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WE DEMAND IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF GASIM IBRAHIM

By Maldivian Students in Malaysia - Saturday, 14th August 2004

Beloved readers of Dhivehi Observer,

Malaysia is one country where lots of Maldivian students are in its colleges and universities. We are group of students in Malaysia and we are not supporters of any political party or any group. What we know is we love our country and we are writing to express our concern regarding the current situation in Male'. It’s a pity that today whenever we get to meet fellow Maldivians we express our hatred and disgust towards the government especially the president, Gayyoom. We never expected this from a president of ours, to use brutal force against his fellow citizens. Arresting and beating the people who truly work for the good of the Maldives.

In fact Maumoon was the president at the time of our birth and we have never seen a new face in the position of our president so far. It’s again a pity to mention here, we don’t see much progress and development in his 26 years of autocratic rule in Maldives. And its amazing how Maumoon hinders the prosperous life and the development of Maldives by arresting and beating the citizens who truly love Maldives and those who try to show patriotism. Last Thursday and Friday nights we were unable to sleep, as our spirits are never separated from Maldives, where we all were born. It’s our future, its our life and its our hope. Its development is our own individual development and its every single success is our own success.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Dhivehi Observer for providing us with what’s really going on in Male'. As long as we are Maldivians our souls cannot remain calm not knowing what’s really happening in Male'. It’s our brother and sisters being beaten harshly by Maumoon's very faithful NSS. Gayyoom controlled media in Maldives was not able to provide anything regarding the protest or the riot that followed, other than some lies downplaying the situation and confusing the citizens outside Male'.

Some might say why we should worry about politics! But little do they understand that our future depends on the hands of what these politicians do. For example if the millions dollars spent by Maumoon for his own lavish life is invested on the development of atolls, the people of atolls need not spend high amount of money to go Male' for medical purposes. How many of us think about things like this? If Maumoon is not corrupted it’s an obvious fact that the Maldives would have being much better than this. We always dream for a better Maldives. A better Maldives will never be born if we have a corrupt government like as Gayyoom's. So fellow Maldivians lets open our eyes and do not say politics is not our business.

Our of main concern is the arrests made last night, which includes prominent people like Gasim Ibrahim, Zaki and Dr. Munnawwar. Gasim Ibrahim is someone loved and admired by the whole Maldives. He is not a selfish person like Gayyoom. He works for the betterment of Maldives. This may be the very reason he was arrested last night. Gasim uses his money on people whereas Gayyoom uses peoples money for his own lavish life and comforts. Imagine the big difference! In fact we are all very concerned about the arrest of Gasim. The main reason is, it is Gasim who is providing education for us! He is the one who thought to educate the people of his country on his own money. A lot of Maldivian students abroad are concerned about the arrest of Gasim Ibrahim. Now we don’t have a single bit of trust on Gayyoom and he is ready to do anything for the sake of power and richness. Any harm to Gasim is a harm to us and hence the Maldives as a whole. WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE AND THE UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF GASIM IBRAHIM. OUR FUTURES ARE DEPENDANT ON THE WELL-BEING OF GASIM.