:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

Maldives Culture collated Report
Over 1,000 Maldivians arrested in state-sponsored terrorism

27 August 2004 - Photos added from Haveeru, President's Office website and others

Graphic by Ahmed Naseer from Fas Sangu 10

Over 1,000 Maldivians have been arrested during the on-going emergency in the capital Male'. Official figures are less than 200, with large releases and some new arrests also mentioned in the government-controlled media.

Over 70 children aged between eleven and fourteen years were arrested. While being held in Male', they were kicked, beaten and made to lie down on the floor, and the NSS trampled them.

They were blindfolded for up to twenty hours before being taken to Girifushi, the National Security Service (NSS) training island. They travelled by boat, blindfolded and though they wore life-jackets, their arms remained handcuffed behind their backs.

There are three blocks in Girifushi island and the children could hear women prisoners screaming in pain and begging people not to hit them.

More than 300 people were held on Girifushi alone. Their handcuffs stay on for meals and prayers, and are only removed for defecation. There are two toilets with long queues. Prisoners are permitted to bathe infrequently in the sea.

Sandhaanu detainees Ahmed Didi and Nisreen, and Jenny Latheef (the daughter of MDP founder Mohamed Latheef) were beaten. Ali Abdulla (MDP founder Mohamed Nasheed's father-in-law) passed out and had to be brought back to Male' for medical treatment.

Two members of the Maldives Human Rights Commission have been arrested, lawyer Husnoo Al-Suood, and Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan.

nasreena ibrahim and maumoon gayyoom july 2004 maldives

Nasreena Ibrahim and Maumoon Gayyoom
private Independence Day celebrations 2004

Your followers want to believe that if they follow you all sorts of good things will fall into their lap.
By surrounding yourself with luxury you become living proof of the soundness of your belief system.

Never reveal that your wealth actually comes from your followers' pockets; instead, make it seem to come from the truth of your methods.
Followers will copy your each and every move in the belief that it will bring them the same results, and their imitative enthusiasm will bind them to the charlatan nature of your wealth.'

During the last 26 years President Maumoon Gayoom and his brutal National Security Service (NSS) have deliberately murdered at least sixteen inmates and tortured thousands of other innocent Maldivians.
Intimidation, endemic corruption, injustice and state-sponsored terrorism have become a way of life for Maldivians while the wealth of the country is enjoyed by a handful of people associated with Gayyoom's regime.

He is mocking the concept of democracy when Gayyoom says he wants pure democracy in our country. He is only interested in dictatorship. At night, the president often reads the manipulator's bible, 'The 48 Laws of Power' by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers.

The section for Law 27 in Gayyoom's copy would be well-thumbed. 'Play on people's need to believe to create a cultlike following,' it begins and then describes 'How to Create a Cult in Five Easy Steps'. Step 4 has been followed to the letter:

The members of the constitutional majlis, who are now being held in President Gayyoom's concentration camps, were elected by the people of Maldives with strong mandate for democratic change.

Ibrahim Ismail

Ibrahim 'Ibra' Ismail is the respected member for Male', the country's largest electorate. His open office in Male' has set a new standard of public accessability for Majlis members. Ibra also organised large discussion meetings about the meaning of democratic reforms and institutions. Gayyoom ordered these meetings stopped after they attracted huge peaceful and serious audiences.

Dr. Munawwar (his family is from Meedhoo island) was elected in Addu atoll which has the second largest number of voters. The failure to construct the Vilingili resort, just east of Gan island, is being blamed by Gayyoom on the private members of the Vilingili group, including Dr Munavvar and Ibrahim Hussain Zaki.

The government of Maldives, i.e. Maumoon Gayyoom, was also a member of the Vilingili group and he needed to play a vital role by expanding Gan airport and shifting government department sections to Addu.


	Displays for Gayyoom's private Independence Day celebrations July 2004

After using the planned Vilingili resort as electoral bait for over twenty years, Gayyoom has let the whole project disintegrate yet again, and is now attempting to penalise Munavvar and Zaki with multi-million dollar fines.

The people of Addu, Fua Mulak and Huvadhu atolls are bitterly disappointed because the Addu atoll garment factories are also closing down.

Southern Maldivians blame Gayyoom, not Munavvar and Zaki, for the resort debacle and the fifteen year delay in developing Gan airport into an international facility.

