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MALDIVES: World’s Secret Dictatorship

by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), March 2004 - Representation Document

The archipelago of the Maldives in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a natural spectacle. Over the past 30 years, it has become one of the most thriving and sought-after holiday destinations in the world. It is the economic lifeblood of the Maldives, contributing to more than 30 % of the GDP, accounting for 70% of foreign currency earned and 40% percent of the government’s budgetary resources[[1]].

The island nation of Maldives has been in existence for over 2000 years [[2]]. Until early 20th Century, Maldives was ruled by royalty, Kings, Queens and Sultans. Maldives became a Republic and gained independence from the British in 1965. The first recorded constitution was adopted in 1932. The local traditions and cultures are deep rooted and people of Maldives are generally content and happy.

“The regime of Mumoon Abdul Gayoom in the Maldives is the world’s only “secret” dictatorship. Gayoom has been in power for the last 25 years and has no intention of relinquishing power or reforming his brutal methods. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International have frequently raised the issue of Mr. Gayooms methods and practices. The international media has also highlighted these concerns but to no avail.  Key characteristics of this tyranny are, rampant nepotism, suppression of any form of political opposition, complete control of media and communication, arbitrary arrests, torture and death in custody, endemic corruption and misuse of public funds,  intimidation of the parliament reducing it to a rubberstamp body, ballot rigging and total mismanagement of public services.” [[3]]      

 

Human Rights Violations

The government of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom does not tolerate any form or level of opposition. All forms of communication and media is fully controlled or influenced by the government. A single word against the government and one will end up in detention. Many are held in solitary confinement for years without charges whilst others are given life sentences passed at grossly unfair trials [[4]].

Arbitrary detention of government critics is common. Although freedom of expression is guaranteed by the constitution, this regime undermines it and there are an estimated 20 or more political prisoners in the Maldives. Some of them have been detained without so much as a charge for over 2 years. Amnesty International has a history of these acts of violence and human rights abuses in the Maldives as highlighted in their annual report. A further detailed report has also been released by the American State Department emphasising these activities[5]. 

However, it is common practice of the National Security Service (NSS) to torture people during interrogation and when serving time at the island prisons of the Maldives. Personal accounts of such atrocities and crimes have now being detailed and published yet this government appears relentless in its pursuit of hanging onto power at any cost.

 

Recent Events of gross negligence of human rights

Of such incidents of brutality, the latest act by the regime was to conceal and justify the torture and murder of 4 young inmates at Maafushi Island prison. A young 22 year old man was beaten to death by police guards in the jail for insisting that his basic rights be respected. Investigations have revealed that on the night of 19th September 2003, 12 police guards beat Eevaan Naseem so brutally that he died of his injuries at the scene of the crime. There was no part of his body that had not sustained broken bones, cigarette-burn marks and extensive bruising resulting from severe haemorrhaging.

Naseem’s fellow inmates heard about his death and they rioted the next day. In an attempt to quell the riot, the police opened fire indiscriminately and 18 of them were shot, out of which 3 were killed. The following day, the authorities attempted to bury the dead discretely. This did not go according to plan as people went to the cemetery and the hospital to find out the truth about the whole incident. The government had by then twisted the story and said that those who were killed were attempting to break free from the jail and that the authorities had no choice but to contain them by shooting at them. Riots followed in Male’ resulting in government buildings including police stations, the High Court and the elections office being burnt down by a crowd outraged by the incident.

An inquiry into the death of Eevan Naseem has revealed that he had done nothing to deserve that [[6]]. Furthermore that the shootings of 19 inmates on 20th September, resulted in the death of another 3 inmates were acts of gross negligence and breakdown of executive power [[7]]. There is no excuse for this excessive use of firearms in a detention centre, or for torturing and killing people. On 20th September, when the dead and injured people were brought to Male’, the whole island was in disarray and many went out on a rampage expressing their outrage at police brutality. None of this was reported by any public media, which is controlled by the government.

Most recently, on 13th February 2004, the government of Maldives unlawfully arrested several members and supporters of the party, who were organising a peaceful march in the capital island of Male’. On 12th February, the government enforced a curfew, during which time; NSS thugs, without a warrant, entered several houses and arrested the MDP council members, members of their families, as well as well-wishers. This occurred minutes after the MDP general council election results were announced. Amnesty International condemned this act forcefully [[8]].

 

Tourism in Maldives - Visitors must know the truth

“Holiday heaven on earth. Thousands of wealthy tourists flock every year to these exquisite islands in the India Ocean, for the holiday of a life time.

Blue skies above, crystal clear warm water, white coral sand beneath the feet, Paradise! But this sparkling image of perfection is very far from being the whole story. The Maldives were rocked by unprecedented rioting three weeks ago. These images, smuggled out of the country, are what the government did not want the world to see.”        Adam Mynott, BBC World Asia Correspondent [[9]].

