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Gayyoom's “Simply Not True” Rebuttal of Amnesty International 2004 Report

Give the man his dues; Gayyoom is making progress. In the past Gayyoom quite simply ignored comments on his gross violation of human rights or took the moral high ground on his “sovereign rights” over Maldives. This time however, he has deemed it necessary to get his recently appointed spin-doctors to churn out a written rebuttal. That, in Gayyoom's terms, is significant progress. The two million dollars given to Bangladheshi son-in-law seems to be producing some results.

Let us, however, not go overboard in praise of Gayoom. Loyalists will be happy to note that the basic Gayyoomist knee-jerk reaction- “that's not true, simply not true”-remains intact. The “winning formula” of lies, lies and still more lies-the essence of Gayyoomspeak- was religiously applied in Gayyoom's rebuttal of Amnesty International Report 2004 on Maldives. Gayoom claims that the AI Report “contains a number of inaccuracies and misrepresentations in the section on Maldives”.

Gayyoom's rebuttal, on the other hand, goes beyond “inaccuracies and misrepresentations” and contains absolute bare-faced lies. When it comes to lying Gayyoom is a purist who does not believe in weak-kneed “inaccuracies and misrepresentations” half-measures. Gayyoom is a congenital, inveterate, unconscionable liar. We give below our reply to Gayyoom's rebuttal. But first we give an explanation of some key Gayyoomspeak terms to help the uninitiated, non-Maldivians among the readers.

Government of Maldives. Gayyoom is the State of Maldives, He is the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. He is the Commissions and Statutory Bodies as well. He is the sum total of the Government of the Maldives. His subjects do his bidding (including administrative work) in the Government of Gayyoom.

Provided for by the law. Gayyoom's thoughts, gestures, deeds and words are the supreme law of the Maldives. Yes he does have collectors items called “laws” and “constitution” with which he sometimes tries to impress foreigners. However, deciding on what is “provided for by law”” is Gayyoom's prerogative.

Offence against the State. As the State, anything Gayyoom deems is an offence against him is, naturally, an offence against the State Gayyoom.

Appellate Safeguards: Additional stooges of Gayyoom employed to further safeguard his interests.

Freedom of press/ expression. It is an inalienable right of every Maldivian to sing the praise of Gayyoom and to express, without fear and in complete freedom, the love for and adoration of the Great Leader. This freedom is not in anyway limited to the electronic media (monopolized by the government) nor the print media financed by and controlled by Gayyoom through his crony ministers and in-laws.

Open and impartial courts. The courts have cross-ventilation, thus making them “open”. All agents of the Great Leader - His State witnesses, His prosecutors and his judges - will work in perfectly orchestrated harmony to ensure that Gayyoom's pre-packaged judgment is meted out to all defendants without a shred of partiality. Irrespective of one's position in society, irrespective of even whether one is guilty or not, all who displease the Great Leader will be impartially found guilty by Gayyoom's hireling judges.

Human Rights. Sorry the word does not exist in Gayyoom's lexicon. The term is pornographic in Gayyoomspeak. Try Pol Pot, Hitler or Brother Saddam for useful hints on Gayyoom-style “human rights”.

Independent Presidential Commission. A commission of people with a commissioner generally accepted as being honest but inept and ineffectual. As the name implies the commission works under the President and “reports to him direct”, If the commission proves to be reasonably honest in their reporting then the report is edited and tailored (by the President) to suit his “national security” needs. The State of Gayyoom is deeply concerned about the State’s (his) security.

Overwhelming evidence. “Evidence” concocted by Gayyoom's NSS and his Attorney on his instruction and presented to judges to “overwhelm” anyone who he determines works even mildly against him. Actual production of evidence in courts is not always necessary. The judge must take the prosecutor’s (another side of same coin) word that there is “overwhelming evidence”. Invariably “overwhelming evidence” is produced by cops, government stooges or people who have embezzled the government.

Peaceful political opposition. Sorry yet another term not recognized by Gayyoomspeak; Opposition in Gayyoomspeak, by definition, must necessarily be either (a) an act of terrorism, (b) An act against national security, ( c) destabilizing social and political harmony or (d) a combination of all of the above.

