maldives freeblog

GAOM GE REETHI NAN ( Reputation Abroad)

2005-11-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

President Gayoom would like all Maldivians to believe that there was no Maldives before him. That he was the man who introduced the Maldives to the world. However this can only be wishful thinking. The Romans knew of the Maldives. The ancient Chinese and the Mauriya Dynasty traded with these little islands.
Gayoom considers the perception of Maldives abroad so important that laws have been passed to prosecute and punish those who blemish the beautiful name of the country abroad. But things are not going so well. Gayoom himself is the the guilty party today. All around the world the Gayoom regime is in the spotlight.
The Asian Centre for Human Rights has described the trial of the leader of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, Mr Mohamed Nasheed as a “Kangaroo trial”. The South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre has noted arbitrary arrests, torture and custodial deaths in the country and submitted a written report on the suppression of human rights in the country to the UN Secretary-General describing the situation in the Republic of Maldives under the leadership of President Abdul Gayoom as an affront to the spirit of democracy. Reporters without Borders are condemning the arbitrary arrest of journalists and Maldives is now ranked an appalling 148 out of 167 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ (Reporters sans Frontières, RSF) Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) wants necessary revisions of the Human Rights Commission Act of the Maldives. Every week the British High Commissioner and the American Ambassador are calling the Presidents Office to find out what is happening with the reform agenda and the detainees. The British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Kim Howells, has told the UK Parliament that the British government is “actively considering further action” to take against President Gayoom. Amnesty International's Maldives online documentation archive is growing at an alarming rate.
Gayoom has put the Maldives on the map. He should now be tried, among other things, for besmirching and spoiling the nations good name abroad.

Gayoom - Arms Merchant and Gunrunner too?

2005-10-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

Gayoom appears to have peddled trouble and pain not only to his own people, but to other parts of the world as well. Allegations are being made about gunrunning operations using the national airline Air Maldives. When Gayoom and gang came to power, they operated the national airline as a joint venture with terrorist/politician Yasser Arafat of the PLO. The two planes that flew internationally were manned by palestinian pilots and staff. The PLO also had a resort island where according to local sources there were not that many european tourists.
And during this period the Nabila yacht belonging to the shady Saudi billionaire arms merchant Adnan Khashoggi was anchored in Male' harbour. During this period, coincidently, the armed struggle of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam gathered strength.

Gayoom who spent his formative years in Africa ( Egypt and Nigeria) is no stranger to terrorism or corruption. With friends like Arafat, Gaddaffi and Saddam Hussein ( read "Man for all islands" by Royston Ellis) it is no surprise that these allegations are being made. After coming to power Gayoom himself has confessed openly of having illegally imported guns during his swearing in as President. But will the new investigative journalism of the maldivian democratic movement reveal more than just allegations?

Grooming a successor?