Most of the resorts in the Maldives are developed near the capital island of Male’and located in the vicinity are some of the most spectacular resorts in the Maldives such as Cocoa Island, Kandooma Beach Resort and Fun Island Resort.  Midst these idyllic island is the notorious prison islands of Maafushi Island.

If only those holidaymakers on Cocoa Island, Kandooma and Fun Island Resort knew what was happening on the nearby island of Maafushi. They would have wondered what the cracking distant gunfire meant.  Little did they know that whilst they were enjoying an evening of peace and tranquillity on a moonlight beach in a Maldives resort, a young boy was begging for his life, as he was being beaten to death savagely until his chest bones caved in rupturing his lungs[[10]]. How would they feel if they knew that whilst they were soaking the sun and enjoying the warmth of the clear blue sea, in the next island people were being shot and killed indiscriminately for expressing outrage at the murder of their young friend?

This is just one of the many reasons why people who visit Maldives must be told the truth about this regime.

 

State and the Justice

The justice system in the Maldives is not independent of the executive. This makes the system prone to influence by the Executive [14]. Amendments to the constitution are required to implement counter-balanced and fair justice system. The state consists of the Executive, the legislature and the judiciary. However, the President, who is the Executive, also appoints the speaker of the Majlis, as well as 8 members of the 50 member Majlis, giving him enormous power to rule the country. Most independent MP’s are constantly harassed and intimidated by the government.  In addition, the power of administrating justice is vested in the Executive.

 

Powers of the Executive

The executive powers rendered to the President of the Maldives are quite astonishing. It is common knowledge in the Maldives that the current constitution was compiled and adopted in an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, so that the members of the parliament were not able to have their say in the amendments that were adopted.

The democratic process of electing the head of state in the Maldives is quite unfair and leaves much room for corruption and influence by the executive. Hence the results of elections are not truly representative of the people's broad view.

Positions filled by President Gayyoom include the following among many others;

1.      President (The Executive)

2.      Commander in Chief

3.      Highest Judiciary Authority

4.      Minister of Defence & National Security

5.      Minister of Finance & Treasury

6.      Governor of the Central Bank (Maldives Monetary Authority)

 

National Security Service

The National Security Service is not really doing its proper job, as the commander in chief, again the executive, has created an ethos within NSS that his protection is their paramount duty, not the security and protection of the people. It is a police state.

 

Education & Health and Public Services

Nearly 70% of the Maldives is under the age of 35. The growing number of student population requires more schools and a more accountable education system providing opportunities for all. In the current system, the government is unable to provide even advance level GCSC A Level to all those finishing O Level exams. In addition, there are more community schools than government schools and in some islands; there is no opportunity to even complete primary education. Instead of investments in schools and so forth, the government of Gayoom attaches more importance to building his personal palaces, holiday retreat and the purchase of luxury items such as yachts and his Mercedes Benz cars.

In the health sector, the general population does not have adequate facilities. There is one main government owned hospital in Male and a couple of regional hospitals. For any major health problem, the trend is to go to India for treatment. Most people tend to go around asking for donations and help from friends and family to do this kind of medical trips to India. Philanthropists spend a substantial amount in this sector. The cost of healthcare is also not comparable to the income levels of the ordinary persons.

Other social services including, utilities are extremely expensive and people are not able to afford a comfortable life in spite of having a normal job working 10 -12 hours a day. The government and the private sector need to reform the system urgently and come up with a minimum wage in accordance with the levels of inflation. Currently the average salary of Mrf 2000/ - (2000 Maldivian Rufiyaa = US$ 155) is barely enough to pay the bills and this is the average income of full time government and private sector employment.

Housing in Male’ and most islands also require to be overhauled and made affordable.

Government also needs to stop being in competition with private firms in all sectors. Nepotism and corruption plays a major role in increasing the impact of such organisations.

 

Media Control

The government has complete control of the media, the television, the radio and all newspapers and magazines in the country. The state owns the TV and Radio stations whilst all 3 major papers are owned by cabinet ministers and the brother in law of the President.

Anything contrary to the government line could not appear on any medium and all dissident websites are blocked by the government controlled ISPs. It is therefore a criminal offence, apparently, to try and reach out to the people with the aim of informing them the truth about the activities of this regime. Life imprisonment is common for those who write or promote a view which opposes that of the government. The situation is unbearable considering this is the 21st century. People of the Maldives deserve better treatment and more freedom, after all it is a country with an adopted constitution and it is a republic.

As of today there are more than three journalists incarcerated for expressing there points of view.

