Heroes of our generation in Maldives? :: Dhivehi Observer

Editorial

Heroes of our generation

By A. S. I. Moosa (Sappe'), 18th August 2005

These are testing times for our small nation. Hundreds of innocent Maldivians are being tortured in prison by the Dictator, who is unwilling to step-down despite the fact that the vast majority of the Maldivian people are fed up with his oppressive rule and want him to resign.

Dr. Saeed and Dr.Shaheed are prime examples of sons betraying their people. It is because of the selfishness of such Maldivian sons that we have been deprived of our most basic rights of Freedom. Everyone knows, even Dr. Saeed and Dr. Shaheed knows, that Gayyoom's regime is oppressive, that there is no social justice, that he uses his propaganda to manipulate the people, that his rule is illegitimate and that it is a family affair. Total submission to his will is the only way to climb up the ladders in the government. These individuals have done just that. Why are they doing it? The answer is simple. They are hollow and insecure. They have no soul and no sense of duty to their own people just selfish greed.

Over the last few days, we have seen many old and young people being taken away by Gayyoom and getting tortured and locked up in his cells. We have witnessed Gayyoom committing a crime against our people in the name of national security. He has arrested more than 200 people, some of whom weren't even associated with the unrest we saw this week. The actual threat that Gayyoom sensed was that he was loosing his powers at a rate that he could not comprehend. The people around him, Ministers and Senior Police Officers have over the years made their hands as dirty as Gayyoom. They played active roles in the conspiracy of Gayyoom, to torture and oppress his people to remain in power. Gayyoom's future is hence directly connected to that of all of these people, who can only be classed as traitors for the simple reason that they know they are helping Gayyoom and aiding him to undermine the constitution of the Maldives.

Sources within the National Security and the Police have confirmed that more than 75% of those arrested in the latest uprising (12-17 August 2005) are under 35 years of age. These young heroes have demonstrated the kind of leadership that has long been missing in our country. They have demonstrated the kind of courage and social responsibility that is needed to build a just and civilized society. Standing up for your rights and peaceful dissent is the only way to break away from the shackles of evil that has engulfed our small nation for decades now.

Let us together pay tribute to those who are chained today and tortured in the hands of the tyrant Gayyoom. We must not forget that it is their sufferings and sacrifices that will ultimately bring us the FREEDOM that we are crying out for and give us the opportunity to live life anew in a society where we are all equal and share in its progress. They are suffering to build a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are rights of every citizen not just that of Gayyoom and his cronies. We must truly honour them as heroes of this generation.