2005-09-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

When Gayoom went to the United Nations General Assembly this year he took his youngest child Ghassan and his wife. This has started rumors that Ghassan is the chosen successor. Getting rid of those who want to dethrone him has been easy. Just throw them in jail on trumped up charges. Since Gayyoom came to power, everyone who has opposed him has been accused of outrageous crimes with most of them serving years in prison. His opponents are labelled as criminals, terrorists and Christian missionaries in the government controlled local media andto the outside world they are usually depicted as Islamic fundamentalists.
Fending off those family members who wish to succed him has required more cunning and manouvering. Infighting, nepotism and corruption among the elite has always been the cause of instability and suffering for the Maldive people. Holding over 15 cabinet posts in the government, Gayyoom and his family head most of the portfolios. This pattern continues down to distant cousins. Although not all have put in their bids to be President, most are aspiring to higher positions constantly. And Gayoom rewards and relies on them to keep the government bureaucracy in control. His younger brother Hameed has manipulated the Parliament and the people of the atolls until about an year ago, content to be a President by default if Gayoom should fall ill. According to insiders Gayoom has inimated to his nephews Hamdhoon and Midhath that they are Prime Ministerial candidates when he creates that position. Both of them hold ministers portfolios. Recently Midhath has been appointed as Ambassodor to Malaysia to spy on the large number of students there.
Although there are quite a few in the family who hope to succed him, the first to try to takeover was Illyas, his brother-in-law. After Gayoom took the oath, Ilyas was in charge of STO/Ministry of Defense/Police and various other powerful positions. He bought off senior government and military officials, and in 1993 Mr. Ilyas challenged Gayyoom in the Presidential election, which resulted in Gayyoom charging Ilyas with corruption and even of plotting to assassinate the President by Black Magic. Ilyas was sentenced in absentia, as he 'conveniently' fled the country straight after the 1993 election when Gayoom used the STO/FPID corruption case to scare him off. However, to the amazement of all Maldivians, Ilyas was pardoned after performing some vague and unheard of prayers among other things and came straight back into the cabinet in 1998 .
With his brother-in-law firmly under control, it appeared that his daughter Dunya was being groomed to take over. He made a big thing about emancipating women, appointing women as island chiefs and generally giving Dunya and women a high profile on the media.
However soon his younger brother Yameen was pushing to be president. Gayoom also needed Yameen and his gang of thugs to confront the emerging MDP. So it appeared for a while that Yameen was Gayooms chosen one. However this new move appears to point in the direction that Gayoom is grooming Ghassan the younger son as the word is that the elder son Faarish is a bit of a wierdo.
But maldivian politics are strange and even in the days of the sultanate, it was more often the case that the children did not succed their father.

DAVID vs GOLHAABO

2005-09-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Golhaabo is a classical Maldivian maldivian nickname. In translation it means something like "s*#%head". Golhaabo is one of many used by some detractors and foes of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He is the President of a small Indian Ocean island nation. He rules with absolute power over 300,000 people . His 27 year old rule has been condemned internationally for human rights abuses. Many consider Gayoom who grew up in Cairo and was educated in Islamic Studies at the Al-Azhar in Cairo to be a throwback to the old Baathist Arab dictatorships from the 1950's.
And who is David? He is a modern self-empowered person who has decided that he will be a friend to the Maldives. He heads a human rights organization, the Salisbury based Friends of Maldives. When the Tsunami hit the islands, he set up Maldives Aid, a Tsunami relief and reconstruction charity. David Hardingham and the Friends of Maldives has been accused by the Gayoom regime of working to spread Christianity in the Maldives and of working in cahoots Islamic fundamentalists.
Hardingham and his Friends of Maldives waylaid President Gayoom while he was in Geneva to give a speech to the World Health Organization. They confronted him as he got out of his car and hurled accusations of human rights abuses. Now they have done it again. David has faced Gayoom again outside the Maldivian High Commission in London and staged a protest calling for him to free detainees including Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party of terrorism and treason, charges which he categorically denies and for which no evidence has been supplied.

The regime supporters here in Male' are claiming that Hardingham is being detained by Scotland Yard and may even be tried on terrorism charges in the UK. Apparently the dictator was so terrorized he did not want to get out of his limousine.

David, who has been blacklisted from entering the Maldives by the government, has vowed to make every European visit for President Gayoom a nightmare - “We will follow him across every inch of Europe. Every time he steps foot in the continent, we’ll be waiting”