Oversight Committee. A very useful committee, controlled by the President, so “over-sighted” that it turns a blind eye to the recreational torture conducted by “custodial officials”. If torture leads to murder, it is termed as “death due to childhood disease”. Though it is not yet recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, Maldives probably has the world's highest per capita rate of “childhood diseases” among the prison population.

Established procedures for dealing with prisoners. Gayyoomspeak for “have fun, beating, raping and torturing prisoners but try not to get caught. If they die during fun-time bury them quietly.” “Established procedures” is closely related to “childhood diseases”.

The Report found that the government was not at fault. This means the authors of the report (In this case the Sattar Commission) valued their own safety enough not to implicate the President and his closest allies in the NSS and Ministry of Defense in their crimes against humanity. Please also see “independent Presidential commission”.

Gross misrepresentation of the facts. Any claims that does not fit Gayyoom's version of “truth”. Other useful Gayyoomspeak references to understand gross misrepresentation of the facts include freedom of expression, open impartial courts, independent Presidential Commissions, overwhelming evidence, peaceful political opposition, grievous bodily harm, comparatively good prison conditions etc.

Grievous bodily harm to a law enforcement officer. Any claim under oath by a stone-throwing cop that he has been hit with a pebble at a distance of 50 feet or more by a person the Government (Gayyoom) wants “fixed.” Grievously harmed enforcement officers are required to have eyes in their back so they can identify the stone-thrower (in a mob of a thousand) even when they are not facing them. “Bodily harm” usually lasts les than 24 hours and need not be proved in court. The entire process of incurring bodily harm must defy the laws of physics.

Comparatively good prison conditions in the Maldives. Gayyoom's prison conditions as compared to Hitler's concentration camps. For example any facility that caters to less than a hundred prisoners per toilet would be termed a “five star facility” which the poor LDC cannot afford.

We give below Gayoom’s rebuttal, point by point, followed by our comments.

1) The allegation that peaceful political opposition was repressed is untrue and unsubstantiated by Amnesty. Not a single arrest was made during the year or subsequently, except as provided for by the law and on grounds specifically criminalized in the penal code and laws of the Maldives. Peaceful political opposition is not an offence and none were arrested for lawful opposition to the government.

There is no such thing as a “peaceful political opposition” under Gayyoom. (see definition above) No Maldivian could, for example, assert in public “I do not think Gayyoom is a good leader and I wish to see another ruler in his place”, without being charged for anything between disruption of “peace and harmony” and “terrorism”. A venerated old man - a legend in his life-time for his singing - Naifaru Dhohokko was imprisoned just for voicing exactly that sentiment. Gayyoom tolerates “peaceful political opposition” just as much as Pol Pot does. Mentor Saddam, however, is a sissy in comparison.

2) The claim that government opponents were imprisoned or that there were prisoners of conscience, or that trials were unfair is also untrue. All the six people that the Report refers to were arrested as provided for by the law, charged under specific sections of the Penal Code, tried in open and impartial courts, whose verdicts were subject to two appellate safeguards. They were given every opportunity to defend themselves in court or use the services of a lawyer. *your comments???

3) Amnesty International’s allegation that Mohamed Zaki and his fellow conspirators are prisoners of conscience was rejected by a UN Human Rights Working Group which noted that they had made calls for a violent jihad.

We are unaware that UN Human Rights Working groups are in the business of rubber-stamping Gayyoom atrocities. Typically no further reference is given about the Working Group. We reserve our comments till we read the report.

4) Naushad Waheed was tried and convicted under Section 29 of the Penal Code for committing offences against the State.

Naushad Waheed has committed one of the most heinous crimes imaginable to Gayyoom. He had complained to Amnesty International about Gayyoom's brutality and requested them to look into human rights abuse in Maldives. Consorting with the enemy is a serious offence. Gayyoom considers AI as an enemy of the State bent on undermining the sovereignty of the State of Gayyoom. He even has his wife's permission to say so.

5) Ibrahim Fareed was arrested and charged over plots to carry out numerous terrorist activities including blowing up places of entertainment, kidnapping senior Government officials, sabotaging the tourism industry and instigating calls for a violent jihad.

