:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

Special Majlis members beaten and arrested by NSS as Gayyoom declares Emergency Rule for Male' and surrounding areas

Maldives Culture report - Friday, 13th August 2003

Special Majlis member Dr Mohamed Munavvar has been severely beaten by the NSS and is in custody along with Special Majlis members Burama Gasim, Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, Mohamed Shihab and Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra). Other reformists are being hunted and arrested while a loud siren is sounding throughout the capital.

Dhiraagu SMS messaging and Internet services have been cut, dial-up and ADSL are no longer functioning, and the government seems to be preparing to shut down all private Internet servers.

President Gayyoom has placed Male' and surrounding areas under Emergency rule, effective from 3.20pm 13 Friday 2004. NSS officers attacked people on the street with truncheons and tear gas before Radio Maldives broadcast the announcement. The NSS has also occupied the Ministry of Information building and Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital where men and women injured by police violence are being treated.

The declaration in Dhivehi was broadcast by an announcer in the name of the President. It declared Emergency rule for Male' and surrounding areas from 3.20pm Friday 13 August, under the constitutional powers granted to Maumoon Gayyoom as president. Last night a group of people gathered at the Republic Square, the declaration claimed, and illegally attempted to enter NSS headquarters, set fire to a building and injured a police officer. The decision to implement Emergency law was made after patiently attempting to resolve this matter. The declaration ended with the President's name.

An eyewitness in Male' files the following report of events in Republican Square over the last twenty-four hours:

What started as a vigil at the Republican Square in Male' at dusk on Thursday turned into a mass gathering of people demanding democratic reform, release of detained political prisoners, resignation of cabinet ministers and resignation of the President.

In a nasty twist to this tale, the NSS is using tear gas to quell the protest, and riot police are beating the protestors and arresting a number of reformists.

Yesterday, a group of pro-reform activists gathered at Republican Square in protest against the detention of five reform activists. They were mainly maintaining the vigil for Mohamed Yoosuf (Fulhu) who was detained inside the Shaheed Hussain Adam Building where Police Headquarters is located. The building faces Republican Square. Ahmed Adam and Abdul Rasheed were arrested after the police raided their photocopy shop on 9th August. Firshan Ahmed Zahir and Hussain Rasheed were arrested on 10th August, reportedly after they responded to intimidation by a police officer by saying police had no right to act like that.

Fulhu was released on Thursday evening but the crowd demanded the release of four other activists who were detained in Dhoonidhoo detention centre near Male'. By early Friday morning, a large crowd was still demanding the four detainees to be released.

The government tried to negotiate with the people, by talking to some reformist MPs. The government then agreed to the demands of the people and brought the four prisoners to Male' and freed them.

When a government spokesman announced the releases, the crowd reminded him that there were more political priosners being held in jail. They called for the release of Naushad Waheed and the people detained for publishing Sandhaanu – Ahmed Didi, Mohamed Zaki and Fathimath Nisreen.

The government speakers then tried to calm the crowd by addressing them through loudspeakers. When Ilyas Ibrahim, Minister of Transport, tried to calm the crowd, people called him a thief. They reminded him that he had taken millions of dollars from Fisheries Projects Implementation Department (FPID).

Brigadier Moosa Jaleel was also among the people who tried in vain to calm the crowd. People's Special Majlis member Buruma Gasim Ibrahim also tried to calm the crowd but the people were getting restless and his voice was not heard above the voice of the reformers.

People's Special Majlis member for Male', Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) then told the crowd that the government was considering the demands of the people. He called for patience. Ibra who was standing in front of NSS headquarters, then walked to the flagmast in Republican Square where a large flag is hoisted. To calm the crowd, the NSS allowed their loudspeaker system to be taken there.

Ibra once again called for non-violence, peace and patience. He asked the crowd what their demands were, and they responded by calling for the release of Naushad Waheed and the Sandhaanu prisoners, and the resignation of a number of cabinet ministers. Ibra assured the crowd that the people's demands would be conveyed to the government and that he will try to mediate and achieve a solution.

NSS Brigadier Moosa Jaleel also assured the people that their demands were being sent to the government and the people will be told about the decisions.

A number of pro-reform activists then started addressing the crowd through the loudspeaker system. They included Ismail Asif, Zuhaira and Fulhu. The crowd continued their demands, including the resignation of State Minister for Defence Anbaree Abdul Sattar, Commissioner of Police Adam Zahir and President Gayoom.

The crowd were determined not to resort to violence but their peaceful protest was continously disrupted by mobs hired by Trade Minister Abdulla Yameen who is a brother of Gayoom. These same groups tried to disrupt the peaceful gatherings at Lonuziyaaraiykolhu beach in Male'.