There is no greater love

2005-09-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

On the 19th September 2003, in Maafushi Jail, Maldives, members of President Gayoom's National Security Service took 19 year old Evan Naseem out of his cell. They tied Evan's hands above his head and his legs to the floor in an 'X' position. Then, they took it in turns to beat Evan to death with iron rods, batons and chair legs.
In Male', hundreds of people went on a rampage , torching police stations and vehicles sending Male' was in a state of absolute chaos and mayhem. There was a riot in the jail and that the Police opened fire and killed many unarmed inmates. Some were shot in the back as they tried to flee.
The Honorable Minister of Defense Ismail Shafeeg addressing the Parliament recently admitted that it was common knowledge that people were tortured and mudered while in detention and incarceration. Not only now. It was always this way, he said.
People are tortured, murdered around the world by brutal governments. Many disappear and are never heard of again. No one knows what happened to these people. A knock onthe door inthe middle of the night.They answer the door. and they disappear forever. In Maldives we hear the announcement on the Voice of Maldives Radio and Television Maldives about people who who have escaped from detention. Do we hear about them being found? Has anyone made the count? Has anyone disappeared? Are there any buried bodies in Gaamaadhoo, Girifushi and Maafushi?

This is not the first time in Maldives that someone died at the hands of those who had sworn to protect them.What is not remarkable is that , according to witness statements suppressed by the government that the NSS officers said they were "playing a game" with Evan Naseem.
What is important is Mariyam Manike's love for her son. She refused to be silenced. Let us, on this day, pay homage to a mother's love for her murdered child. And bear witness with those mothers who have lost their children to despotic regimes around the world.

Saag paneer and the Budget Deficit: Maldivians go to the Maharajah with urgent request for help

2005-09-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

They have a great dinner bargain but you are advised to stay away from the saag paneer. The "Sampler" for 12.95 +tax includes an appetizer, one meat dish, one vegetarian dish, nan, rice, papadum, AND even a small dessert. Waiters could be better though. But they take the corp amex. Thats what they say about the Maharaja restaurant in New York where tonight President Gayoom of the Maldives is hosting a dinner for Maldivians.
This is a kind of ritual with Gayoom. Where ever he goes he invites all maldivians living in that country so that he and his team can check them out. This time the word is that only Gayoom and his coterie are dining at the Maharaja.
Insiders say that Gayoom and his team believe that invitations would be refused by almost all Maldivians living in the Land of the free and the Home of the Brave and they do not want the humiliation of rejection. Meanwhile here in Male' people are shuddering in disgust and anger watching Gayoom like a Maharaja with his son Ghassan and daughter-in-law in the UN General Assembly meeting.
The Statesman, a respected indian newspaper is reporting that last week, two surprise guests from a neighbour in the Indian Ocean landed in Delhi with barely a days notice.They were Maldives foreign minister, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, and finance minister, Mr Qasim Ibrahim, with an urgent request - to ask for money to fix the Maldives’ budget deficit. Before they left on 8 September, India had agreed, in principle, to give Maldives a grant of about $2 million in aid.
Maybe the Indians who are now Gayoom handler's figured that $ 2 million was enough for now and refused to pick up the tab for a bigger dinner at the Maharaja Restaurant in New York.

Gayoom and Kofi

2005-09-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Quote from: United in greed, divided it falls.
By Mark Steyn(Filed: 16/08/2005)
:
"Meanwhile, Alexander Yakovlev, a senior procurement officer for UN "peacekeeping" missions - and, if you're on a UN mission in Africa, no, he can't fix you up with a hot-looking eight-year-old from the local village; Mr Yakovlev apparently dealt with the non-child-sex aspects of UN procuring - anyway, Mr Yakovlev salted away just shy of a million bucks in kickbacks in his account in Antigua. He's just been arrested in New York and pleaded guilty to money laundering, wire fraud, etc.

