15 Minutes with Sappe’

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.

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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