In one incident, the group came towards the flagmast and platform, and tried to pull down the flag. The crowd shouted their firm opinion that the Maldive flag in the Republican Square should not be pulled down. After a brief verbal fight, the mob backed off.

The GSM mobile phone service was blocked during the protest but resumed after the crowd demanded the service be reinstated.

Contrary to some reports, Naushad Waheed and the Sandhaanu prisoners have not being released. The government had announced that they are considering the demands of the public to release them. Naushad Waheed who is detained in Male', joined the crowd and detailed the torture he and fellow prisoners went through in jail.

Sandhaanu prisoner Ahmed Didi also joined the crowd and started addressing them. Didi said he heard about the unrest in Male' and came to Police headquarters and asked them what he should do and said he was willing to stay in a cell. He said the NSS told him to join the crowd. He explained the torture he and fellow prisoners went through and the reasons for the publishing of the Internet newsletter Sandhaanu. Didi addressed the crowd several times. As dawn arrived, the crowd stayed in the Republican Square, firm in their resolve to bring democracy to Maldives.

Fathimath Nisreen, the girl imprisoned for her alleged participation in publishing Sandhaanu, also addressed the gathered people. She denied that she had any involvemment in publishing Sandhaanu and said the reason for her jail sentence was calling Gayoom 'a Pharaoh'.

Nisreen also pointed out that the constitution of the Maldives gives arrested people the right to get legal assistance from lawyers, but that she and other Sandhaanu prisoners were denied their right of legal consultation. She also challenged police investigator Abdulla Riyaz to come into the crowd and show any evidence of her alleged participation in Sandhaanu. Nisreen's jail sentence of ten years was halved recently and she has been banished to an island in Faafu Atoll, but she was in Male' when this protest started.

While Nisreen was speaking, the NSS tried a dirty trick to disrupt the gathering. A group of uniformed NSS servicemen climbed onto the platform and the crowd shouted at them to go away. They stayed and the some of the people started to run towards them. Using this commotion as a distraction, the Yameen-sponsored mob climbed the platform and hijacked it. They could not stay for long and backed off once again, running around in another part of the Republican Square chanting their support for Gayoom.

Another trick was played by Chief of Staff Major General Mohamed Zahir who tried to impound the loudspeaker system after pretending to address the crowd. However, he did not succeed and had to flee the scene.

When the time came for Friday prayers, the crowd tried to perform the prayer in the Republican Square without having to disperse. Sheikh Fareed was to lead the prayers. The NSS kept telling people to leave. Their headquarters is adjacent to the square. A cabinet meeting was supposedly going on inside NSS Headquarters to discuss the demands of the people. The reform activists urged the crowd to stand their ground and stay firm in their protest.

The Yameen mob once again arrived to assist the crumbling regime of Gayoom. This time they started threatening Sheikh Fareed, and he and some supporters had to leave the area. The prayers could not be performed in the Republican Square. As men went for prayers in the nearby Islamic Centre, the women guarded the microphones and loudspeakers. Although the Yameen mob was outnumbered by the reformist crowd, the people were committed to continuing their protest without violence.

The Yameen mob consisted of groups that usually represent sports teams in the country such as BG and Maziya. The members of 'Galolhu Kanmathi' were also part of this mob. Yameen and his buddies have supposedly paid huge sums to these men. Madih and Shah Ismail, two people who control the BG group, were seen in the square around noon and after they instructed the mob to threaten Sheikh Fareed, 'the bosses' left the area.

Another mob leader is Ali Suzeyn, coach of the Victory Sports Club football team. Suzeyn is also a member of 'Galolhu Kanmathi' and he joined the Gayoom's BBC-bashing campaign in 2003 after BBC aired reports of Gayoom's totalitarian rule in Maldives.

When prayers were over, Ahmed Didi again addressed the crowd. Calls for the resignation of Gayoom were increasing. The government still refused to announce anything concerning the demands of the people.

Although the NSS had assured protestors they would not shoot at the crowd and nobody would be arrested, it was a completly different tale on the TV Maldives 2.00p.m. news. The government media said a small crowd had caused disharmony by gathering at the Republican Square, and the people responsible had been identified and action would be taken against them.

The regime now used a very dirty trick. It encouraged a group of very young people to throw bottles at Police headquarters. The protestors tried to stop this group but the boys were uncontrollable. It is believed they are part of the mob paid for by Yameen. Using this commotion as an excuse, the riot police pounced on the protestors, beat them brutally with truncheons and arrested them. Most of the arrested protestors were the same people who had tried to calm the young troublemakers.

Women were also beaten with truncheons and they sustained severe injuries. Ambulances are rushing to the hospital with casualties. Tear gas was used at about 3.00 p.m. Now the sounds of sirens fill the capital and the people are again facing uncertainty and fear from the brutal regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.