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Maldives Culture special report
BBC plot to destabilise Maldives, says regime

19 Oct 2003 - www.maldivesculture.com

sappe
Ahmed Shafeeq Ibrahim Moosa, Sappe' (Editor in chief of Dhivehi Observer)

The government of Maldives and its supporters are accusing the BBC of taking part in a plot to destabilise the country, after the broadcast of interviews with two Maldivians, recorded in Male', who were openly critical of President Gayyoom.

Alerted by SMS mobile phone messages, many Maldivians watched BBC news on Friday night and cheered as Ahmed Nazim, the younger brother of Mohamed Nasheed ex-Majlis member for Male', appeared in a live broadcast and made damning statements about President Gayyoom and his regime. Ahmed Nazim has not yet been arrested.

adam mynott
Adam Mynott
BBC South Asia correspondent

The BBC's Adam Mynott reports from the Maldives - "Critics say prosperity from tourism... has come at the expense of basic human rights" 17th October 2003

Earlier, Ahmed Shafeeq Ibrahim Moosa, known as Sappe, fled Maldives for London after making similar statements to the BBC. 'I have already left the country fearing the worst,' wrote Sappe' to this site, 'and from London I will do my best to inform the world of this man's brutality. A formal opposition movement will be launched to replace the regime. That is my promise to the people of Maldives.'

The reaction of President Gayyoom's government and supporters to this non-violent expression of opposition opinion, has been hysterical with open warnings in Dhivehi and English that all 'minorities' must be brought under control. This is only days after Maumoon Gayyoom told the BBC that freedom of expression is allowed in Maldives and 'guaranteed by the constitution'.

The full text of a Dhivehi statement, complaining about the BBC, from the Maldives Ministry of Information Arts & Culture was read on TV Maldives. Adam Mynott interviewed the president for over an hour, said the ministry, and the broadcast was edited to influence the Maldivian public. The ministry said that Adam Mynott had seemed to be 'positive' about the Maldives, and it quoted the reporter saying the conditions in Maafushi were good and better than the jails he visited in India. Mynott was shown talking with a TV Maldives reporter.

The ministry implied the BBC had manipulated the president, and the statement concluded with a warning that those who act against the laws of Maldives will be dealt with and stopped in their tracks.

An emergency meeting for selected officials, supposedly to discuss terrorism issues, is being called tonight in Male'.

More information about Sappe' is available at his personal website. (which subsequently became Dhivehi Observer)