Month: May 2007

Last week pioneering opposition radio station Minivan Radio failed to secure a frequency to broadcast in the Maldives, leading local media, including ourselves, to question its viability.

Reflecting on the failed frequency bid, the radio’s editor Shaheeda Fathimath tells MN there are no plans to close the station.

She robustly defends the station’s independence, distancing it from both Minivan Daily and Minivan News, and controversially calls for the other organisations to change their names.

And she admits Minivan Radio would sign the Information Ministry’s Agreement to secure broadcasting in the Maldives.

Future’s Bright

“Minivan Radio’s future is very, very bright. We will not stop,” Shaheeda says emphatically.

“There are many options to continue,” she argues, pointing out the one hour daily broadcasts are still available to download from the internet.

Until now Minivan Radio has been the only alternative to government broadcaster Voice of Maldives. But after last week’s distribution of FM frequencies, a number of competitors will be broadcasting on FM twenty-four hours a day.

“Even if they have an alternative people will go for Minivan Radio,” Shaheeda says. “The people have accepted Minivan Radio. It is the people’s radio. They trust it.”

Shaheeda lists Short Wave broadcasts and selling content to other stations as possible revenue raising options. But it is clear she still sees FM broadcasting as the way forward. “TAM have said they have more reserved frequencies. We can always ask them again.”

Credibility

To begin broadcasting, companies must sign an agreement with the Information Ministry, which will regulate radio. Shaheeda argues the agreement is incompatible with independence.

“I don’t believe in the Agreement. I don’t believe in the Content Committee [the body established by the Agreement to regulate content]. I don’t believe in the Minister selecting eight members for the Content Committee. If that’s the case its not fair.”

“We cannot have an independent media unless we have it on [the government’s] terms, and this is not democracy,” she says. “If someone abides by this Agreement, they cannot be independent.”

No Choice

Last week Shaheeda criticised the distribution of frequencies by blind auction.

“I have already proved I can run a radio. I have been doing this for three years,” she said. “But these frequencies are for the rich. They don’t care as long as they can get money out of this. It is a commercial venture.”

But beyond the rhetoric, Shaheeda accepts the commercialisation of radio and agrees, “in some ways it is a positive development.”

“I’m not criticising commercial broadcasters. I don’t have anything against them. I am for them and I am with them. If I had money to compete with them, I would.”

The problem for Shaheeda is not that frequencies were sold commercially, but that broadcasters will have to sign the Information Ministry Agreement.

But she says broadcasters have no choice, and Minivan Radio too would sign the agreement if they had won a frequency.

“I would sign an agreement. I have no choice. It means I will be more like the state media. I will have to make compromises.”

“This is the hard part,” she laments. “There are a lot of people who call me and tell me not to sign an agreement, but it is the only way. And if I sign it, that means I have to abide by it.”

Independence

Minivan Radio has often been accused of being anti-government, a charge which Shaheeda emphatically denies.

“We give the people the news. We try to get the whole angle on it. This includes the government. We try. Everytime we try. But they don’t cooperate and they don’t give us information.”

Although Shaheeda will not reveal the names of Minivan Radio’s funders as “they would get hurt,” she says funders have never interfered with editorial.

“If someone wants to help Minivan Radio, I say there can be no conditions. I tell them even if you call me once and ask me to change something, I will quit.”

Which Minivan

Shaheeda wants to distance Minivan Radio from Minvan Daily and Minivan News. “All the time people think that Minivan Radio and Minivan Daily are together. But we don’t have the same editorial policy, we don’t have the same management, we are independent.”

But with all three organisations operating from the same premises and sharing the same name, Shaheeda admits it is hard to establish any distance.

“I have tried many times to change the premises. I have asked many people to give me an apartment but they are quoting so much more than I pay that I can’t.”

And she says the other two organisations should not have taken on the Minivan name. “I am the one who started Minivan. First came Minivan Radio three years ago, then Minivan News and then Minivan Daily. I don’t know how and I don’t know why Minivan Daily got my logo. I have a problem with that.”

“I wish Minivan Daily would change their name. I wish Minivan News would change their name. I am not asking them to, but I wish it would happen.”

