Sunday 2 January 2005

 Main News
Tsunami waves flood Maldives

How many are really suffering?

DAY 8

 A Diary
Thaa Atoll, Tsunami Disaster Diary
On the 26th of December, Tsunamis struck the Maldives and Thaa atoll was one of the worst hit areas. Here are some unimaginable sad and greedy events that occurred after the Tsunamis. read more

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Gayyoom to delay the elections once again but this time the constitution is to be amended in just a day

Reliable sources have confirmed that Gayyoom will be amending the constitution of Maldives on 4^th January (yes, just like that) and that the Parliament has been calling people to find out if they are in Male' and also to see if they will support such a motion giving Gayyoom powers to delay the general election even further. The reason will be Tsunami Disaster. What is most unbelievable is that no work has been conducted by the Constitutional Assembly to date with regard to democratic reform since its election earlier this yea because apparently there is no Rules of Procedure but when he wants to do some he can. 'This is absurd' said an MP who will be trying to avert any such move. 'This is the constitution of the country after all not the Rules of Procedures of his palace' he added further.

Mr Sabir and Anbaree Sattar are paid for being MPs even though they are based abroad as Ambassadors

These two members are filling the position of Maldivian high commissioner for UK and India but they get parliament salary
every month. This is another example of Gayyoom using public money at his will. This is another example why people should not elect government ministers for parliament. "Don't you see, you have no rights, Gayyoom's will is what matters." The two seats of these two members have been seen empty since August. Does anybody care? Has the question been raised in the parliament?

DO Poll

Maldivian of the Year 2004
DO readers have requested to launch a poll to find out the Maldivian of the Year 2004. DO is believed to have the largest readership in the Maldives despite the site being blocked in the Maldives. The main areas to look for is a persons contribution to the Maldivian society. Please send in your suggestions to dhivehiobserver@gmail.com – a short list of 10 people will then be voted on during the month of January and results will be announced on 1^st February 2004.  

ADB sends emergency aid to three tsunami-hit countries
MANILA, Jan. 1 (Xinhuanet)-- The Asian Development Bank is sending a 325 million US dollar aid to three countries hit by earthquake and tsunamis last Sunday, said ADB in a communique Saturday.
The ADB is in response to the request from Indonesia, Sril Lanka and Maldives, three countries which were among those countries strongly hit by the earthquake and tsunamis.
The ADB said that 175 million US dollars will be quickly reprogramed from existing operations in the three countries, while150 million US dollars will be drawn immediately from the Asian Development Fund, which is affiliated to ADB.
"This is an unprecedented disaster and we are moving quickly to assist these countries in their hour of need," said ADB President Tadao Chino.
The ADB said that its teams are now in place working with local governments and other institutions like the World Bank to identify the priority operations effectively in the near team, as well as help the basis for the more extensive and comprehensive reconstruction work that will get underway in the coming six months.
The immediate funding only makes up an "initial contribution" while significantly increased resources will be available as these assessments proceed and longer tem reconstruction and rehabilitation investment priorities are identified, said ADB.
The ADB is also actively engaged with other countries that have been directly affected by the disaster, and has indicated that it stands ready to assist if requested to do so.

 

Ireland Online
Father saves family by strapping them to tree
A heroic father told today how he saved his family from the killer tsunami by strapping them into a palm tree using beach towels.
Englishman Stephen Boulton was celebrating his 34th birthday on the first day of a holiday in the Maldives when the disaster struck.
He managed to get wife Ray, 33, and their children Ashley, 12, Euan, four, and 19-month-old Iona high up in the branches to safety where they clung for five hours. read more
 

Mirror.co.uk

THE WAVE OF DEATH: 3 MINUTES OF SILENCE 
UK tribute on Wednesday Queen's 'shock' at disaster British public gives £45m World aid fund hits £714m
A THREE-minute silence will be held across Britain at noon on Wednesday in memory of the 150,000 killed in the Asian tsunami disaster. read more

 

Al Sheikh Wal General

Shame on you, Sheiks!
I am outraged at the preaching of these so called Sheiks who are acting like regents of God. Who are these Sheiks, Mohamed Rasheed Ibrahim and Ibrahim Rasheed Moosa to preach us? While our society is full of corruption, injustice and lawlessness these self proclaimed regents of God not only dare to utter a word but collaborate with and cleanse the activities of their masters. Research the Deenuge Magu (or other religious literature in the Maldives) and u would be surprised. read more

