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19/20 September - December 2003
Maafushi prison torture and shootings, and Male' riot: Events and aftermath Prisoner deaths spark riots in Maldives Tear gas and rubber bullets quell riots in Malé – AK47 used at Maafushi prison
Wounded Maafushi prisoners air-lifted from Maldives to Sri Lanka after riots in Malé and Maafushi jail 'The casualties were ferried direct from Maafushi to the Hulhulé International airport area because of fear that the sight of the wounded men would provoke further rioting in the capital' more Riot speech 2003 - justice and punishment
Unrest in Maldives National Security Service, as President orders mass arrests in Malé and more wounded prisoners arrive in Sri Lankan hospitals
Riots in Maldives: Casualty information and comment from readers 'According to Sri Lankan law, a body cannot be buried without a postmortem if the patient dies within 24 hours of being admitted in the hospital. It is believed that diplomatic strings were pulled. No one knows if the parents of the deceased were informed or not' more Amnesty International plea Maldives President must act now to end the cycle of systematic repression
Maafushi prisoners deny approaching weapons store during protests, and demand meeting with President Gayyoom
Sri Lankan judge orders coronial inquiry into death of Maldive prisoner in Colombo hospital 'The coroner ruled that Ahmed died due to damage to the lungs caused by gunshot injuries' more Mohamed Nasheed detained, house searched and then released as President bows to pressure
The Junta and the Punishment Books Maldives Police chief flies to London home - President Gayyoom and NSS continue mass arrests and beatings in Malé and Girifushi
Sinners are grinners at Maldives Majlis
President Gayyoom announces new Malé riot investigation
Selections from email Wealth for the few.. Vote NO in the presidential referendum.. more Maverick 4.35, July 2003 Problems with presidential elections of the Maldives
Battling the bidi-fathi with more minivan hiyaalu Maverick English - Dhivehi newsletter 'prepared in PDF file format... detailed and exclusive information about Maldives' more Eye-witness account from prisoner Murderous NSS rampage at Maafushi jail 'Prisoners face down on the ground, calling out their surrender, were shot where they lay. Some prisoners were shot again by the NSS, even after they were already wounded' more Voting for Maumoon Gayyoom 1978-2003 Are fair elections held in the Maldives? 'In extreme cases the very process of the election is ignored when Island Chiefs, the administrative officials in the islands, tell people that the voting has been completed and instruct them to go home. The poor people return home without voting' more Fishy business heats up Fire destroys MIFCO complex in Malé
No legal help for family of torture death victim – President Gayyoom's Oct 17 referendum campaign intensifies
An 'attitude problem' 'As far as the Malé elite is concerned, control, not development, is the first priority in their relationship with the rest of the country' more Grand tails Sri Lanka CID officers paid to spy on Maldivians? 'All houses where Maldivians live will be under surveillance, phone bills are being examined, householders questioned about their calls, and selected phones are being tapped' more All NSS officers are not criminals... from the surreal to the superstitious 'The President and his brother Abdullah Hameed were surprised by the numbers of people who had the courage to ask direct questions. People became very excited and Abdullah Hameed closed the proceedings with the excuse that the President was tired. This part of the meeting was not reported by Haveeru or TV Maldives' more MIFCO fire cloud has silver lining 'In the Haveeru English online translations of the Dhivehi MIFCO reports, news of the miraculous saving of internal audits and foreign worker's travel documents was omitted. As far as non-Dhivehi readers are concerned, the fire at MIFCO destroyed everything' more Commission scapegoats NSS officer for Eevaan torture death 'The NSS used automatic rifles, and not pistols, when dealing with the incidents at the prison on 20 September, said the commission. Those weapons have been set aside from the rest of the armoury' more Liar! Liar! Freedom of expression guaranteed by constitution in Maldives, Gayyoom tells BBC BBC: In spite of Amnesty International saying that there is systematic abuses of human rights here, imprisonment without trial and arbitrary detention? Gayyoom: (shaking his head, pursing his lips and smiling) That is simply not true and there is no systematic human rights abuses in the Maldives, there are no arbitrary arrests and people are tried in open court and they have access to lawyers. more