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Leaders of the Adhaalath party approached the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to discuss an alliance against President Gayoom in 2006, Ahmed Ibrahim Didi (Sandhaanu Didi), has told Minivan News.

Didi was Adhaalath’s Political Advisor until he quit the party to rejoin the MDP last week. He says he only joined Adhaalath in July 2006 “to take it in a good political direction” and forge an alliance with the MDP. But “high ranking officials” in Adhaalath were put off by the MDP’s tactics of protest and demonstration.

According to Didi, Adhaalath’s priority is now religion, and the MDP is the only party committed to political reform.

Common Ground

When he joined Adhaalath in July 2006, Didi says its leaders were aware he intended to forge a political alliance with the MDP.

“I didn’t approach them, they actively sought me out,” Didi says. “They knew I was not religious in the sense of being able to give sermons like them… I told them very frankly, I am not from your category, why should I go with you? We will have different opinions.”

“But they said we will work together… They believed I could give political sermons in this country… They believed in me. They knew I dad political intentions… and I wanted to take [the party] in a political direction.”

And, Didi says, in July last year, the MDP were equally enthusiastic about the possibility of an alliance. “I talked to Mr Zaki [the Acting MDP President] about this as soon as I joined Adhaalath. He welcomed it. He said even before I approached him, they themselves [Adhaalath leaders] had approached him.”

Didi says he did not believe the religious character of the Adhaalath party should prevent an alliance on “political common ground.”

“I was not from a religious party and, from the beginning, Anni [the MDP Chairman] he was a political man. We were doing what we were doing. Adhaalath were doing something else from the beginning.”

But, “they have registered as a political party. They have supporters from society.” And “their ambition is the same as MDP… to overthrow Gayoom. They are not with the government. I am 100% sure. They are against the government.” So, “together we could work on this political ground.”

Arab Money

Didi wanted Adhaalath to assist the MDP’s attempts to win support in the international community, and support its demonstrations on the street.

“I suggested to them, why don’t we go to Sri Lanka and give a helping hand to Anni when he talks to the embassies.”

Didi believed Adhaalath’s religious character could be used to win financial support from the Middle East. “I said… with beards… if we go to Arabia, we can also get something. Now Gayoom is just taking money from them in our name. So why don’t we go? Why don’t we stop it?”

He attended most MDP protests during his short time in Adhaalath and asked the party leaders, “why don’t you come to the street and join the MDP. Why don’t you allow me to hoist the Adhaalath flag [at protests].”

“My Aim Had Failed”

“With my work with, in my opinion, Adhaalath could have been a better party than they are now,” Didi says. But his attempt to make Adhaalath play a more active political role was frustrated.

“Top-ranking [Adhaalath] officials are not interested” in an alliance, Didi says. “The MDP is coming on to the street. But they [the Adhaalath officials] feel this is something very bad. They don’t want this.”

Although Didi did not officially leave Adhaalath until last week, on the day he rejoined the MDP, he says he stopped working for Adhaalath at the end of 2006.

“I believe in these [Adhaalath] people and highly respect them for their religious work. I respect what they are doing… But I don’t think its enough… It’s a political party, and must work as such.” Didi explains. “I didn’t join just to go preaching Islamic sermons with them.”

Didi says he told Adhaalath leaders, “Gayoom is not listening to us. We cannot bring reform while we site in an air-conditioned room… We cannot just write. We have to pressure him somehow.” But, he says, “Adhaalath was just keeping quiet.”

By the end of 2006, the MDP and Adhaalath were publicly attacking each other. Adhaalath accused the MDP of being Christian missionaries at a public rally in September and complained that MDP Chairman Anni had publicly attacked them in a media interview.

Religious Appeal?

The two parties have since drifted towards religious and political identities. Adhaalath delivers political messages through fatwas and religious sermons, making it impossible for the government to control them, while MDP activists are regularly arrested for political activities.

Didi accepts Ahdaalath’s religious tactics can be effective. “Some MDP members say that Adhaalath is on the right track,” he admits, “in the case of Hussein Salah, religious pronouncements were very effective.”

