:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

Hithadhoo, Naifaru and Male' - NSS controls the gangs

DO Editorial - 2 December 2004

NSS base near Hithadhoo island in southern Maldives
Click for full Addu atoll map

The events unfolding in Addu and Lhaviyani atolls are part of Gayyoom's plan to sabotage the People's Majlis elections, due in a month, by creating state-sponsored anarchy in Maldives with gangs of drug addicts.

These gangs are supplied with drugs and money, and permitted to commit open robberies and burglaries without fear of imprisonment.

The mass resignation of Indian doctors at the important hospital in Hithadhoo island in southern Maldives was prompted by the rape of a male doctor by three assailants who entered his house at night while he was sleeping alone. This assault is the latest in a constant stream of brazen attacks and robberies on Hithadhoo's people.

The slashings in Naifaru island on Lhaviyani atoll north of Male' were carried out by the same gang who assaulted boys with cutter knives earlier this year. The injuries in these attacks have been horrific.

Both Addu and Lhaviyani atolls are heavily occupied by the National Security Service (NSS).

On Addu, the NSS is based in Gan island, which has an airfield built by the British in the late 1950s and a radar installation supplied recently by the Indian military. Gan is not administered by the Addu atoll office; this island is under the direct control of the NSS and commander-in-chief Gayyoom.

A sealed road links Gan with Hithadhoo island, and a breakdown of law and order in Hithadhoo can only continue, as it has done since September 2003, with the connivance of the NSS.

NSS facility north of Naifaru island in north-central Maldives
Click for full Lhaviyani atoll map

The situation is similar in heavily populated Naifaru island on Lhaviyani atoll. Directly to the north of Naifaru is the large NSS training facility in Madivaru island.

It is no coincidence that Maldives' most violent crimes are occurring in Male', Hithadhoo and Naifaru. All these islands are under strong NSS influence. The drug addicted gangs that Gayyoom has organised to break the influence of the reform movement, can be directed and paid off easily. Also, when the paateys have to be arrested, they can be processed and released without delay.

The situation in Maldives is extremely tense and people are desperate for change. The country has been hijacked by Gayyoom and his family for over 26 years; there is no rule of law; there is no justice; there is only Gayyoom's will.

Gayyoom told the parliament that he and his friends were carrying guns when he took the oath of office in November 1978, and the country has been ruled like a gangsters' lair ever since.

Gayyoom said last June that he intends to reform the political system of Maldives. Five months on, and we see the president completely disregarding the rule of law, undermining the constitution and militarily occupying major population centres of the country.

We cannot put our future in the hands of this murderous dictator. We demand his immediate resignation. Let the people of Maldives choose their future. With electoral support, the MDP will form a new government to transform the country into a prosperous nation, based on real democracy and respect for our best traditions and law.

Maldivians deserve the bright future that the MDP can deliver.