Gayyoom has deceived the people in the equatorial atolls by refusing to build even a single luxury resort in this heavily populated part of the country, and depriving the south of the business and employment opportunities that such a development would bring. The lack of food and employment in the northern and southern atolls is a glaring indictment of Gayyoom's claims to be a successful national leader.

buruma gasim, maldives businessman and political reformist

Buruma Gasim speaking at vigil on Thursday night 12 August

Buruma Gasim was elected to the constitutional majlis with a very strong majority. A wealthy businessman, Buruma is a vital part of the Maldive welfare system. He is well-known as a decent man who does not use his money and power to exploit and abuse people. Buruma is generous, and his scholarships for students and grants to sick people contribute significantly to the well-being of the country.

Buruma did not attend the Thursday night vigil until he received urgent phone calls from Minister of Information Ibrahim 'Samarey' Manik who begged him to go to the Republican Square and calm the crowd. Against his inclination, Buruma went to the square and addressed the crowd. People were in no mood to disperse and Buruma's words were ineffectual, so he returned home.

Graphic from Leunig in The Age see also: Leunig: No Pussyfooting

48 Laws of Power
Law 5
'So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life'

Reputation is the cornerstone of power.
Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. make your reputation unassailable.
Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen.
Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations.
Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

Related articles and links The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Amazon.com

Reformists, special majlis members, lawyers and influential men are Gayyoom's targets during this emergency. Clearly, the president is not arresting 'violent terrorists'. He is holding and beating the representatives of a majority of the population.

There's no integrity in Maumoon Gayyoom, he is interested in the wealth of his family and has destroyed peace; people don’t have any faith in him. He is devastating a country in the financial interests of his family. He has taken backward steps and violated the liberties of Maldivians.

Gayyoom has lied constantly to the Maldive public. His family and appointees control the mass media and use it to manage the people. He has severely manipulated and distorted the country's business sector.

The Gayyoom clan have absolutely no interest in helping average Maldivians. He is attempting to prevent the political reform that he promised. Gayyoom is a liar, a dictator, who would rather kill than lead. Is he really even a valid candidate for the presidency? Maumoon Gayyoom is disgusting.

If we are to claim Dhivehi and Muslim unity, then we should not accept the murders of our brothers and sisters. I don’t know how anyone can defend a man like Gayyoom, a dictator who killed and terrorised hundreds of innocent Maldivians.

The tea shops, sai hotaa, are places where you hear about the situation in this highly unstable capital island. Everyone here talks about politics, but you can sense the fear when people mention Gayyoom and his associates. No one dares to give their honest opinion about what happened on Black Friday, 13 August when the emergency began. Everybody is afraid of the brutal dictator who is more than ready to kill, in the most horrible ways, any man or woman who utters a word against him.

What happened on Black Friday is a crime, and obviously Gayyoom and his partners are guilty of terrorising the Male' community, whether they are prepared to admit it or not. No one can make us believe that Gayyoom's government cares more about its citizens than those peace-loving people who are sacrificing so much to bring a change to this dictatorship.

Government spokesman Shaheed at first described the reformist vigil on Thursday and Friday as a coup (bagaavath) attempt, then there was news of a European Union members' visit at Gayyoom's invitation, and suddenly the incident was downgraded from 'coup' to 'illegal gathering', and then to 'a gathering where some illegal actions occurred'.

Why doesn't Gayyoom agree to the legitimate demands of Maldivians? Why did he arrest peaceful demonstrators? Many had gone to the mosques for the important Friday prayer. Why is Gayyoom calling them terrorists? Why is he dealing with these innocent people as if they are violent criminals?

Gayyoom doesn't care about the lives and safety of Maldivians, but he cares and a lot about his family and their individual interests. He creates and uses the worst elements of mob politics, instead of leading his people to a better future. Maldivians must stay united in our efforts against Gayyoom's terror. We will continue to water the tree of freedom with our blood, and woe to the enemies of democracy and the people of Maldives.

Democratic Maldivians will build the new Maldives – a nation of hope and freedom, and may the enemies of freedom go to hell. There will always be heartache and struggle, and you can’t escape it. But people of good and strong will can make a difference. These are lessons of sadness and inspiration. We are democratic and peace-loving Maldivians, and we chose to be inspired.