Month: January 2005

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Abdulla Kamaaluddheen (AK), Maldivian Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.

Q1) You came 4th in the election for Male’, which returns just two seats in the Majlis. Are you still a Minister after the election defeat?

Yes I am. I am the Minister for Agriculture & Fisheries and acting environment minister.

Q2) The incident in Male’ on the 12-13th August was described as an attempted coup by Dr Shaheed but the Maldivian Democratic Party says it was a pro-democracy rally. Do you think the August events impacted on your campaign?

I was unable to get enough concentration of my support. I was involved heavily in the relief effort and I could not get enough concentration to the campaign. That was a failure on my part. The other candidates were able to campaign when I was focused on the Tsunami.

Q3) But I spoke to Ibrahim Ismail earlier and he said he was under house arrest until the last week of December, which he said impacted on his campaign. Yet, he won over 6,500 votes.

President Gayoom decided to not to sue people who were arrested [after the 12-13th August] and that gave a boost to Ibra’s campaign.

Q4) Are you suggesting that President Gayoom should not have dropped the charges against Ibra?

No, not at all. I mean, until the 26th December Ibra was put at a disadvantage but after that I was put at a disadvantage. So, that put us on an equal footing. My election result was a failure on my part not to give enough concentration to my campaign.

Q5) Do you feel you got adequate backing from President Gayoom for your campaign?

I did not seek support from the government. I have been a Member of Parliament since 1992. Out of five elections I’ve stood in so far I’ve lost two and won one and further won two by-elections. So, I’ve been a Member of Parliament for many years.

Q6) President Gayoom was quoted in an AFP interview the other day saying he wanted to introduce a multi-party system into the Maldives. Are you for a multi-party system?

I have always supported a multi-party system for the Maldives. Definitely, now the time is right for a multi-party democracy. A party system would be better for the Maldives and would allow for good people to come into public life.

Q7) So, will you join the Maldivian Democratic Party?

No, I will not and no further comment. This is still a closed society and I don’t want to elaborate on my decision.

I have no personal business interests, I am only interested in serving the people. I will continue my sincere service for the people of the Maldives and I intend to continue that service in whatever capacity I can.

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Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Mohamed Latheef, spokesperson for the Maldivian Democratic Party.

Q1: There is confusion over the number of seats won by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the government and those who are independent in this election. Can you clarify what the MDP’s position is on this?

Eighteen of the 36 candidates we backed some three weeks before the election won their seats. Some of them are government servants. We backed them because we believe that when the political climate changes, as we believe it will, their candidacy will openly espouse the liberal democratic reformist ideology that the MDP propagates.

Q2: So are they all signed-up, card-carrying members of the party?

Please bear in mind that the MDP is not registered in the Maldives, in violation of the constitution, and is in fact persecuted by the government. So, many who are vehemently for reform still do not openly claim their support for MDP as a party. We can appreciate this reluctance given our oppressive political climate in the Maldives.

Q3: The government is claiming that they have 30 seats – 30 MPs who will back them on any issue in the Majlis.

That is interesting. The government spokesman claims that they won 30 seats. This of course, proves our claim that the government has been working as a party whilst depriving us of the same. You can now imagine the level of fraud, intimidation and corruption which went with this election.

The island chiefs and government officials in the islands who actually ran the campaign on the behalf of the government were the very same ones who were in charge of the polling booths and the ballot boxes.

One reason why we swept the urban areas so convincingly was because intimidation and fraud was less pronounced in the urban areas where the voters were more aware of their political rights.

Let us wait and see how many MPs actually do back the government on the key issues. I believe to get 30 votes on every issue the government will have to have a standing threat of imprisonment hanging over the MPs. This of course, may well happen.

Q4: President Gayoom, in a recent interview with AFP, said that he “envisages a multi-party political system, as well as the office of the prime minister, a supreme court… within a year”. I know the MDP has been pushing for a timeframe for the reform process for a long time. So, you must be really happy with the President’s commitment?

Commitment is a word I would be very wary of when describing Gayoom’s sweeping declarations. Promises of reform are throw-away pronouncements he uses whenever he is under political pressure.

His grand declaration last June about constitutional reform is one such deception. Nine months later not one productive meeting of the constituent assembly has taken place.

Bear in mind that this is the man who took seventeen years to come up with the present constitution wherein he concentrates all the powers in himself reneging on his declared intention of changing the Maldives from an autocracy to a democracy.

Having said all this, I am still excited that he has at last placed a timeframe on his proposed agenda. At least now the international community and the people of Maldives can hold him to a definitive timeframe.

Q5: I understand that the MDP has been very busy meeting the international community over the election period. Is the President’s timeframe for reform part of your discussions?