 

Maldivian Democratic Party


 

MDP General Council with  delegation at the House of Lords, UK with Lord Naseby

It is paramount to have a reaction to every action. The purpose of a political party is to represent the ideals of a group of people in a given society as a uniform voice and endeavour to govern their country with an adopted set of objectives, uphold the rule of law and respect for each other, allowing freedom of expression and association.

A nationally recognised critic to the government will be the party or parties in opposition. This will ensure that the party in the government will always have people of the same calibre to scrutinise their action. Political pluralism is needed to achieve a high standard of social justice and harmony.

In 2001 an eminent group of 42 people that included members of parliament, a former cabinet minister, leading businessmen, academics, feminists and popular sports stars came together to form a political party under the name of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). However the Gayoom regime refused to grant this fundamental right of political association, in blatant violation of the constitution.

After this refusal and the September 2003 uprising, following the torture, shooting  and murder of inmates by the National Security Service, a number of people from the original 42 and many other new comers investigated other possibilities for political association as a Party. Having decided that the only viable option was to declare the Party as an entity in exile, on 10th November 2003 the Maldivian Democratic Party started its operations in the neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Since then MDP have made much progress. Membership has increased while it has received international recognition and financial contributions from members, supporters and sympathizers.

 

Soon after voting ended for the MDP Council on the 13th February 2004, the regime conducted a brutal clampdown. Many members of the council, their families and supporters were blindfolded, handcuffed, manhandled and arrested.

The Party planned a peaceful demonstration to deliver a letter to Mr. Gayoom on the 14th of February 2004, to inform him of the new developments of the party. However this was pre-empted by the wave of mass arrests.

 

MDP will now endeavour to work with all parties, governments, non-governmental organisations as well as individuals to pressure the government of Maldives to allow political pluralism and respect human rights in the country.

 

Today the party operates out of both the UK and Sri Lanka.

 

 

Party Delegation

 

Challenging the government of Maumoon in any way or form, legal or illegal, is deduced by the regime as either a threat to national security or character assassination of the President himself resulting in life imprisonment preceded with years of solitary confinement. Until the sad events of September 2003, most dissidents remained shut. However, it is not the case now and members of the Party and its supporters are canvassing across the globe to find a solution to the desperate plea of the people of Maldives.

 

Listed below are 4 members of the General Council of the party, who make up the current international delegation.

 

Mohamed Nasheed

Member of the General Council

Born: 17th May 1967 in Male’, Maldives

Education:

Work Experience:

Publications: Author of many Dhivehi and English books, novels and newspaper articles

Mr. Nasheed has been an active critic of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and has been in solitary confinement for over 24 months over the past 15 years. He has been in the political sphere of Maldives since he returned back to Maldives after studying in England. Mr. Nashid is also one of the founding members of Maldivian Democratic Party.

 

Ahmed Mausoom

Member of the General Council

Born: 24th January 1957 in Male’, Maldives

Education

Work Experience:

Mr. Mausoon has been an active voice in the pro-democracy movement in the Maldives over the past 10 years.

 

Ahmed Shafeeq Ibrahim Moosa

Member of the General Council

Born: 04th November 1968 in Male’, Maldives

Education:

 

Work Experience:

Publications:

Mr. Moosa has been engaged in pro-democracy activities in Maldives since his return from the UK in 1998. Mr. Moosa has is now in exile after making condemning the current government of the Maldives in a BBC report in October 2003.

 

Ahmed Naseer

Member of the General Council

Born:  04th April 1953

Education

Work Experience:

Mr. Naseer is a prominent artist and poet. He has been a lifelong activist for human rights and democracy. Mr. Naseer’s work has been exhibited in Maldives, Sri Lanka and in Scotland. He was also an active member of “Anni Camp”, Mohamed Nasheed’s general parliamentary election in 1999.    

 

Key areas of concern

  1. Human Rights abuses in the Maldives [[11]] must be known to the world. International pressure can bring an end to these practices.

  2. The government of Maldives is expected to receive substantial aid and loan aids amounting to approximately 55 million dollars in 2004. This represents 17.7% of the total budget. This indicates that the government of the Maldives must be willing to listen to donor countries and that these countries can lobby and pressure the government of Maldives to treat its citizens more fairly and more humanely.

  3. The Maldivian tourism industry is very much dependent on investments provided by international tour operators. This gives the tour operators a powerful position to pressure the government to be more humane in their activities and uphold human rights in the Maldives. These tour operators must play an ethical role in the future of Maldives and contribute to the well being of the Maldivian people.

  4. The wealth distribution in the Maldives is grossly unfair and the income disparity is substantial.  The majority of Maldivians do not benefit from the industry. Most resorts employ foreign expatriates for management and other high level jobs and employ local Maldivians for the lower tasks such as waiters, room boys and cleaning jobs.