Several destitute families have been living on Dhonis since the tsunami disaster

Several people from affected islands near Male' made their way to the capital hope to be relieved off their horror and to have access to food and better healthcare as some of them are injured. However, Gayyoom does not want these people to be in Male' as he is projecting a different picture to the world. His military is harassing and intimidating the people of the islands and they have been told not to come on mainland Male' instead to remain in the Dhoni (local boats). People have been living like this in the Harbour of Male' for more than 4 days now. The people Male' should go to the harbour and get on these Dhonis and offer them help. Take them home and care for them.

Similarly, several people are living in Dhonis in many islands which have not got any help so far. Gayoom is a freak, he does not care how many people die, he wants to capitalise on this disaster.

Saturday 1 January 2005

 Main News
Tsunami waves flood Maldives

What does the future hold for us?

DAY 7

Letter to Editor
It is obvious now that the Maldivian government is covering up the truth
I am a friend of several people in Maldives who I have been in contact with the past few days.  It is obvious now that the Maldivian government is covering up the truth of what has happened to your country, and is using the situation to aide their political campaign for re-election in January. read more
 

Tsunami: examples, effects, explanatory graphics
Tsunami (a Japanese word meaning harbor wave) are gravity waves generated by large disturbances of the sea floor caused by volcanic eruptions, landslides or earthquakes. Shallow earthquakes along dip slip faults are more likely to be sources of tsunami than those along strike slip faults. In deep water tsunami travel at approximately 0.2 km/sec as compared to 5-10 km/sec for P waves and S waves. Thus, approaching tsunami can be detected by sea floor pressure gauges which measure the height of the water column above the gauge. Tsunami warning systems consist of networks of such gauges connected to a control center. A scale of magnitude for tsunami, similar to the Richter Magnitude scale for earthquakes, is based on logarithm of wave height corrected for distance from the source. The first motion (up-crest or down-trough) can be used to determine direction of sea floor displacement in the source area. read more

 

Tsunami Disaster
A Concept to Manage the Homeless People of Maldives

The overriding belief must be that there should not be a single Maldivian without a proper roof over his or her head, without access to clean drinking water and without food. It can be achieved by following the righteous path, by adhering to a Human Agenda.
Gayyoom should move all the homeless to Male' and to Addu Atoll. For two simple reasons, there are enough places to house them in both these locations, which are strategically located with easy access by sea and most importable by air. Male' International Airport and Gan Airport (which was an earlier Military base built by the British) can be used to deliver food, medicine and other equipment needed for their survival. read more

Local News

Victory Suzeynu is Head of Operations in Gayyoom's Disaster Management Task Force

Madam Nasreena suggested cooking food for those who work in the Task Force in the premises of the School rather than get it delivered from a local catering company. However, Suzeynu overruled the mighty Mrs. Gayyoom and continues to get his 'cut' from the food delivery orders to the Task Force staff.

'This is absolutely outrageous, it looks like they are enjoying this disaster, it's like an Eid in that place' said a person who has been visiting the task force office every day. Suzeynu is more powerful than Defence Minister Shafeeu or Qasim Ibrahim.

Suzeynu has the power to delay aid supply to islands until his candidates' campaign material is attached or pasted to the aid packages. Suzeynu also ordered that every one in Noon Atoll should get aid, whether they need it or not. Only two islands in Noonu Atoll were in need of emergency aid but food aid were given to every single household in the Atoll in the name of Yameen Abdul Gayyoom - brother of the dictator - who is heavily dependent on Suzeynu and Paatey groups to retain his seat in Noon Atoll as well as be the next Dictator of the Maldives.

Suzeynu is believed to be the 4th most powerful man in the country, after Gayyoom, Hameed and Yameen. He can sack Ministers at will and arrest people at will just like the Kaaminee Clan.

In brief

Gayyoom knew about the tsunami and saved his speedboats and coast guard vessels; why didn't he warn the public?