Worried president promises drop in water and power charges for Malé 'Crass appeals to voters' greed are common in many countries during election/referendum time, but in Maldives the government has always relied on electoral coercion rather than enticement, and Maldivians were told to be grateful for expensive services' more BBC mauled by Haveeru editor The foreign media’s perspective of Maldives presidential referendum Editorial Haveeru 18 Oct 2003 'To project his views, what the BBC reporter did was only use certain excerpts of the exclusive interview with President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom so that a perspective of the journalist’s liking could be set. This indeed, shows the parochial attitude of the reporter' more Waning moon helps Maumoon Referendum rigged as blackout hits Maldives capital 'In Fua Mulaku island with a population of over 9,000, voters complained the island chiefs had cast votes for them without their permission, and in some of Fua Mulaku's wards, votes had to be cast publicly in the presence of island chiefs and officials. This is common practice in many islands' more Handi hunt gets official nod BBC plot to destabilise Maldives, says regime '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' more Treason season Gayyoom government media machine gets nasty 'Only a few Maldivians get a good income. Government employees are paid peanuts, and this encourages corruption. The average government salary is way below the US$2,200 that Gayyoom likes to talk about. Many ordinary people cannot afford decent food' more List of Maafushi prisoners shot on 20th September 2003
Another five NSS officers arrested over Eevaan’s death 'There were some discussions among the inmates of C and D Blocks about confronting the NSS officers. When lunch was sent to the blocks that day, no one touched the food and afterwards it is clear they held a funeral prayer for Eevaan' more Parties, paranoia and pistols – Gayyoom’s legacy for Maldives
‘Politics of the fox’ in Maldives
Designing the future – Gayyoom's photo defaced and all portraits removed from Malé streets
During the campaign large photos of the dictator were put in various parts of Malé. Floodlights for the photos were left on, even during the day. Many people saw this as a waste of electricity and government funds in a country riddled with economic problems and foreign debt' more Gayyoom terrorises Malé with reckless amnesty for desperate abused convicts
Apology from editors: Our recent article on the political billboards in Malé claimed the Artline design group were the children of Abdullah Hameed, the Minister of Atolls and Speaker of the Majlis. This was an error, and the original article Designing the future has been corrected. Updated list of official Maafushi shooting casualties - large photo links added Jennifer Latheef detained illegally by President Maumoon Gayyoom
Gayyoom not legitimate, says Maldivian Democratic Party in Colombo declaration
Fibbing for Fathullah Maldives presidential referendum - an eminent choice of results 'So what did they do as observers, besides smiling nicely for the media cameras and watching a few voters scratch and fold paper? The answer is.. absolutely nothing!' more ''Islands of Torture' leaflets disturb World Travel Market exhibition in London
Scans of Anti-Gayyoom leaflets at World Travel Market exhibition in London IMF and World Bank should stop supporting Gayyoom, says Latheef
Gayyoom exports his lies to the International Community The Island (Sri Lanka) 17 November 2003
Maldivian Democratic Party ideas may be only option for Gayyoom
Death is better than life, says Gayyoom as illegal prisoners tranferred from jail to house arrest 'The president is stubbornly rejecting all ideas of change, and attempting to portray any reform as anti-Islamic and unMaldivian. While pretending for his foreign audience that he is interested in human rights and political reforms, Maumoon Gayyoom is warning his country he will continue his repression and arbitrary exercise of power' more Thunder in the palace Clans clash over Ziyaa arrest 'Eyewitnesses say the arrest of Ziyaa resembled the capture of an armed suicidal terrorist rather than a demonstrating civilian. He was manhandled and heavily beaten as he was taken into police custody' more Amnesty International press release 19 Nov 2003 The Republic of Maldives Prisoners of conscience should be released World's leading human rights organisation gives details of President Gayyoom's continuing detention and punishment of political prisoners more The Majlis speech Maumoon will never make
Real priorities lost in political games
Murky light in muddied atmosphere Suggestions from the street
Post-riot correspondence Sept/Nov 2003 Freedom: fact or fantasy?
