Day: February 18, 2013

Tourist paradise rocked by political uncertainty: Vancouver Sun

The United States and India have been watching with concern as radical Islam, fuelled by Saudi Arabian Wahhabi and Salafi charities, takes root in the Maldives, stoking fears the archipelago could become a terrorist haven, writes Jonathan Manthorpe for the Vancouver Sun.

At the same time Washington and New Delhi are mistrustful of China’s growing influence with the Male government.

There is apprehension the Maldives could become yet another supply base for China’s navy. India, Beijing’s regional rival, is already concerned that China’s naval link’s with Pakistan and the Bay of Bengal ports of Burma are part of a containment strategy.

The march of radical Islam in the Maldives began in the 1980s during the dictatorship of Gayoom, who allowed Saudi Arabian Wahhabist charities to establish themselves in the Maldives and who oversaw a radicalization of the education system.

Many Maldivian students now go to radical madrassas – religious schools – in Pakistan for higher education. Several are known to have become affiliated with al-Qaida as a result.

The increasing popularity of puritanical Islam in the Maldives sits uneasily with the country’s main industry as an upmarket tourist destination, which accounts for 30 per cent of the annual gross national product.

Aspects of Shariah religious law, such as the banning of alcohol, prohibition of men and women dancing together, and public flogging for adultery, are applied in the capital Male. But these restrictions are not imposed in the tourist resorts on the 250 inhabited islands of the archipelago.

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Uncertainty the only certainty in Maldives capital

As tensions between the Maldives’ government and India continue to rise over allowing former President Mohamed Nasheed high commission refuge from his arrest warrant, conspiracies spread through social media networks are furthering uncertainty in the capital.

The rumours first came around 10:00pm – and social media was quick to respond.

Former President Nasheed was once again facing a warrant for his arrest, in what his party contend are a politically-motivated attempt by the country’s compromised courts to bar him from standing for election.

With both the government and Indian officials claiming yesterday evening they were unaware of any new arrest warrant, the real drama – it seemed – was happening on Twitter.

One prominent representative for the Nasheed-aligned opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) wrote on the social media site yesterday:

“Local media reports new Court order to Police to Present Prez Nasheed before court on Wednesday [February 20]. Will the police barge into the Indian HC?”

Other social media users were quick to respond in a manner critical of the former president’s actions:

“police might nt barge in.. but that doesn’t mean indian high commission is not hiding the suspected criminal@MohamedNasheed.”

Fanciful tales from either side of the Maldives political divide are nothing new. Yet it is a sign of either the impact of social media, or the diplomatic unease between Male’ and the Indian government, that the prospect of a police raid on diplomatic territory or a one-time head of state being smuggled out of the country can hold any credibility.

Nasheed has been in the chancery building since Wednesday (February 13), pulling India into domestic Maldivian politics.

How long he is able to remain there is uncertain, considering pressure from senior government figures that he be handed over to face trial.

The tweets hinted that a hugely significant event in an already turbulent period in Maldives history was on the verge of coming to pass.  There was just one problem: neither the government or the High Commission of India were aware of any plot or conspiracy to remove the former president from his sanctuary.

Had India been made aware of attempts to re-issue an arrest warrant and possibly bring Mr Nasheed into custody? “Not yet,” said an Indian High Commission source.

Had the government heard of whether judicial authorities and police would be taking proceedings against the former president? “No, not heard of it before,” a government official responded off the record.

Rumour and uncertainty were once again the driving force of political discourse concerning the government, Nasheed and the Indian High Commission.

Outside the Indian High Commission building at 10:30pm last night, staff were servicing a sedan car and seemingly working to ensure nothing was visible through  its back seat windows. Meanwhile, police officers at infrequent intervals would pass the commission building on their way to deal with a third consecutive night of demonstrations.

Most of the officers paid little attention to diplomatic building at the centre of the nation’s latest political turmoil. However by midnight, a handful of officers had set up temporary barricades outside the chancery.

At the same time, MDP protesters made their way to barriers set up around the corner on Sosun Magu.

Was this the beginning of an audacious attempt to retrieve the former president from his diplomatic confines? The relatively free passage of tourists, students and a small number of locals through the nearby barricades suggested not.

Half an hour later, a single figure finally appeared from the high commission building – surveying the scene up and down the street before entering the sedan and quickly reversing the vehicle into a concealed garage area. The vehicle’s lights remained visible for a few minutes behind the garage door – then they were switched off.

Things remained quiet until 1:30am, when two police officers guarding the temporary barricades outside the Indian High Commission building took notice of some discarded material staff had left behind after the servicing of the vehicle.

The material raised great interest from one of the officers as he lifted a thin piece of dark tape up to eye level for further inspection. He called over his fellow officer.  Then for a brief moment, they engaged in what appeared to be a game of peek-a-boo before returning to manning their barricade.

The street, as for the last three hours, returned to relative silence.