But he says Adhaalath’s religious statements are powerful because they are critical of President Gayoom. “I feel [people] are going to Adhaalath to hear Hussain Rasheed [Adhaalath’s President] be highly critical of Gayoom. Only some of them go for the sermons.”

Didi says the MDP is right to continue its political campaign and should not imitate Ahdaalath’s religious tactics. “There is no question of religion. These are political affairs we have to deal with. We should not bring religious and political affairs together.”

And he believes Maldivians remain supportive of the MDP. “Sometimes they [Adhaalath leaders] feel they are popular enough without the MDP. But I don’t feel that… I don’t think in the coming election, if they do not change their policy, they will be winning.”

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Throughout his interview, Didi says he shares Adhaalath’s view of a Muslim society. “I am a pure Muslim. I have no disagreement with Adhaalath on Islam… they are my friends.”

He pinpoints one difference between himself and his former colleagues. “Adhaalath want a good Islamic society. I want an Islamic society, but without Gayoom.”

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He speaks of himself in the third person, breaks into a smile and jumps to attention for no apparent reason and is an ever present at opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meetings.

He says he is 88 years old. Before he said he was 84. Reports had him down as 73, and his identity card records him as 65. Whatever age he is, he is a local celebrity amongst those who know him.

MDP officials describe him as a pest, a character, a hero, an inspiration. They made a special exception for him to attend last year’s national congress.

But Ismail Mohamed (Ismailbe’) was arrested on April 29 for distributing leaflets and has just completed a week under house arrest. He was detained for distributing copies of a statement of the family of the late Hussein Salah, which police said “are banned and will create disharmony.” He was released last Saturday.

Ismailbe’ has lived under seven different heads of state in the Maldives, he says. But none, according to him, have been as bad as President Gayoom.

Work To Eat

Because he is hard of hearing, our interpreter shouts questions in Ismailbe’s ear. He bellows back answers, banging on the desk and gesturing as he communicates his disdain for the present government.

“I told them I was doing this work so I can eat but they didn’t believe me,” Ismailbe’ says of his arrest. “There is no single office in the government where I haven’t submitted to find a job, even at my age. I have been refused all jobs in the government and I have no way of earning money.”

“Now I am paid a little for distributing MDP leaflets. I rely on the money I earn from the MDP for distributing leaflets and money from well wishers to live and eat.”

No Respect

“I had been distributing the press release on Hussein Salah’s family for three days, when the police came to get me. I was standing near the STO building, and I had just three more to distribute when they came,” Ismailbe says.

Ismailbe’ was taken to Atoluvehi detention centre on Malé for interrogation by the police. “I told them I had never been jailed or taken into custody. But the police showed me no respect. They didn’t care about my age.”

“They kept asking me why I was handing out leaflets, but they didn’t believe me when I said I was doing it for basic income. So I refused to answer their questions.”

“I was not given any food from 10am till 6pm. I was shivering because the air conditioning was on so high. I asked several times for food and to turn the air conditioning down but they ignored me.”

In the evening, Ismailbe’ was taken from Atoluvehi to his house, where he was to remain under house arrest. “The police threatened my wife telling them if Ismailbe’ gets out of the house, we will take you in as well,” he says.

He was summoned back to Atoluvehi once more days after his arrest. “They took me in to take my fingerprints,” he says. “They have a procedure where I had to place each finger to leave a print. They told me to press down harder and I did as hard as I could. But they hit my hands and forced them lower. They had no respect.”

Weakness

“It is a sign of weakness that Gayoom has to arrest an eighty-eight year old,” Ismailbe’ says. “He will not last long.”

Ismailbe’ recalls, “When Maumoon first came to power everybody thought he was very good. Everybody had high hopes. Now everybody is mad because of that. Because he promised he would clean things up.”

Ismailbe’ blames Gayoom’s failure on greed. “The moment Gayoom started to change was the moment the Maldives started to get a lot of money. The government takes all this money and gives very little to the people. He [President Gayoom] gives huge sums to his cronies. The government is just hoarding funds and beating people up.”

