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| No security for women or men in Maldives - the sickness of Gayyoom's NSS culture 31 March 2006 Maldives Culture homepage
For the Maldives capital, it is far cry from the 1980s when, according to a former senior NSS officer now resident overseas, women were forced to have sexual intercourse with Gayyoom's brother-in-law, the then defence minister Ilyas Ibrahim, in the middle of Male's unpaved sandy streets. Many older people in Male' know the truth of this matter. They will remember how the NSS cordoned off a street and entered houses to prevent people from looking out their windows. While Ilyas performed his fetish in the open air, the NSS personnel were instructed to turn their backs on the street. The final issue of Sangu magazine, co-edited by the current chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed and banned by Gayyoom in May 1990, contained an interview with a girl hospitalised by the trauma of continual rapes by Ilyas Ibrahim, who is currently the minister of health in Gayyoom's New Maldives cabinet.
Only the bravest women were on the streets of Male' on Thursday, but every decent woman and man in the country was supporting them. Women on the outer islands, as well as Male', know the hypocrisy, violence and sexual blackmail practised by Gayyoom's hand-picked officials. Each day these island women not only experience poor health facilities and social amenities, substandard education and unemployment, but they are also considered easy prey by the thugs and perverts that Gayyoom inflicts on island populations who dare to disobey him.
In the weeks leading up to Thursday's demonstration, Gayyoom's government-funded TV, radio and print media remained totally hostile to the women's protest plan, but that propaganda stream is only a mild example of the deep hatred that Gayyoom, his family and some sections of the National Security Service (who control the police and military) have for democratic reform and the legal rights of Maldivians. Quite rightly, these senior clan members and officials see democratization as a direct threat to their monopoly over government funds, contracts, administrative positions, and the Maldives judicial system. Allowing the regime's officials and the NSS to intimidate and assault women is an important part of Gayyoom's strategy of control and reward mechanisms. It allows the dictator to terrorise women who challenge his dictatorship and oppression, and it provides a financially cheap reward for his male followers - they are permitted to abuse and force themselves on women without fear of legal charges. There are two important aspects of Gayyoom's dictatorship that are never discussed by the regime news outlets and only rarely in the opposition democratic media. These taboo subjects are, firstly, the NSS junta (including the ambassador to India, NSS general Anbaree Abdul Sattar), which actually controls the country, and secondly, the anonymous websites run by the NSS and their supporters. Contributors to these sites allegedly include New Maldives cabinet members attorney-general Dr Hassan Saeed and the minister of justice Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, and Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed the director of social policy at Gayyoom's President's Office. The most active of these NSS/New Maldives websites were exposed in January 2006 in an article by Nick Grace published by Clandestineradio.com. He named Olhuala.com and Factmaldives.com. Combined with that report, foreign diplomatic pressure on the New Maldives cabinet seems to have subdued updating on Olhuala.com. However, Factmaldives.com continues to operate as a major propaganda base for Gayyoom and elements of his NSS. Factmaldives provides a place for the dictator, police chief Adam Zahir, army chief Mohamed Zahir, some NSS personnel and their New Maldives supporters to vent their spleens at the democracy movement, the women of Maldives and foreign governments, institutions and people. Factmaldives is also a place where Maldivians are warned and threatened. The naming of a Maldivian on the website is designed to frighten that person's family and friends. Factmaldives is entirely anonymous. The editors, writers and graphic contributors do not identify themselves. However, the Factmaldives banner, which was replaced on 31 March after this writer viewed the website, proved the NSS is factmaldives producer, and it identified the Maldivian Democratic Party as the country's enemy. The site's writers continually lament that the NSS has to act as a strong-arm political force. Maldivians are exhorted to feel sorry for the NSS as they bash the country's population. Factmaldives pretends the NSS is not political and yearns to tackle real law and order issues, yet the site's banner graphic (now replaced) had scrolling English text next to a series of photos of the NSS in action, saying: How many of you people really care! While the Factmaldives banner called for foreigners' sympathy and help, the website's articles in English and Dhivehi display a deep distrust of all foreigners, a hatred of women and contempt for Maldivians who dare to challenge the dictatorship of Gayyoom - a dictatorship maintained solely by bribery and Gayyoom's command of the NSS and the co-operation of its senior officers. But the most disturbing element of Factmaldives are the photoshopped graphics. The contributors' work is inspired by humorous graphics appearing for the last couple of years in Dhivehi Observer that attack Gayyoom, his family and their sexual behaviour. Dhivehi Observer's efforts are mild in comparison, and they have a solid grounding in truth. Factmaldives graphics are complete falsifications, e.g. displaying homosexual behaviour and non-Islamic religious affiliations among MDP leaders. It is propaganda without any basis in truth or reputation. Maldivians are well aware of the sexual habits of their regime and opposition leaders, and they know how Gayyoom and his family and associates have used the Maldive laws regarding sexual behaviour against anyone who upset them. In enforcing these laws selectively, Gayyoom and his associates have been complete hypocrites, and this is why Dhivehi Observer's graphics have been so effective.
The graphics in Factmaldives also show highly disturbing violence based on military-style interrogation techniques and bashings designed to murder or cripple people for life. The macromedia shock wave files (not shown here) are gross, displaying a clinical grasp of the effects of constantly hitting people on the head. This suggest that the people who produce these images must have seen these atrocities performed, or have actually taken part in them. Factmaldives is a very public manifestation of the perverted ideas and beliefs that Maumoon Gayyoom, and NSS generals Anbaree Abdul Sattar, Adam Zahir and Mohamed Zahir have consciously used to train and brainwash the NSS. At official ceremonies, now held in secret away from public scrutiny and condemnation, these regime leaders and their well-bribed supporters applaud as young NSS men and women dance and perform plays that portray a fake Maldives history. Foreigners are slandered as evil conspirators against Maldivians and Islam. In their speeches to the NSS, these leaders deliberately use fear and hatred of foreigners to argue that democracy and a free society are an alien infection, a sort of anti-Islamic bird flu, which is afflicting the MDP, the nation's women and anyone who wants reform in Maldives. This illogical propaganda fools the NSS anti-riot brigades into believing they must beat anyone - men, women or children - for the good of the country. In their eyes, their brutal violence becomes a form of medicine and salvation for a sick population that refuses to respect the criminals that lead it. Gayyoom and his media supporters need to keep the NSS ignorant, that is why the regime tries to prevent the NSS from reading Minivan Daily, Adduvas and Fiyes. It is the reason that Gayyoom will not release his grip on TV Maldives and radio, and it explains why Haveeru continues to mis-report and ignore important stories, even as the newspaper's readership and advertising support falls away. Despite this constant brainwashing, and the financial inducements that Gayyoom and his fellow generals lavish on loyal personnel, a growing number of NSS officers and lower ranks are becoming aware that they have been badly led and treated like morons. Unlike Gayyoom and his fellow conspirators, they will not be able to flee overseas into the lands of the dreaded foreigners when the regime finally collapses. Their money and savings will suffer along with all resident Maldivians' wealth, when the scale of Gayyoom's treasury theft and his counterfeiting racket are exposed. The more intelligent members of the NSS need to re-assess their organization's future in modern Maldives. They need to realise who their real enemies are. The dictator is selling the country's administration, fishing resources and tourism business to foreign interests. Soon, Male's power will be just another Gayyoom hoax. top |
Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldive cultural issues.
Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and Fareesha Abdulla, Australia
We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives.
Contributions and comments - mc_editors@hotmail.com