On 01st June 2004, 2 days after this was published Fareed obtained a written letter from the Attorney General of the Maldives, which does not state the above. Rather, the charges were as known to all Maldivians, related with Mr. Fareed criticising the government buddies for their corruption and misdemeanors in Fareeds' speeches and lectures. Furthermore, Fareed assures that he has never been even asked questions about kidnapping, sabotage or anything to do with violent jihad. He is appalled by these allegations as everyone else is. He was held without charge as follows, 30 days in Male', 5 months and 25 days in Dhoonidhoo, then brought to Male' and kept under house arrests for 2 months, taken again to Dhoonidhoo for 7 months, before being brought home and released (still to Male' island only with his passports confiscated) on 01st of April 2004. He had to spend over 22 months in captivity including over 15 months of solitary confinement for expressing what is clearly stated in the state religion Islam; he did not even speak him mind.

6) The claim by Amnesty that there were “severe restrictions on the freedom of the press” is unsubstantiated and unfounded. The newspapers have the right to print any material that do not contravene the laws of the country, and the law applies no limitations on the freedom of the press that are not recognized to be legitimate as provided for in Article 29 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which states that ‘In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

Freedom of the press is unmitigated, absolute and total in Maldives- if you would only stick to singing the praise of the Great Dictator. The print media, who over the past quarter century failed to adhere to this little technicality were terminated-and fast. Dhuvas, OutLook, Sangu, Hukuru, Manthiri, Sandhaanu, all. Incidentally some writers or editors representing the above were jailed or exiled - proving there is complete freedom of press. Some who had had enough of press freedom and joined Gayyoom were handsomely rewarded. Ahmed Zahir (who called himself “Citizen Zahir” but now is better known as “Government Zahir”) who was with Dhuvas and Outlook quit and was rewarded with a ministerial post. As Minister of Justice he oversees the judges on Gayyoom’s behalf and helps ensure that only Gayyoomic freedom of the press is exercised. Perhaps by freedom of the press, Gayyoom means the machinery. To the best of our knowledge, he has so far not exiled, tortured nor imprisoned any machines – irrevocable proof of freedom of press.

o We tried to make sense of the rather convoluted sentence quoting Article 29 of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, but we are unable to do so. Is the good Dr. Spinny trying to justify the absence of freedom of the press on the grounds that Gayyoom is following Article 29?

o Does “freedom of others” mean Gayyoom and family's right to brutalize and vandalize Maldives without being hindered by “freedom of the press”.

o Perhaps Articles 29 does not apply because we are not a “democratic society”. We are, like brother Saddam's Iraq, a “unique democracy”. A “unique democracy” must have “unique freedom of the press”, which we do have in plenty. Heil Fuhrer Gayyoom!

o There is a bright side to all this. Gayyoom goes hi-tech when the respected Reporters Sans Frontier highlighted Maldives as one among a select five – what an honor for our little homogeneous country of under 300,000 - main perpetrators of internet freedom of expression. This site you are on, for example, is inaccessible in Maldives because of Gayyoom's high-tech freedom of the press. As the highly paid Pilipino hackers employed by the NSS can vouchsafe, freedom of expression (or at least helping Gayyoom violate it) can be a rewarding exercise.

7) The allegation that human rights violations were widespread is baseless as is the suggestion of government complacency over isolated incidents. Any accusation of mistreatment by custodial officials is examined by an Oversight Committee. The Government promptly arrested all implicated in the death of a prisoner on 19th September as well as those involved in the shooting incident in the prison the following day. An independent Presidential Commission was appointed immediately to conduct a full inquiry into the two incidents, and based on the findings of the report, court proceedings have been instituted by the Attorney General. The report concluded that security personnel at the Prison had acted in direct violation of the established procedures for dealing with prisoners as well as the code on the use of firearms. Although the report found that the government was not at fault, the authorities quickly implemented a number of measures that provide further safeguards against the abuse of the rights of prisoners.