And Ismailbe’ is scathing of the President’s attitude to Islam, “Gayoom doesn’t love religion. He always talks about it, but he does nothing according to it,” he says.

“Of the seven heads of state I have lived under, I have never seen anyone as torturous as Gayoom,” Ismailbe goes on, and he ends our discussion, warning, “Torturers do not change.”

Unity

Ismailbe’ rejects the notion that party politics and agitation over events like Hussein Salah’s death are dividing the country.

“I am being arrested because the party system is not being implemented, not because of the party system,” he says. “When party system comes to power, everyone should be happy”

Ismailbe’ is adamant that, “Everyone I meet on the street, even the women, support the work I do to create the party system.”

Ismailbe’ recalls a time before politics and modern life came to Malé. “There were grapefruit trees, mango trees and unpaved roads. A grapefruit cost 5 laari, and a tuna fish cost 10 laari… people were very happy despite hardship and took every opportunity to celebrate.”

But he says the country must look forward to democracy.

My Life For Freedom

“The police will probably arrest me again. But I won’t stop doing my work for the MDP. Its not just about me, I do it for the people. I would give my life for this cause,” Ismailbe’ wails.

Asked about what an MDP government can deliver to the people, he replies, “The MDP will put a smile on people’s faces.” When pushed, he says, “they will sort out the drugs problem and stop students being victimised.”

But he is most fluent when talking about the party’s Chairman and figurehead, Mohamed Nasheed (Anni). “Anni is Chairman and President of the party,” he says, despite the looming MDP Presidential election in which Anni is not standing. “He is like a son to me, and I would do anything for that man.”

And he is confident the MDP will not be allowed to repeat the mistakes of the current regime, “If they do not perform, the people will throw them out and have another election.”

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Umar Naseer, leader of the Islamic Democratic Party, unveiled his presidential campaign and manifesto last Friday, on his 40th birthday.

Having just submitted 5000 more signatures to the Elections Commissioner, he has big ambitions for himself and his party. His twelve point manifesto prescribes democracy with conservative and Islamic values for the Maldives, the construction of four new regional cities, and tough measures on drugs.

A former police officer, with an imposing physique and a sharp stare, he acknowledges that he is a “self-styled hard man.”

When asked if his manifesto seems “slightly dictatorial,” he says: “It is…not, it is, I would say these are measures that you need in time.”

Torture

Dealing with the allegations of torture that have marred his political career, he says: “For everybody there will be an allegation. In my case I have been a police officer. I think I have been a police officer who is tough. I am not a soft cop, I am a tough cop and my policies are that I will stop criminals by using all the authorities given.

“And the allegation on me is that I have broken the backbone of some Mahir or some fellow. My response to that has always been that I have always maintained that Mr Mahir is a drug dealer. He has been sentenced to prison for over 18 years on those same charges. By his own confession he is a drug dealer, a drug addict. And to stop such people cops have to react and under my command my contingents have reacted to arrest him and on my order he has been arrested.

“But I have never ordered anyone to break his backbone and myself personally I have never done anything to anybody…I did not do it all and I am ready to take oath. Placing my hand on the Koran I am ready to take oath. I am doubtful that Mahir will be able to take the same oath on the same Koran,” he says.

But he says the Maldivian Democratic Party’s claim that torture has been rife in the Maldives Police Service during his time in the organisation is “baseless” and “pure propaganda.” When asked about the Evan Naseem killing, he retorts: “Evan Naseem, of course, it is not only in Maldives that you have these kind of isolated matters in police prisons.

“That allegation is going to continue always because MDP has a strategy of overthrowing the government by taking away the police authority. This is a very common thing in communism. When communism came to the world, the communist infiltrators tried to discredit the police and the army so that the army and the police cannot react and then they will attack the government officials and then take over the government.

“So the same tactic today is being used by MDP to make sure the authority of the police is reduced so they don’t react when they go and try and topple the government. I am a trained intelligence officer, and I know how they do it, and how the communists did it in other countries and what are the tactics of MDP today,” he claims.

