sleep. The engine stopped and I thought we had arrived, but it was a police launch and four men armed with AK47s were looking at me. They boarded the dhoani and checked beneath the planks and so on. Then finally they ordered me aboard their launch and off I went back to Male', dashing through the waves as if I was the greatest terrorist of all!
They took me to a room with 33 other people, and there was one stupid officer who strutted around intimidating us as if we were rebel mercenaries! Among the prisoners were three brothers who had been arrested because they refused to open the door when the Indians demanded. The Indians went into houses and checked cupboards. I was told they were impressed with the ladies' panties they found in the drawers.
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| Indian soldiers in Maldives November 1988 | |
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They had gone into my wife's house and turned everything over. The Indians had been accompanied by an NSS officer.
Soon it was dinnertime and we had to line up in groups of twenty and walk across to the prisoners' mess room. It stank in there. We had some food while the cops looked at us as if we were terrorists. Everyone was fed but sleeping was not allowed. An NSS officer banged his AK47 on the chair of anyone who fell asleep. All we could hear were the sounds of beatings and crying from people held in other sections.
There was a guy who was chained and made to kneel down and he got beaten by policemen whenever they entered the room. They hit him right on his spine and he yelled out in Sinhala. There was an old Sri Lankan man who was sitting next to me. He was taken off by the NSS and returned with pieces of glass in his pocket. He said the NSS had broken his spectacles. This gentleman was also Singhalese, not Tamil.
The night became a nightmare because I was used to a comfortable bed and usually spent my time among open-minded people. This was another side of life.
In the morning, everyone had to ask the policeman at the counter for permission to go to the toilet and after no sleep it was painful having to hold on and wait. Finally it was my turn for the toilet but it was unfit for human use. It was caked in a brown layer that must have been at least half an inch thick. Sulphuric acid would be the only way of cleaning it. I stood on my toes at the door and urinated. After three days I started to have an itchy and painful feeling when I urinated. I told the NSS I would like see the doctor and three days later a doctor came, but I was unable to tell him about jail conditions because there was a policeman listening to everything I said.
Each morning, I asked the NSS why I had been arrested. They would say my request has been passed on to their superiors. Some officers would come and stand in front of us smoking, because we weren't allowed to.
Fortunately, the government formed a committee to investigate us and the police quickly started cleaning up the place with Dettol. The stink was removed from the floor but not from the people. When a batch of Tamils went to the mess room, they were stinking like I have never experienced before.
Anyway, I was sure they would have to release me. One morning a friend of mine was asleep with his head bent over and a NSS officer came in, grabbed his hair and bashed his head into wall. I was held for nine days before being released. I no longer had any problem sleeping in a chair. Any seat with a cushion became a cosy place to crash for a few days.
Later I found out that the Trivandrum Airport was converted into a military airport and military flights were taking off there by 10pm on 2 November to collect personnel. Indian newspapers like the Hindu and other daily newspapers published that news by 7am, which means it was printed by 3am at the latest on the 3 November 1988, hours before the Tamils landed in Male'.
In his first speech after the attack, the President said he did not have any warning but later he admitted he knew about it. There were military posts erected with sandbags in different places in Male' just a few days before 3 November. People will remember that.
On 4 November 1988, Maumoon Gayyoom made a speech on Radio Maldives regarding the events of 3 November (the previous day). Gayyoom said the government of Maldives had received no prior warning of this attack. But a speech Gayyoom later gave to parliament, contradicted what he said on 4 November. Please refer to the text of the speech published in the newspaper (in Maldives).
Gayyoom says, and I quote, 'A person called Abdul Majeed Khalid had given prior warning of the attack to Defence Minister Ilyas Ibrahim and the government had taken adequate steps based on that information and this is the reason why the terrorists failed. However, we did ask the person who provided the information to go back to Colombo and get more information about the plot'.
DO report - 3 November 2004
Photos from India Today, Novembaru Thinegge Udhvaanee Hamalaa, and Huvaas.