'While they were showing the President (on TV) shaking hands with people, the first tune playing in the background was 'The fool on the hill'' more Ilyas Hussein - a hero for freedom of speech and political reform in Maldives
Seeing the Maldivian Dream
Protests over treatment of Indian Tamils by Maldives NSS Two Tamil youths face gallows in Maldives Press Trust of India 28 Nov 2003 Jaya writes to PM on release of two Tamil youths in Maldives Hindustan Times 29 Nov 2003 Indian national Saravanan committed suicide not murdered, says Maldives Information Ministry Miadhu 3 Dec 2003 Time magazine article: Has Asia's longest-serving head of state lost touch with his restless populace? A Paradise Divided 'Inmates inside nearby Maafushi Prison claim they are the epicenter of the repression. "They torture and kill, then they hang the bodies from a bedsheet so it looks like suicide," says one 36-year-old prisoner speaking on a smuggled mobile phone, who says he has seen 12 inmates die this way' more Foreign prisoners to be released from Maldives jails The Island 5 Dec 2003 'The Government of Sri Lanka has been informed that under a special directive of Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, sixteen (16) Sri Lankan prisoners serving life sentences in Maldivian prison will be released soon. According to the Maldivian authorities the release and repatriation of the prisoners will be in stages. The Presidential order for the release included, in addition to the 16 Sri Lankans, 18 other foreign nationals' more MDP calls for courage and members 'At the moment, the people of Maldives are wrapped in the chains of despotic rule. It is difficult to openly do something the government dislikes. Although many Maldivians approve of a party system intellectually, the MDP understands they may not be able to show their support' (includes Dhivehi original) more A dictator to die for Time magazine is a bit over the top 'Every Maldivian is a friend of the president, and this reality must be accepted. So the president has a very close friendship with all those involved in this industry. This situation is not only limited to the tourism industry. When we look at all other industries, it is the same' more Miadhu tells eyewitnesses to shut up Campaign to tarnish the good name of Maldives 'To maintain this good name is a national responsibility that Maldivians must take on their shoulders and be willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary' more Maldivian Democratic Party newsletter Articles in Dhivehi and English include: MDP in exile. MDP chronology. MDP is resolved to live. Nasreena Ibrahim (Maumoon Gayyoom's wife) interviewed by Sri Lankan journalist Frederica Jansz. Amnesty International plea for release of Fathimath Nisreen, Jennifer Latheef, Naushad Waheed and Ibrahim Fareed. Right click and select 'save target as' to download MDP newsletter PDF file - 100k (corrupted file now replaced) Translation of September 2002 Huvaas article about the murder of Fathmath Hassan in Ihavandhoo, north Maldives Brutal death of Fathun at the hands of three foreigners The island people said that after the death of Fathun, everyone was wrapped in a cloud of horror for two weeks. People were afraid to go out in the dark. Soon after sunset, they locked their houses and stayed together in one room. There were many families who had difficulty sleeping at night' more Latest Maldivian Democratic Party newsletter English section: 2003 Presidential Referendum. MDP open for membership. A letter to the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives. Other letters discussing Nasreena interview and lack of development on Addu. Dhivehi section: The process of obtaining suggestions from the public. MDP Islamic values and national budget policy. Right click and select 'save target as' to download Latest MDP newsletter PDF file - 120k Bouncing cheques send Maldives STO head cashier home alone 'The attempt to blame a hapless head cashier for this misuse of government funds will be treated by many Maldivians with the scorn the claim deserves. Powerless administrators in Maldives always have to take the blame for their minister's illegal activities. The fact is that no sizeable amount of money can be stolen from government businesses without the connivance of the Gayyoom clans' more Democracy has no deadline in a free Maldives 'This deadline for ideas that Maumoon Gayyoom has concocted to end yesterday on 15th December is a fallacy and an insult to the concept of a democratic Maldives, and shows what a useless and corrupt institution the Majlis has become under his dictatorship. Maldivians today want a democratic system, not a public relations lie to fool aid donors and potential investors' more Eye to Eye with MDP spokesman Mohamed Latheef 'What we were looking for was fundamental political freedom, that's it! Things that the constitution guarantees us. We wanted to have a more pluralistic society. A society where civil societies would prevail and where we would have a greater say on our own political agendas' more Maumoon Gayyoom and Saddam Hussein – the horse's mouth
Foreign whitewash for Gayyoom's dirty work?
Does Maldives need free speech? 'People will often refrain from making statements because they fear the ridicule and outrage of others. Often there are more serious grounds for fear, such as being reported to authorities. For example, most authors who write on this Maldives Culture website (including this author) are afraid of this type of sanction and don't reveal their names' more Maldivian Democratic Party website banned by Maldives dictator BBC report 22 Dec 2003 'A statement from the Maldivian Democratic Party said the ban on their site violated the international norms of free speech as well as the Maldivian constitution. They said the site could still be accessed from abroad. According to opposition figures in Sri Lanka, the new website was already registering more than 700 visitors a day when the President moved to block it' more Maldivian Democratic Party official website www.maldiviandemocraticparty.org |
Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldivian cultural issues. Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and Fareesha Abdullah, Australia We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives. Contributions and comments - mc_editors@hotmail.com |