  5. Resorts are mostly leased to the same group of elites, time and time again.  These are the “favourites” of the regime and are treated with preference for all contracts.

  6. The business industry is heavily regulated and the government corrupt making it very difficult for new investors to enter the market. Bribery is the only tool with which operating licenses can be obtained and the only way in which an investor can remain in business.  The tourism industry is the most corrupt industry in the Maldives.

  7. The business formula for the economy as a whole can be improved much further by allowing small businesses to prosper and develop. All resort owners have a stake in almost all the supporting sectors, which reduces the potential for new Maldivian business to enter the tourism economy. The Government is directly competing with small businesses in import, which are supporting sectors for the tourism industry, making it a highly monopolised and an unfair business system to even engage in resort supply and logistics[[12]].

  8. Due to the strict regulations set by resort owners, the working hours for the employees are sometimes very long (12 hour shift or more).  Furthermore, they spend long periods away from their families on their native islands which contribute significantly to the weakening of family structures. There is fear of losing ones job if one requests to visit family too often.   Also, in many cases, the resort management are not in harmony with adjacent islands [[13]] and therefore people from these islands are not employed in the local resorts.

  9. Political pluralism in the Maldives is not only discouraged but forbidden. Solitary confinement and imprisonment is common for dissidents and opponents of the government. Political parties are banned in the Maldives despite freedom of expression and political association being a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution [[14]]. In this context, people working in the tourism industry are unable to express their concern in anyway or form and just have to accept all and every regulation imposed on them. Furthermore, resort owners force their employees to vote a certain candidate in parliamentary and presidential referendum ballots, which is a ghastly infringement on their basic rights.

 

The way forward

International community must pressure the government of Maldives to adhere to international norms and standards in dealing with its people and human rights abuses, torture and death in custody must cease immediately.

The Maldivian government must reform itself and allow the rule of law to be upheld. It must restructure the industry and regulate it in such a way that the wealth is distributed more evenly amongst the population of the Maldives.

We believe that countries with diplomatic and trade links with the Maldives must bear some responsibility for this and they should contribute to bring about this much needed change and reform.

The unethical and brutal behaviour of this tyrant regime is taking the Maldives into a very unsettled future. Many have suffered indignity and financial hardships at the expense of wealth creation for the family and friends of the regime.  To endeavour to avoid this happening, tour operators have a moral obligation to work with us to promote a more humane and ethical agenda in Tourism in the Maldives.

In view of the desperate situation of the people of the Maldives, we believe that the international community will lend their support and assistance.

Presently councillors of the party are in the UK for the purpose of seeking support and assistance for the party from the UK government, foreign diplomats and NGO’s working in the United Kingdom.

 

MDP has met with British & Commonwealth Foreign office and Members of the British Parliament as well as media personnel, who have all shown a commitment to  the cause. Further more, several questions have been raised at the British Parliament.

 

MDP delegation will be travelling to Geneva, New York, Rome, Berlin and other major cities to lobby for international pressure to the government of Maldives, which rules the country with fear and intimidation.

 

MDP is seeking all international communities to interfere with the situation in the Maldives and pressure the current government to show respect for human rights and regard for the rule of law.

 

  

References

[1] International Reports – The Washington Times – Maldives 2002 www.internationalreports.net/asiapacific/maldives/2002/keeping.html

[2] Clarence Maloney, People of the Maldive Islands,1980, Orient Longman (India)

[3] Maldivian Democratic Party Press Release 20/02/2004 www.maldiviandemocraticparty.org

[4] Republic of Maldives Repression of peaceful political opposition - Amnesty International Report

AI INDEX: ASA 29/002/2003     30 July 2003 web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA290022003

[5] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003 Released by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour 25th Feb. 2004 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27948pf.htm

[6] Investigative Findings on the death of Hassan Evan Naseem – Presidential Commission – 29-12-2003 www.e-maldives.com/reports

[7] Investigative Findings on the incident of shooting at Maafushi Jail – Presidential Commission – 29-12-2003 www.e-maldives.com/reports

[8] Maldives: yet another crackdown on peaceful political activity Amnesty International Press Release 13th Feb. 2004 www.e-maldives.com/news/amnestypressrelese.html

[9] BBC World Report – 17th October 2003  BBC Online   

[11] Republic of Maldives Repression of peaceful political opposition - Amnesty International Report

AI INDEX: ASA 29/002/2003     30 July 2003 web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA290022003

[13] Kuramathi Tourist Resort – www.kuramathi.com.mv

[14] Constitution of the Maldives (Unofficial Translation by government) /  Chapter 2 / Clause 27 www.e-maldives.com/constitution

 

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