· Recreational torture is routinely carried out, with Gayyoom’s full knowledge and - in the case of political prisoners – often on his instructions. So, says Head Torturer Adam Zahir who should know. It is precisely Gayyoom’s fear of exposure (along with the comfort of knowing sadist Zahir will be happy to take good care of his Dirty Works Department) that has persuaded Gayyoom to reinstate Head Torturer Adam Zahir as his Chief Cartner in Crimes against Humanity. Is Gayyoom aware that people like Fussfaru take their family (including his children) to Maafushi out on picnic to watch the torture and suffering of prisoners? Torture and mistreatment of prisoners is so routine so banal (and not “isolated incidents” Gayyoom pretends they are) that it is “accepted” as a given part of our prison culture. When Gayyoom’s uniformed goons start viewing prisoners as sub-humans, then torture and mistreatment become an ordinary unremarkable occurrence. As long as Gayyoom continues to treat fellow Maldivians as subjects (him being an Egyptian reincarnation of Pharaoh Ramses) and flaunts the rule of law, human rights abuse will go on unabated. Even fundamental rights are routinely abused – often on Gayyoom’s orders as in the case of the abuse of prisoners of conscience and the on-going harassment of those seeking fundamental political rights enshrined in the constitution.

o The Government did not arrest “all implicated in the death of a prisoner on 19^th September as well as those involved in the shooting incident in the prison”. The Government (read Gayyoom) promoted Head Torturer Adam Zahir and also his deputy commissioner, who implicated in the report. Gayyoom expunged all embarrassing details in the report and exonerated the senior NSS and Defense Ministry officials implicated in the murder. No one in Maldives is so naïve as to think that the shooting was initiated by the junior scapegoats Gayyoom has offered as sacrificed lamb. Torturer Adam Zahir is negotiating the quiet release of even the “lambs”. Such loyal, dedicated torturers who are passionate and seek excellence in their work are hard to come by. Head Torturer Adam Zahir understands his flock needs his protective, loving, nurturing care. He also needs to ensure that he and his other senior torturers are not implicated. Being exposed in courts by unhappy subordinates will not do the seniors any good.

o The Commission finding is being thrown out of the window as inadmissible in courts. Gayyoom’s new blue-eyed boy - Attorney General Saeed – is doubling over to accommodate the Dictator’s interests. No worries, prosecution will continue exactly according to Bosses wishes. After all he has taken an oath before God (Allah not Gayyoom) “to bear true faith and allegiance to the President,” and “to discharge the duties assigned to me by the President honestly and faithfully” no less. Dr. Saeed is new to the job and has not received a plot of land in Male and multimillion dollars to build on it. He has not yet even got a tourist resort. He also knows his predecessor was booked for trying to exercise his conscience. In short the poor man is vulnerable. The judge, of course, will pass sentences exactly as given by Gayyoom, who after all, is “the highest authority of administering justice in the Maldives” and can appoint and remove him at will. Dr. Abdullah Saeed is a religious scholar. Both the Attorney General and the judge are pious, religious people. They will do the “Emir’s” bidding as sermonized in the weekly Friday prayers. In the meantime, the not-so-religious spin-doctor will have a grand time rebutting the “simply-not-true” reports of Amnesty Infidels.

o Gayyoom initially lies to the nation on TV, stating his men had no choice but to murder unarmed prisoners. He then back-tracks due to international pressure and appoints a Presidential Commission - reporting direct to him. Wow! When the commission is too close to the truth, he does a re-write of the report and orders his Attorney General to prosecute those he wants to be prosecuted. The judge appointed by him will pass the sentence exactly as instructed by his superior, Gayyoom. Gayyoom is the Minister of defense. Gayyoom is the final authority over the Presidential Commission investigating the murder. Gayyoom dictates to and instructs the Attorney General. Gayyoom is the ultimate judicial authority. Gayyoom is Government. Should one wonder that “the report found that the government was not at fault”? Gayyoom is by definition, incapable of being at fault. Crimes against humanity are committed by human beings. Gayyoom, for all intent and purposes, is not one. Just ask him.

o “The authorities quickly implemented a number of measures that provided further safeguards against the abuse of the right of prisoners”. Please, please dear Dr. Spinny, even Maldivian children may read the AI rebuttal. Show some sensitivity and stop using obscene words. Even the “R” word is not spared. Tut, tut, tut, where are your manners Dr. Spinny, old chap? Lord Gayyoom will not be amused. Prisoners, like the rest of the Maldivian population, do not have r_*g_*ts, Sir. So could we, perhaps, avoid the four letter word?