Despite the current investigations into his brother, his son, his son's best friend, his former chief of staff, his procurement officer and the executive director of the UN's biggest ever programme, the Secretary-General insists he remains committed to staying on and tackling the important work of "reforming" the UN. "

From: The World’s Top Diplomat meets the Maldives’ Head Torturer.
By Fathimath Shimla, January 12, 2005
"the UN seems far happier clearing up the mess left by Gayoom’s mismanagement than changing the fundamentals of the country and pushing for democracy. UNFPA is even headed by one of Gayoom’s own children, Dunya Maumoon – what kind of signal is that to Maldivians who yearn for an end to their oppression?
Kofi Annan is the head of an organization that is supposed to represent the world. By hob-knobbing with the Maldives’ chief torturer and its corrupt politicians he has done the UN, the Maldives and democrats across the world a profound disservice "

Many Maldivians found it strange and baffling that the UN was late and lackluster in condemning the actions of President Gayoom against pro-democracy activists. After the Asian Centre for Human Rights urged the United Nations Secretary General to intervene and after many organizations like Amnesty International had condemned the actions of the Gayoom regime, Kofi did say something. But is anyone listening to Kofi?

Gayoom’s government consists of family and friends who appear to have no other obligation except to strengthen Gayoom’s position and line their own pockets. Gayoom’s family have such power that people in Maldives fear them and go out of their way to please them by any means.
Gayooms regime has banned any form of dissent, jailed pro-democracy activists and demonstrators, and his government has been accused by Amnesty International of “endemic torture and unfair trials”.
It is Gayyoom who stands in the way of reform and political pluralism from taking root in Maldives.
But Gayoom insists he remains committed to staying on and tackling the important work of "reforming" the Maldives.

Exploitation has supplanted interest in the common good.

2005-08-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

According to Article 58 of the Constitution, the Cabinet assists the President in formulating government policy on important national and international matters. The Cabinet advises the President on economic and social development. The Cabinet also assist the President in the formulation of the annual state budget and Government Bills to be submitted to the People's Majlis and the ratification of international treaties and agreements signed by the Government of the Maldives with foreign governments.

Gasim Ibrahim is the Finance Minister now. With the finance portfolio, Gasim has been appointed the Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority. As the head of the central bank he will now head the board of the MMA which determines the nation’s monetary and exchange rate policy. Gasim’s financial empire range from holiday resorts, oil and gas, shipping and fishing, import and export and is financed by huge costly loans running to the tune of many hundreds of millions of dollars. A large part of his loans are from the Bank of Maldives. He also owes money abroad to institutions like the (IFC) International Finance Corporation. Many of these international loans are purportedly underwritten by the Government of the Maldives.

When Gasim advises the President on economic and social development will he forget his Vilaa Group? What will happen to the peoples finances when and if Gasim uses the power of his position for his personal gain?

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is Mr. Ibrahim Rafeeq the owner of Rainbow. Mr. Rafeeq is one of the largest businessmen in construction industry. Now that the owner of Rainbow is also the Minister?

The Minister of Construction and Public Infrastructure is Mohamed Mauroof Jameel. He is the owner of a design and construction company called Gedor. will his company have an advantages when they take part in the “bidding process”?

Another minister is a real estate tycoon. Another is a newspaper magnate. And so on……

Most of the Cabinet Ministers are actually big businessmen. Their public office is a secondary job, taken only to enable them access to power to advance their businesses. This is no secret. Everybody knows. No wonder we are hearing about Dracula and the Blood Bank.

We need to draft laws so that Government officials declare their wealth and assets before they take on these job appointments and they must also be audited constantly, and on their departure from office.
However we are a long way from such laws as the Parliament itself is dominated by big business. This will remain so until people are affluent enough not to sell their vote for a few rufiyaas.

Equal to the Industrial Revolution?

2005-08-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

"The mechanization of the masdhoni (fishing boat) advocated by UNDP brought about a transformation that can only be equal to the industrial revolution"

The mechanization of the masdhoni (fishing boat) did little or nothing to improve the condition of fishermen, or boat owners. Most of the boat owners who received the Alifushi built boats waited until the lease contract period for fishing to expire and quickly changed their fishing dhonis into sathari dhonis. Transport vessels for the tourism industry. The people who gained from the mechanization were the fossil fuel dealers. Mainly STO and friends.
We should have rejected the UNDP advice and bought trawlers.