Male' - People living in Male' had no idea that they were about to be flooded. World media reported the earthquake in Indonesia and DO also reported the earthquake that occurred in Maldives within a few minutes of it occurring. This gave Gayyoom's government ample time to make a study of the possible consequences of an underwater earthquake and warn the public. Furthermore, tsunami hit Sri Lanka an hour earlier than Maldives. This gave Gayyoom and his family time to board the multi-million dollar yacht for safety and save his and police vessels. Gayyoom should have warned the people much earlier, but many lives and properties could have been saved even if there was a 30 minute warning. For example, the tourists could have vacated the beach area, local island people also could have taken away the kids from the beach and climbed roofs or trees or board boats, shops in Male' could have been closed; What we are saying is that Gayyoom should have acted responsibly, many lives and loss of property could have been minimised.

People of Maldives are scared to say a word against Gayyoom, even now, even when their families are dying.

International community must pressure Gayyoom to step down now. It is common knowledge in Maldives that his brothers are abusing the aid that is being sent to help the people of Maldives. His brothers and his supporters are taking advantage and using this disaster to muster support in the islands, for the upcoming elections. This is absolutely outrageous.

Tsunami
A disappointing Muslim response
Shameful that rich Muslim countries respond so weakly to humanity's catastrophe

By Seah Chiang Nee
Southern Asia's tsunami tells us a lot about human nature.
It shows us how far ahead the West is when it comes to giving charity and care to the needy.
The West is often condemned as evil, but let's face it, in the area of giving, they have a far superior culture. read more on littlespec.com

Al-Jazeera News
Maldives drops treason charges
Maldives President Mamun Abd al-Qayum has said the Indian Ocean nation is withdrawing treason charges against four leading pro-democracy figures. read more
 

Komandoo tsunami aid - a saga of corruption in Maldives
1600 hrs: Japanese Disaster Relief workers hear about the situation and complain to Ismail Shafeeu and Yaameen and the news officially reaches Gayyoom.
1800 hrs: Taskforce dhoani crew arrives at Male' harbour and a NSS police officer tells them to go home and says there won't be anymore work for them and they won't be facing anymore charges.
1900 hrs: Komandoo island chief starts selling the cookers and cylinders once again! A nice profit of Mrf69,000 (US$5,400) from aid given in a time of crisis, with the little help from Gayyoom's personal minister Mohamed Hussein and Gayyoom's brother Abdullah Hameed.
read more


Foreign Minister curses Allah and laments loss of chocolates as tsunami wrecks his Kandooma resort
DO email
After few minutes when they recovered their senses, and both rushed to their luxury boat and left for Male', leaving behind all others and the tourists on the island.
read more

see also: Kandoomafushi - Vilivaru - Male' airport: Shipping out the bad news from foreign minister's resort

 

The Tsunami Page
Dr George Pararas-Carayannis
For about 35 years, I was involved with Tsunami Research at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics of the University of Hawaii and with scientific organizations of the U. S. Government. I served as Director of the World Data Center A-Tsunami and as Director of the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC), under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
read more

Travelling to Maldives?

Friends of Maldives asks anyone travelling to the Maldives in the next few weeks to take as much aid with them as possible. A relief worker can be arranged to pick up relief aid on arrival at Male airport. Please contact us for further information on admin@friendsofmaldives.co.uk 

Notes to Gayyoom

More to be released

Husain Yusuf (AKA Paidey Husain) M. Bright Flower is still in Dhoonidhoo - he is also a Black Friday Detainee. Why are people still not allowed to leave Male' or to leave the country? Why is Abdul Rasheed still in house arrest? Is Commissioner of Police, Adam Zahir not listening to you Gayyoom?
 

Why are Naushad, Zaki, Didi, Nisreen, Fareedh, Waleedh still in detention? 

Naushad, Zaki, Didi, Fareedh, Waleed and Nisreen still remain in house arrest (Nisreen is banished to an island) and maybe taken to jail any day. The entire world pressured Gayyoom not to charge these people who did nothing but criticise Gayyoom's dictatorship. With the announcement today regarding dropping charges of the August 13 Black Friday detainees, Naushad, Zaki, Didi, Fareedh, Waleed and Nisreen have been spared an additional life sentence.

Grow up Gayyoom, don't hide behind the Tsunami Waves, it is time for you to match your words with action, or disappear from our beautiful country.

