Comment: Egypt, the Maldives and the democracy experiment

As in the Maldives the Egyptian people lived under a 30 year dictatorship which favored the few against the wishes of the majority.

This dictatorship nurtured and helped build a military industrial complex which in turn helped the dictatorship to remain unchallenged. until the internet revolution that brought President Nasheed and the voice of the majority to power through the ballot box.

In Egypt President Morsi was ousted and arrested by the military, the Muslim Brotherhood targeted, its media outlets closed; policemen with Kalashinkovs dancing on the street.

In the Maldives, the ‘deep state’ nurtured by Gayyoom bought key figures in the military. A 30 million dollar cheque signed by the magnate Gasim Ibrahim was supposedly the key that unlocked whatever inhibitions the military or anyone else may have had against the popular policies of the then democratically-elected government of President Nasheed.

Nasheed was forced to resign but managed to keep himself from getting arrested. However, his party supporters and activists were getting picked up by the police on various charges as happened with Egypt’s Muslim brotherhood.

The future of the democracy experiment is yet to unfold. In Egypt it seems to be heading towards violent confrontations. In the Maldives, some may think a peaceful transition back to a democratically elected government is possible but these very same people should ask themselves the question: would those who would be charged with treason which carries the death penalty in Islamic Shariah be willing to face the consequences for their crimes?

The top brass of the military and the police are peopled by pro-dictatorship Gayyoom forces and the only guns in town belong to them. The only way to ensure that the military do not revert to the use of force on some trumped up terrorism charge – the fact Defence Minister Nazim recently alluded that terrorist elements trained in different war zones are in the country should be taken as a hint of what these renegades plan to do – is to ensure a timely visit by a naval presence by a country friendly to the Maldivian peoples’ will. Then – and only then, can the outcome of the ballot box be fully realised.

The Egyptian democracy experiment is unlikely to favor the Muslim brotherhood anytime soon despite the fact they reflect the will of the majority. The armed forces are far too organised and well entrenched and unless a massive bloodbath ensues the present status quo is unlikely to change.

Unlike the Egyptian military, the Maldives military is not strong enough to circumvent the will of the people should they be prepared to make the sacrifices that the challenges will bring. Only a few die-hard figures from the Gayoom era does not carry the necessary moral weight – especially since the fact that they were paid off have come to the fore – to push the armed forces to align with their thinking.

The biggest miscalculation by the ousted President Nasheed was his failure to cleanse the system of the Gayoom era viruses. The same corrupt forces of the ‘deep state’ put in place by Gayoom. He did get the opportunity but he failed to act until too late. President Morsi too made the same miscalculation.To build up a loyal following one needs to catch them while young and then groom them and place them in key positions.

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