While the rest of the world is raking in the profits with their nets around our country, our fisherman are beating their rods and getting nowhere.

K.N. Singh

2005-08-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

All the children called him by a nickname. When ever someone called out “kay en sing”, this man used to go crazy.
Whenever this name was called out, this man would see red and charge. The neighborhood kids taunted this tormented man mercilessly. The shouts of “K.N Singh” drove the poor man into a blind rage. They would call out “K.N. Sing” and hide. As soon as he heard the words he would charge in the direction of the call. Many times unlucky kids who just happened to be around and had nothing to do with the taunting would end up receiving the wrath of this man.
Later on I came to find out that the real K.N Singh was actually an Indian movie actor. No one seems to know why and I have not figured out either, why calling out “K. N. Singh could drive a man so crazy.

If Gayoom can stop seeing red when people call out “isthiufa”, we will not have all this violence.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Something we all need to be aware of!

2005-08-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

We have not recovered from the Tsunami and now we have tanks on the streets.

Traumatic events--war, combat, natural disasters, and other life-threatening experiences--have always been a part of human existence. However, the impact of these events on the survivors was not fully understood until recently.We now know traumatic events change the survivor psychologically, biologically and socially.
The diagnostic criteria for PTSD:
A. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: (1) The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others.
(2) The person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: In children, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

B. The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in one or more of these ways: (1) Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: in children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.
(2) Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content.
(3) Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated). Note: in children trauma-specific reenactment may occur.
(4) Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
(5) Physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble aspects of the traumatic event.
C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following: (1) Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma. (2) Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma. (3) Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma. (4) Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities. (5) Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others. (6) Restricted range of affect (e.g. unable to have loving feelings). (7) Sense of foreshortened future (e.g. does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or normal life span).
D. Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:
(1) Difficulty falling or staying asleep. (2) Irritability or outbursts of anger. (3) Difficulty concentrating. (4) Hypervigilance. (5) Exaggerated startle response.

Experts agree the mere passage of time will not relieve PTSD. The longer one waits, the more difficult management may become. On the other hand, it is never too late to start counseling.

Upgraded to Field Marshall -- Gayoom directing military operations against unarmed civilians?

2005-08-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

My neighbor says he has seen Gayoom in uniform in one of the armored cars that is patrolling the streets. With some of the armed forces refusing to attack the people, maybe Gayoom himself is now on the ground directing operations. He has reportedly upgraded himself from General to Field Marshall.

And the men in uniform look very menacing. Very dangerous. What are they thinking?
By controlling education and the propaganda, any national leader can produce the fantastic scenarios depicted in George Orwell's frightening novel. The institutionalized evil that Orwell vividly portrays in his fictional account of state dominance over individuals goes beyond the novelist's imagination when its prophetic vision is carried into operational validity by the power hungry leader of a cult. The reverend Jim Jones used mind control strategies to orchestrate the suicide/murders of more than 900 people inthe jungles of Guyana twenty five years ago in the grand finale of his experiment in institutionalised mind control.
I wonder what Gayoom's Grand Finale will be.

Doctors sans conscience. man in shower cap leads a task force of interrogators.

2005-08-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Dr. Hassan Saeed:
We, the government, have decided to finish the interrogation process, sending it to courts and hopefully passing a sentence as soon as possible. We have already formed a task force to interrogate. There are 53 people leading this. We have not released any of those people we believe to be leading in what is happening. The government would like to finish trials of those arrested while they are kept in detention. From: Minivan News

With 53 leaders in Doctor Hassan Saeeds task force of interrogators I assume the whole team will be somewhere between 500 and 530 people including the anaesthetician and radiologist.

We, the people, used to have only a few doctors in my parents time. A few doctors in the hospital and doctaru muhammed manik and doctaru ahammaidhi. I do not know if they could interrogate. Sutta Mohamed Ali & Co. did the interrogations . Small team.