Friday 31 December 2004

The truth
Maldives: World's Secret Dictatorship
The regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in the Maldives is the world's only "secret" dictatorship. Gayyoom has been in power for the last 25 years and has no intention of relinquishing power or reforming his brutal methods. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International have frequently raised the issue of Gayyoom's methods and practices. The international media has also highlighted these concerns but to no avail. read more

Breaking News

Gayyoom drops charges against pro-democracy activists

20:20 Male' Time - Local media has just reported that Gayyoom has instructed the authorities to call of the investigations into pro-democracy activists who demonstrated on Black Friday 13th August 2004. DO believes that this is step in the right direction and is an attempt to bring much needed confidence in his government. It is believed that local and international pressure prompted this unexpected U-turn by the Dictator, who has ruled the country with fear and intimidation since 1978.

Thousands of Maldivians demonstrated on 12/13th August calling for Gayyoom and his family members to resign from the government. Gayyoom declared a state of emergency and mounted a crackdown on the demonstrators who were held in solitary confinement for months, some of them were released only yesterday. The international community, especially the European Union condemned the acts.

Gayyoom should seriously resign and let the younger generation take charge. His authoritarian style of governance is hampering the relief operations and his brothers, Hameed and Yameen, continue to interfere with the operations risking the lives of thousands of Maldivian who are left destitute and homeless.

• Black Friday 12 - 20 August News Archives

• Black Friday Album

• the national security used minimal force?

Tsunami warning must have come to Maldives before wave hit
DO email
It is unbelievable that our neighbour Sri Lanka did not warn Maldives about a tidal wave when it reached them around an hour before. 
Below are facts that Sri Lankan authorities did officially inform other communities about a tidal wave hitting them about 40 mins before the tsunami hit us in Maldives. I am 100% sure that they would have warned the Maldives government about the wave.
read more


42 islands in Maldives flattened - 117 killed
Chennai (Madras) news, 30 December
When walls of water washed over the Maldives, the nation lost all infrastructure on 13 of its 202 inhabited islands while another 29 of the country's 85 resort islands suffered similar damage.
read more


Tourism proves resilient as Maldives seeks hard currency to fund rescue effort
Financial Times UK - 30 December
The speed with which tourism returns to normal is vital to the affected countries, eager for hard currency, as well as to the profitability of the travel industry.
read more


EU Executive Pushes for Tsunami Donor Conference
Reuters - 30 December
'We would like to see the U.N. taking a prominent role. As the European Commission we would like to see the EU as a promoter of the initiative,' said spokesman Amadeu Altafaj. 
Louis Michel, European Commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid, first aired the idea of a donors' conference on Tuesday and since then the European Union executive has been seeking the backing of EU governments. 
read more

I could have contacted all 200 islands in less than 24 hours
Instead of waiting for Dhiraagu (the one and only communications company in the Maldives - a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless UK) to get its telephone system sorted, I could have sent a high speed launch to each atoll and gathered information about the situation in the atoll within less than 12 hours. I have more than 20 vessels in my Coast Guard Services. With speeds of more than 35 knots per hour, I could have reached each an every island in the country within the first 24 hours.
There are hundreds of high speed boats belonging to people like Qasim, Champa Afeef and M U Manik. Why didn't I ask them to help me find out the situation of my people in my islands?

Why is Gayyoom doing this to our people?

There is ample evidence that even in the darkest days of the history of our country, Gayyoom is trying to ensure that he can remain in power. When our people are dying of hyperthermia and hunger, Gayyoom is sleeping peacefully in his multi-million dollar palace. Maldives has never ever experienced anything like this in living memory yet Gayyoom wants to project himself as the great saviour of the people. DO has received information that donations and goodwill gestures of general public is being rejected by Gayyoom's cronies around the country because those people are dissidents, or people who are critical of his rule.

Businessmen have arranged container loads of medical equipment, medicine and food and yet Gayyoom has warned these people that unless they remain anonymous these aid will not be given to the people who are desperately in need of it.

DO calls on Gayyoom to think of others, to think of the thousands of Maldivians who are homeless and who are sufferings because of him today. Gayyoom, you are human too! Don't forget that.