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The face of the Maldives military dictatorship from Sandhaanu 24 August 2001 translated by Maldives Culture editors Everywhere else in the world the police forces and military are separate. Police are responsible for civil law and order. In Maldives this is not the case.
As his words in the High Court were being relayed by a public address system, Karoa Abbas shocked the public, in a style reminiscent of Oliver North, when he spoke [during the trials that followed the 1988 Maldivian coup attempt] about the drug use and alcoholic culture of the security forces. So when we have people like this in charge of running the country what has been happening is only to be expected…
The recent brutal murder of Azleena was committed by an ex-NSS man. Most of the investigations the NSS conducted on this matter were kept confidential. Despite insistent media questioning, the NSS has refused to reveal the reasons for Azleena's murder. The man who stabbed to death his father-in-law in broad daylight in Huvadhu atoll recently was also ex-NSS. He decided to murder his relative and asked for leave from his NSS position. It wasn't granted so he resigned from his job. He even sharpened the knife in Malé before he left and when he arrived on the island [Thinadhoo] he publicly announced his intentions. Yes, small wheels turn the same way the big wheels turn. Isn't it murder when a ruler of a country as poor as ours inhabits a US$75 million mansion? Isn't it the same as murder when another man, the biggest thief in Maldives, who stole US$200 million, is allowed to roam free and been given the opportunity to steal even more money? These people claim continuously that there is progress and development in the country. Go and see the extent of the poverty in the islands of the atolls! Most of these islands are infested with mosquitoes and have no reliable electricity supplies. If there is no fishing, then these people starve. We hear Ahmed Abdullah talking about vitamin deficiency and malnutrition among Maldivian children. But how are the people of Maldives to find a remedy for this problem? The fish caught by the island people are bought at dirt cheap rates and sold overseas at massive profit, but that money doesn't go into the public treasury. It goes into the brother-in-law's pocket. The eggs laid by the golden goose are sold for money that goes to build palaces built in the style of the Sultan of Brunei or the United States' White House, and the ruler's only worries are when his new White House will be completed! The remaining money is spent buying palaces and houses in England and Egypt. His friends and other in-laws are buying buildings in Tokyo, Japan, Australia and Singapore. He is oppressing Maldives with a brutal security force while the people starve. And despite this starvation the money keeps flowing into the high-rise constructions of his cronies. 'Results' is the mantra of the present five-year Presidential term. But these 'results' are simply the completion of these high-rise buildings in Malé. Without any regard that the people of the country are starving, these projects still continue. People of Maldives, Wake Up!… |
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Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldivian cultural issues.
Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and friends, Australia
We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives.
Contributions and comments - mc_editors@hotmail.com