Things are looking up for my generation. Now doctors are plenty. Doctors of interrogation and torture. Doctors to probe my anus and doctors with long beards to inspect my soul. Doctorates in Diguriha and Kulhiroshi. Doctors from Bangladesh to deliver the gas and take my trash away. We now have a doctor for everything. Soon everyone will be doctor. Everything will be done by doctors. Dr. Shaugee has driven Ali the Lawyer crazy. He has now been handed over to the doctors at IGMH. Doctors to drive you nuts.

Move on

2005-08-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

In a previous instance violence was averted when Mohamed Amin was taken to Dhoonidhoo. Sadly he made the decision to come to Male' in the dead of night and was attacked by a mob organized by his political opponents. Mohamed Amin died of the injuries sustained during this mob violence.
If the armed forces had taken Gayoom to Dhoonidhoo on his arrival from Singapore, we could have evaded all this violence. The military and police should move on from being regime thugs to protectors of the people.

If we could also agree that Gayoom is too old, his methods are out-of-date, we could resolve the current problem without violence. Arab dictator politics is too violent for island people. The education that " ah-Sheikh al-Akh al-Ustaaz President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom al-Azhari" received in the 50' and 60's from pyjama-clad mullahs in Cairo is not what we need for the Maldives if we want modernity and progress. We should move on.

Cuba dathuru remix

2005-08-14T02:20:00.000-07:00

Castro has turned 79. Despite a fall last year that shattered a kneecap and broke his right arm and put him in a wheelchair for several months, old Fidel is stumbling along around in military fatigues with a walking stick. Another birthday for this longest serving ruler.
When Gayoom came to power among the first countries he visited was Cuba. A 99 stanza poem was set to music and played constantly on TV and radio. My friend says that it was very useful to put his children to sleep and much better than "Baao Kalo Naadhey" .
"Cuba dathuru" is a literary masterpiece and should recive the highest award possible. The people who sang this song need a mention for their lung power. Can we have remix for Fidel's 80th Birthday?

Divided

2005-08-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

The country is a divided.Between those who have access to riches and those who are shut out. Divided between those who have some wisdom and those who have no conscience.
Ordinary folk are desperate. Life is hard and living next to a ten story villa is painful when the hot air from their air conditioners' exhaust is blowing into the little 10x12 ft room you call home for your wife and 5 children and the odors of the five star meal floating into their faces is making them drool. And that is Male'. Go to some other atoll and island. Read the UN report on malnutrition and anemia and you may start to get the picture. There will always be differences between the rich and poor. But there should also be a safety net to catch those who fall.
Somewhere, something has gone terribly wrong. Otherwise there would not be this bloody confrontation.
There are people who do not want change. Government employees are afraid gayoom will take away their job. Businessman are afraid that change may mean less opportunity. Less wealth. And quite a few of the rich depend on the Gayoom regime. The dictatorship and corruption is the source of their wealth. If there was trasparency and culpability they fear that their advantage will disappear. So pay money to supress any people or ideas that may lead to change.
The other day someone told me the education system is so bad that only about 8 percent of 8000 students passed the English exam in the Cambridge O" levels. English is the medium of education.! Imagine what chemistry and history they would have understood. Can this be true? And if I tried to find out, will I get the truth? Strong censorship and constant propaganda by the Gayoom regime has left the country with very little brain power. And brains can be bought and silenced when the flesh is weak. The military and the police are so brainwashed they cannot tell good from bad.
Things are not getting better. And when things are going from bad to worse, I will complain. Stun guns, pepper spray, water cannons,bullets, Maafushi and Dhoonidhoo ; the best answer the gayoom regime can give?