8) The allegation that scores of people were “arbitrarily detained and interrogated” for their role in what Amnesty describes as “civil protests” on 20th September 2003 represents a gross misrepresentation of facts. About a hundred people, many of whom were known criminals and ex-convicts, attacked members of the police, torched public buildings, vandalized public property, endangered life, and disrupted law and order in the capital. The police and security forces exercised great restraint in dispersing the crowd. Most were arrested while engaged in these illegal activities and others on the basis of strong evidence including video and photographic evidence. Those who were detained were questioned in the presence of members of parliament.

· Arbitrary detention and harassment is standard police procedure. With the introduction of police stations in the outer islands the process is spreading country-wide with the law enforcement officers acting like an occupying army. The process of arbitrary detention is so routine that most detainees do not even realize that their rights are being violated. Scores of people were indeed subjected to arbitrary arrests and harassment following the protest of 20^th September. As Gayyoom indicated earlier, in a more sober mood, the protest was an out-pouring of the sense of rage the youth felt about NSS torture and killing. If about a hundred (it was closer to 120) were arrested and “most were arrested while engaged in these illegal activities why are only six being tried? What about the constitution which guarantees equality before the law? Who is impressed when rubber-stamp parliamentarians are used as decorative (they were only “present” and played a totally passive role) to legitimize an illegal process?

13) Amnesty International’s report implies that a number of positive developments had occurred in the Maldives in the field of human rights, but these were neither welcomed nor identified.

· Gayyoom’s whiny cry that his reform was “neither welcomed nor identified” is quite pathetic. AI and other human rights organizations – or for that matter the international community in general - are not, Gayyoom should understand, so ignorant of Maldives that they will be fooled by his offers of cosmetic change. Gayyoom needs to appreciate that his human rights violation is so deeply entrenched, so systemic, it would take a lot more than mere platitudes about reform and bogus commissions to restore both his tarnished image as well as a culture of respect for human rights in Maldives. He could start with a dose of sincerity. For example, his most touted effort – the Human Rights Commission of Maldives – is no more than a dysfunctional, emasculated sham he uses to cover-up and legitimize his abuse in front of the international donor community.

o If Gayyoom wants to demonstrate his sincerity he should, at the very least, stop his continuing violation of citizens’ constitutional rights. He could try harder to apply the rule of law. He could let the judicial process function with some level of independence without his blatant meddling. While Gayyoom can have his docile population subdued – they have no choice - with his chicanery, he cannot reasonably expect independent international organizations to believe that things are “changing for the better” just because he decreases it so. If, indeed, there is sustained, positive reform, NGOs like AI (and the rest of the international community) would pay him the kudos he deserves.

o Most unfortunately Gayyoom is of the opinion “human rights” refers only to the right not to be tortured. He thinks if he instructs his NSS to go easy on the torture (for the time being at least) he would be elevated to the position of a human rights champion. After a quarter century of unchallenged, despotic rule, Gayyoom just simply cannot intellectually grasp the fact that his citizens have inalienable social, political and economic rights as well. In fairness to Gayyoom, one needs to appreciate that he does indeed face a dilemma. If he “gives” these rights he cannot – quite simply – continue to rule as the omnipotent autocrat of Maldives. If the choice is between his survival as a dictator and “giving” citizens their rights, Gayyoom, like other despots of similar nature, will choose the former. So - if you must - praise Gayyoom for his words and not for his deeds. They never match.

o Gayyoom also needs to evolve a more mature, rational, consistent and structured approach in his relationship with human rights organizations. Simply beating his feet like a spoilt child and crying foul is much too ineffective, infantile. He also needs to overcome his paranoia about Amnesty International challenging his sovereignty and destabilizing his stranglehold on the Maldivian socio-political system. Gayyoom should take a long, deep breath and try to accept the fact that AI is not after his job. Gayyoom’s immature outbursts and his “simply-not-true” state of denial will neither help him nor the unfortunate Maldivians who are subject to his enduring human rights abuse on a daily basis.