Drugs

“I will still be tough on drug dealers like Mahir. I have no regret in arresting him and further in future if I have the position of the Presidency, I will not only arrest Mahir, I will arrest all drug dealers and make sure I clean up the streets,” says Mr Naseer.

One of the main points of the IDP manifesto is its hard stance on drugs. “Today we need some tough policies on certain areas, especially on drugs, because the whole Maldives would cease to exist in a hundred years if we don’t stop this,” he says.

“I would take the example of Botswana. 40% of the citizens are HIV positive so 20 years down the line if 40% of Maldivians are drug addicts, what would be the result? I am sure another country would come and take over Maldives,” he claims.

Mr Naseer prescribes some harsh penalties for drugs – death sentence for importers, ten years imprisonment for dealers and confiscation of all their property. The money made from the confiscation will then go into an anti-drug fund. Rehabilitation will be compulsory, and nobody will be above the law, in Mr Naseer’s vision of the Maldives.

Religion

He believes that his conservative and tough policies will be attractive to the average Maldivian. “We believe that if we are able to present the manifesto to the grass roots, it will have a very good reception,” he says.

Mr Naseer says that as a 100% Muslim country, the Maldives is in a rare situation shared only by Saudi Arabia, and so it requires a special version of democracy. Secularism, pluralism, homosexuality, abortion and alcohol are all out, and national unity will remain “a very important priority.”

“Secularism is not something for Maldives. Secularism is a pill. It is a medicine, very good for countries with multi-race, multi-religion, multi-culture. But if this pill is given to a wrong patient, like Maldives, where we have a single religion for the past 400 years, then this pill can cause irritation in your stomach. So this secularism is not good for Maldives.

“We want to retain one religion, one race, and one language policy. That means was all speak in Dhivehi, we all belong to our race, and then we have one religion.

“I am sure all the political parties would agree with me on these points but the question I show committed are people when you have to really defend that,” he says.

But in the religious society of the Maldives, Mr Naseer believes there should be less political influence on the scholars, and intends to make religious advisory bodies independent. He also believes the scholars should be free from the influence of fundamentalism.

“I think religious radicalism is going to be a serious problem to the Maldives after narcotics – religious fundamentalism I call it. I am sure it is going to be a very serious problem for the Maldives and this is why you need a very tough person for the next president. The next president cannot be a soft guy.

“What we have to do is we have to draw a line that they cannot pass. And when they pass the line we have to punish them…the problem with the current government is that they don’t punish people when they cross the lines.

“The law is not being followed today. The law is being applied on certain people and certain people are let go. Recently there was a murder in Himandhoo, based on religious fundamentalism. The case still has not been looked into correctly. Nobody has been charged in court today. That means there isn’t a real focus by the government on this issue at the moment. The focus of the government today is on the opposition and surviving itself, but these kind of things are coming up, you know,” he says.

Cities

It is clear Mr Naseer is thinking long-term, and his policy of building four new cities in each corner of the country reflects that. “I am sure that within ten years each city will have at least 10 000 population,” he says.

“I am pretty confident I can raise enough money to do this. I need $200m to build four cities and if I take this $200m from any foreign organization for a period of thirty or forty years I am sure it will be worth it because for the 100 islands that I propose to reduce from the map I do not have to spend on those 100 islands. Now I only have 4 cities.

“All the previous governments have attempted to decentralize, but they have failed because their policies were not adequate to do that, so now we are laying a policy which is strong and tough,” he says.

Each family rehoused will get a new property worth Rf. 400 000. To reduce overcrowding in Malé, Naseer is also proposing the construction of 4 000 new flats in 5 years which will be built on Hulhumale and Vilingili and Malé as well as the new capitals.

To pay for it, he proposes a fuller tax system, which will include income tax, tax on profit and zakat. He also plans to cut back on presidential expenses, the military and the bloated civil service.

In order to help make Maldives’ economy more robust, the IDP plans to introduce industrial scale aquaculture, using Japanese expertise, and plans to expand the tourism industry in “a carefully organised manner.”

Mr Naseer now has a year to generate the “grass-roots” support he talks of for his party, and put the allegations of torture behind him, if he is to become president, and be able to implement his vision.

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