By morning, Nasheed – as far as anyone knows – remained in the high commission. Meanwhile, diplomatic relations between India and Maldives, though reportedly strained, are still being observed.

Nasheed, it is confirmed, is to be summoned before the courts in 48 hours time.  His immediate future remains unknown.

In the Maldives capital it seems, the only certainty remains uncertainty.

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Comment: Honeymoon over for Maldivians in paradise

The only time I’ve seen my father light up like the Diwali Festival was the day Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) got elected as the first ever democratically elected president in Maldivian history, after replacing the long term autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

I was in the 8th grade and didn’t know much about politics, but understood enough to know that we somehow restored hope in our hearts. I got the feeling that everything was going to be all right… the tears of happiness  rolling down my father’s face were a testament to that.

After that, everything  changed. The police brutality, arbitrary arrests of politicians and democracy activists, disruption to media and freedom of expression, everything that we thought was so wrong, that we had to get out on the streets to change, became our past – things that we only joked about in our living rooms and coffee shops.

The conversation usually went like: “Hey, remember how Golhaa Force would drag Anni out on the streets of Male’ like he was some kind of dead animal?”

Only we didn’t know that it would happen again.We had no idea; we were so naive.

Anyway, the days went by and for some reason Maumoon was running around doing his own thing, not necessarily bothering anybody – yet – and Nasheed’s administration was busy cleaning up the mess left by Maumoon.

But given that Nasheed was in charge, as suspected he didn’t let the mess distract him, and instead he went on to revolutionise the Maldives. Health care, state transport, social security, infrastructure improvements made headlines every single day. He had built so many flats that the opposition started to call him ‘Flat Dhombe’ – a name he adopted and wore proudly. Such was life in paradise.

And then the honeymoon period ended. President Nasheed had to make some tough yet important decisions in his presidency, in order to head towards a more prosperous economy in the long run.

This meant the bank accounts of the rich and the elite of our community were going to take our hit. The government had asked for the parliament’s assistance to move forward with the bills, but half of the rich and the elite were already in the parliament. A lot went downhill after that.

The religious conservatives saw an opportunity at that point and jumped in, making the situation even more ridiculous. Gayyoom started to show up every now and then, making political statements and what not. And then we saw the opposition parties coming together, having set their differences aside.

These were some very extreme far-right minded politicians coming together with a group of Islamic radicals, which was the only thing that made sense from their partnership. Religion was the main issue of their political movement. As we understand now, that may have very well have been the turning point.

The opposition parties in the name of ’23 December Ih’thihaadhu’ – the 23 December Coalition – came out on the streets, protesting and calling for Nasheed’s resignation. Their parliament members would openly disrupt any government or MDP-sponsored bills on the parliament floor. The protesters would vandalise public property every night, and for some weird reason they targeted areca palm trees planted by Male City Council.

They would pluck the palm trees out and toss them out on the streets every night. One of those photographed destroying the trees is now the Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

After 21 days and nights of protesting and vandalising, the opposition succeeded in removing the elected president from office, by force, with the help of a rogue police mutineers.

The next day the Maldivian Democratic Party took to the streets condemning the coup d’état and everyone that took part in it.

I was there myself, with a friend of mine, a fellow activist, only to witness the horrible turmoil and the wrath of the Special Operations police brutes. They were anything but officers of law. A lot of peaceful protesters were brutally attacked by the savages. We were surrounded by chaos, and blood and tear gas canisters.

That moment I knew we had lost our country. That it was far from over, and the real struggle for democracy was yet to come.

Since then the coup government have been busy destroying everything Nasheed has built. They’ve put an end to state transport system…the universal healthcare, and everything else. They’ve set us back 100 years in our relationship with India.

Maybe they aren’t well-versed in foreign policy, but how could they possibly think that they can afford to be in bed with China after they’ve screwed over India in the matters of GMR airport and everything else that came afterwards? It would be hard for India not to take that personally.

I may not be an expert in foreign policy, but even I know that when you screw over your neighbor, it’s going to get awkward and complicated. Much like an office romance which ends badly.

Removal of President Nasheed from office wasn’t enough for the coup leaders, so they decided to prosecute him on charges of “kidnapping a judge”, to void his candidacy for the comping up presidential election.

They’ve already once dragged him to the kangaroo Hulhumale court which legally does not exist, while he was down south on the Journey of Pledges campaign in Faresmathoda.

President Nasheed was summoned to court for the second time, and the illegitimate ‘Hulhumale’ court ordered the police to make sure that he attended. But instead Nasheed has taken refuge in the Indian High Commission, taking the upper-hand in the current political situation in the Maldives, perhaps for the first time since the coup.

We are yet to find a solution and I personally don’t think that we would find one through political dialogue among the parties. It hasn’t worked before, I doubt it would work now. The only way we can move forward is to let Nasheed take part in a free and fair election this September. I think that’s reasonable.

Like many fellow Maldivians, I wish to hold that flag of red, green and white and feel proud again. But I’m afraid today is not that day.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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