Very much so. The international community is very excited. They feel that at least Gayoom, if not the hardliners, understand the imperative for change. Whilst we do express our fears, we also give the international community a full guarantee that we will back any of the President’s positive moves without reservation.

The international community is excited that the parties will be registered and competitive politics would be a reality in months. Like the President has stated on many occasions, and I quote: “the laws of the country do not bar anybody from forming a political party if they want to” [Gayoom’s biography: A Man for all Islands, 1998, Times Editions] Also, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for example, has indicated that registration of political parties is not so much a legal issue as a political one. We take this as true.

Yes, we give our assurances to the international community that we will put past acrimony behind us and work in good faith with the President towards the goal of greater freedom and democracy. However, the President and his regime must display an equal level of commitment and good faith towards achieving this noble goal.atheef, Spokesperson for the MDP

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Minivan News spends Fifteen Minutes with Ahmed Moosa (Sappe’), editor-in-chief of the Dhivehi Observer newspaper and one of 15 people elected to the Council of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

This interview was conducted on 23rd December.

Q1) You first spoke out, publicly, against the regime on the BBC’s Adam Mynott report in late 2003. You then had to leave the Maldives and you went to the UK and set-up the Dhivehi Observer. Has it been difficult to leave your homeland?

I had been away from home for many years before, 7 years in Kuwait and more than 8 years in UK, for my studies. And, also I was almost ready to leave to take up a job in London, working for Qasim Ibrahim’s Villa Company the very month of October 2003. So, I can’t say it was hard, it was certainly different because I was running for my life basically. It is harder for my family really especially my wife and kids. This does not mean that I do not miss Maldives and my friends, just that I am very used to staying away from home.

Q2) DO is just over a year old now. I believe the website receives 15,000 hits per day and is read by more than any other media channel. Are you surprised by its rapid success?

I am pleased. DO is not just my work, the interaction and support that I receive is immense. I am however surprised to find out that people access the site in different ways. I am told that it is the first thing and the last thing all internet users read in Maldives now. It’s tiring work. On average I have to spend 18 hours a day near the computer. Gathering news, writing and editing as well as publishing. Just as well, I know a bit more than just Arabic language.

Q3) Some people criticise the highly personalised attacks that feature in DO, for instance the way the newspaper has treated Abdulla Hameed. What is your response to this criticism?

It is also very personal when you arrest, torture and kill people unjustly and without any regard for the rule of law. Also, it is very personal when one restricts ones freedom. I believe that the misdemeanours of Gayyoom and his family must be exposed. To empower people to make a stand we must tell them the truth. This notion of ‘personal stuff’ is not important when these people are criminals.

Gayyoom and Hameed are not above the law. Homosexuality, paedophilia and rape are crimes in Maldives and we must expose those who commit these crimes. These people are evil and we do not have to respect them. I certainly don’t. They should be behind bars.

Q4) As well as being DO editor-in-chief, you were also one of 15 people elected to the MDP Council. The Maldivian Government often claims that DO is therefore a mouthpiece of the MDP. Is DO part of the MDP, or is it an independent newspaper?

It is indeed an independent news service. I have the final say in what is in DO and I work full time on Dhivehi Observer. Being a member of MDP’s general council does not restrict me from expressing my views. If need be I will criticise MDP as well and I have done so in many occasions. Constructive criticism is not a bad thing and I believe that MDP has the maturity to take it on board. Dhivehi Observer is the peoples’ press and I believe Maldivians believe that now.

Q5) How do you see the future of the Maldives developing over the next few years?

I believe that people are fed up of Gayyoom’s dictatorship and that change of regime is inevitable. No one believes that Gayyoom will reform our country. He will not dig his own grave. Democracy will bring an end to his rule. With international pressure and the public support that we now have, I believe he has less than a year to go. If our people weren’t so afraid of him, we could do it even quicker.

Q6) If there is a significant change in the Maldives, would you consider returning and in what capacity?

It is a question of when really, not if. I will go back to Maldives as soon as my supporters believe it is safe for me to go. It may be to initiate a public rally to oust Gayyoom or perhaps after he is ousted. In either case, I will not give Gayyoom the pleasure of torturing me in any of his cells, so even if I return beforehand, I will go with enough strength and security.

In what capacity, I don’t know but I believe I have a role to play in the future of Maldives. It may be in government or even in media. I might even go back to my profession, which is Engineering and Science. My promise to Maldivian people is that I will always put them first, so depending on the situation, I will always try to work toward the interest of the country. I will try my best that to ensure that Gayyoom is the last dictator our country will see.

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