Black Friday II - Freedom vs N-SS

2005-08-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

The N-SS has gone on a rampage again. Beating and torturing unarmed people mercilessly. And they have new toys to try out. Stun guns. Pepper spray. Rubber bullets. Water cannons. Like a child pulling out the wings of a fly. The N-SS people are sadistically enjoying themselves.
I feel pity for these poor N-SS. They have little or no education. They may have gone to school. But school system is so bad that most kids fail the O' level. Times are hard. Jobs are scarce and there is a family to feed. With no education and no chance of a decent job, these young men are prime fodder for the regime.
The N-SS pays very well. The whole family gets medical. They do not have to wait in line at IGMH. If your father's haemarrhoids flare up, he can get treatment in Trivandrum or Colombo. You get a place to sleep. You get fed well. All you have to do is mindlessly obey.

Adolph Hitler wrote "I will have no intellectual training. Knowledge is ruin to my young men. A violently active, dominating, brutal youth -- that is what i am after."

When caught and brought to trail, crushed under the weight of irrefutable proofs, Eichmann kept repeating like a coward: " I don't remember... I don't know... It was not within my competence... I had to carry out the orders... I was wearing the uniform, I had to obey..."

Is this what our young men in uniform are saying today? Take a lesson from the past. And we can learn to be better people.

Black Friday Revisited - Repeat Performance or Tianan-Male'

2005-08-12T01:16:00.000-07:00

The lone protester standing in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square and Mohamed Nasheed and a few friends sitting in front of the large mass of heavily armed National Security Service personnel in Male' Republic Square is about the same thing. Forceful military violently confronting peaceful pro-democracy supporters.
How many Black Fridays and B*#!^! Thursdays before we are allowed to be free?
It appears to me that Maldivians will never be free by themselves. There are enough well-armed, paid thugs and gangs to suppress any attempt to voice our desire to be free.
Following this violence, the government will conduct widespread arrests to suppress the remaining supporters of the freedom movement, limit access for the foreign press and control coverage of the events in the press.
The only solution seems to be outside intervention. And this is a touchy subject. Maldivians have been innoculated against foreigners by government propaganda. But without widespread international condemnation and sanctions, there appears to be no way for the people to tackle the issues of human rights abuses and corruption.
Today is a big dash for freedom. Let us see how events play out.

MHRC and Landhoo Ibrahim

2005-08-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

Listening to "Doctor" Abdul Majeed Abdul Baary on Minivan Radio I get the idea that Adalat Party has the Al Qaeda/Taliban Islamic Agenda for Madivian women. “Islam does not permit women to adjudicate in regular legal cases”. Buruga and oppression.

Listening to Nanreethi Saleem of the Maldives Human Rights Commission was just as depressing. It may be appealing to people who have the "i did it first" first syndrome to be in Maldives Human Rights Commission. Instead of trying to get " international recognition" they should be identifying human rights abuses and abusers. All this talk of "we are doing the best we can" , “do everything possible” are just euphemisms for "we are begging Gayoom". Gayoom created them. They are functioning as a decoy.
The Human Rights Commission people - Mujuthaba, Madulu Waheed, Nanreethi Saleem etc. should watch Landhoo Ibrahim and learn. He is the real thing, the full deal. This brave man is taking on Gayoom, Gayooms brother and establishment.
If Mujuthaba and crowd want to do the real thing they should reject Gayooms commission. They should form their own association.
And elect Landhoo Ibrahim to lead them.

metamorphorsis / sadist turns into a mullah

2005-08-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

Umar Naseer of this Islamic Democratic Party can surely be described as a torturer and sadist. Abdulla Mahir is not the only person suffering because of Umar Naseer. There are others. And maybe their voices will also be heard soon. Mahir is that rare Maldivian with the guts to demand respect and his rights. His back is broken but his spirit is not.

Now this Umar Naseer has started his own religious/political party. Soon he may be leading the prayers on Friday. An important question is where did Umar Naseer get the money to start this submarine and other businesses?

Will Maldivians allow this sadistic animal to depict himself as a religious man because somebody has given him the money?
Abdulla Mahir may not agree to that. Neither will I.