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Gayyoom backslides – fast

Dhivehi Observer, 5 July 2004

Gayyoom is quick at promising reform and as quick at rescinding. Those of us old enough (not much of them left) remember how in his first few months in power he wowed the nation with promises of reform. Key words included reform, freedom of expression, justice, and democracy. He did not take long to backslide. Newspapers were shut down, reformists jailed and his Ba’athist philosophy well and truly entrenched. After the 1988 coup attempt we were shaken enough to call for reform and to address some of the more pressing issues resulting from his oppressive rule. For a brief period there was media freedom and even his rubber stamp parliament started slowly functioning as a forum for debate. Jail, torture and intimidation of journalists and parliamentarians ended the reform movement. Gayyoom reverted to his tried and tested method of cowing down the populace through systematic introduction of fear and intimidation.

His current talk about constitutional reform is equally spurious. In fact the hardliners, working on his instructions, have started the reverse movement even before the first sitting of the constitutional assembly.

Consider:

- Gayyoom's two younger brothers, Yameen and Hameed, and brother-in-law, Sammarey are working on a concerted effort to force the island chiefs and atoll chiefs to intimidate the citizens into writing to the president not to introduce political pluralism as it will harm the ‘peace and harmony’ in Maldives. The ‘messy democracy’ of India is given as an example. All the violence in India and in the rest of the world – so the argument goes is due to society being split as a result of party politics.

- Sheik Farouk, the Gayyoom appointed religious spinner in the parliament, is hard at work to prove that separation of power is almost heretical and violates the principles of Islam. The orders obviously come directly from his God and Master, Gayyoom. Some years back this same fanatic fought ferociously against giving any rights to detainees. He went so far as to suggest that even Prophet Muhammed was not averse to the occasional torture for the sake of peace and harmony and strengthening the state. This one time rabid Wahhabi, now turned even more rabid, promoter of Gayyoom as God, is Gayyoom's main strategist against reforms – even those ostensibly promoted by Gayyoom. Gayyoom's strategy is simple: Give the international community the impression that he, as an individual, is all for greater participatory democracy. But the people seem to reject it. As a democrat, he has to abide by the will of the people.

- Gayyoom's latest backslide is aimed at stopping the free and open debate he touted at his constitutional circus. Gayyoom's minions at the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a letter - written in sweet language to be sure – threatening Male’ member Ibrahim Ismail and Ahmed Nazim, organizers of the pro-democracy discussion seminar. Gayyoom's idea is to send agent provocateurs to the meeting to stop the debate. His NSS would come and prevent further meetings in the name of ‘maintaining’ law and order. Even at this early stage it is obvious that Gayyoom and his hardline brothers, Yameen and Abdullah Hameed, will not let democracy take root in the Maldives. These two fear competitive politics because it will curtail their corrupt family rule. The international community needs to be vigilant and not get fooled by Gayyoom's insincere promises of reform.