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Maldives.. Torture in tropical paradise
by Ahmed S.I. Moosa (Sappe') 12.12.2003 (revised on 18.09.2006) People all over the world think of the Maldive Islands as being the perfect holiday paradise. Well, it is truly a remarkable piece of work by nature. Sun, sand and sea in abundance! All that a tropical holiday maker or a scuba diver can hope for! But, the oppressive regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, who is the longest serving leader in Asia today, has been ruling Maldives by fear and intimidation, with no regard or respect for human rights and in violation of the constitution. The livelihood of the average Maldivian is simply sacrificed for the well being and stylish lifestyle of Gayyoom, his family and his associates. Police brutality is always associated with dictatorships. Freedom of expression and association is virtually outlawed by such regimes. That is the case in the Maldives. A life sentence in a remote jail cell is the bounty of any patriotic person in the Maldives. Of such incidents of brutality, the latest act by the regime was to conceal and justify the torture and murder of 4 young inmates at Maafushi Island prison. A y!http://www.dhivehiobserver.com/news/eevaan_torso_arms02.jpg.w300h225.jpg!oung 22 year old man was beaten to death by police guards in the jail for insisting that his basic rights be respected. Investigations have revealed that on the night of 19th September 2003, 9 police guards beat Evan Naseem so brutally that he died of his injuries at the scene of the crime. I visited the cemetery in Male', the capital island, and saw the dead body of this young man. I can honestly say that there was no part of his body that had not sustained a bruise, broken bones, cigarette-burn marks and black patches resulting from severe haemorrhaging. Naseem's fellow inmates heard about his death and they rioted the next day. In an attempt to quell the riot, the police opened fire indiscriminately and 18 of them were shot, out of which 3 were killed. The following day, the authorities attempted to bury the dead discretely. This did not go according to plan as people went to the cemetery and the hospital to find out the truth about the whole incident. The government had by then twisted the story and said that those who were killed were attempting to break out of the jail and that the authorities had no choice but to contain them by shooting at them. Riots followed in Male', and, government buildings including police stations, the High Court and the Elections Office were torched by a crowd outraged by the incident. !http://www.dhivehiobserver.com/news/ameen_bullet_wound02.jpg!Gayyoom is a brutal dictator, who has authorized and personally directed the police to use extreme force and torture. He has allowed his family and associates to use public funds for their pleasure at the expense of basic services for the people. Gayyoom has presided over several incidents of violence by the state over the last 27 years that have never been reported. He systematically abuses human rights and uses his police force to crush any critic or real or perceived opposition to his power. He has his family and friends in the cabinet and in other powerful government posts to ensure that his rule and his methods are preserved. In order to exploit people's religious sensibilities, he regularly reminds them of the happiness in paradise and the afterlife. This, he does while he lives in a multimillion dollar palace, the servicing of which costs the country more than the education budget for the Atolls. His lifestyle also includes a multimillion dollar luxury yacht, a holiday retreat island, as typical of many dictators. Gayyoom influences and rigs the voting process in parliamentary elections as well as the presidential nomination process and the public referendum. The last thing on his mind appears to be the well-being and prosperity of his people, the Maldivians. Maldives is also a member of the new world order, in which we are all interdependent. Maldives is crying out for help! Please do whatever you can to pressure Maumoon Gayyoom to respect basic human rights and to allow freedom of expression and association in Maldives. Then and only then, can it be called a holiday paradise!
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