The Reformist Ambassador

The Maldives must hold free and fair multi-party elections by 2008 or risk sliding into political ‘chaos’.

That was the stark warning from the Maldivian High Commissioner to London, Hassan Sobir, this week, during an exclusive interview with Minivan News.

The reclusive High Commissioner came out of his political shell to call on the constituent assembly, the Special Majlis, to speed up the process of reform to pave the way for the first competitive election in the Maldives’ history.

“People often ask me what would happen if the Special Majlis failed to pass the Constitutional Reform laws. I tell them it has no choice. The Majlis must enact the constitution reform before the deadline for presidential elections in 2008. It would be a great injustice to the people not to do so,” Sobir said.

“The slow pace of the Majlis is very disappointing. There is a lot of foot-dragging with points of order and delays, with people blaming each other. They have to see that it is in everybody’s interest, including the opposition’s, to get the constitutional reform through. There is no alternative.”

“The country would descend into chaos if it did not go through. That’s what I think and I don’t care who knows that this is my view.”

Removed from the day to day squabbles of Male’ politics, Sobir is something of an outsider. Viewing the reform process from afar, he is more reflective and able focus on the bigger, long term picture for the country.

Much of his day to day job involves meeting fellow diplomats and government officials here in London, at the European Union in Brussels and at the United Nations in Geneva.

In those meetings, Sobir represents President Gayoom’s government and defends its track record on human rights and democratic reform.

He gave his interview to Minivan News after what he said had been a ‘difficult’ year.

In 2006 the government missed a number of its own roadmap commitments, such as reforming the criminal justice system. For many, the varnish has started to come off Gayoom’s reform process.

“There are big challenges in my job of representing Maldives abroad. One, we are a small country, two it is a poor country, three it is an Islamic country and four, it has a government that has been in power for a very long time. It is a difficult time for me working in London,” he said.

Sobir is proud of his track record, however, and feels he has achieved much during his time in Europe.

“I came to London when Gayoom began his new term of office and had announced a programme of sweeping reforms. But there was turbulence at home. The European Union passed resolutions attacking the Maldives government, and I saw that these were in some ways biased and the government’s side was not well understood.”

“My main aim was to provide the other side of the story, to give European politicians a fuller picture. A lot of mistakes have been made [in the Maldives], I must admit, but a lot of good has been achieved also. We must accept that mistakes have been made and be willing to change.”

“It is significant that despite the negative attention that has been given to Maldives, no country has brought in a travel ban, as advocated by some European politicians. It is true that there is political trouble in Maldives, but we have not turned our back on reform.”

“It is also significant that partly as a result of my presence in the diplomatic community in Europe, we were able to mobilize huge resources for reconstruction aid after the Tsunami. The British Red Cross, for example, has done a lot to help and the European Investment Bank has provided at least 50 million euros. These successes are not down to me alone, but to the highly effective team I have at the Maldives diplomatic mission in London.”

To his critics, however, Sobir’s defense of the Gayoom government makes him nothing short of a ‘spin-doctor’, who is paid to excuse the ongoing human rights abuses in the Maldives with paper-thin promises that political reform is just around the corner.

How does Sobir square representing an autocratic regime while at the same time espousing the virtues of democracy?

“A transition period is always going to be difficult. Social and political change is more difficult to achieve than economic change. A resort can be built and operating within a year, but it takes many years to train doctors or lawyers. Constitutional reform is no cake-walk.”

The High Commissioner feels that despite the ‘foot dragging’ of some members of the Special Majlis, the government has made considerable progress on democratic reform and will turn the Maldives into a fully-fledged democracy.

“Politics is about giving and taking, sitting at a table and talking. It is not about violence and street protests. Even some sections of the MDP [opposition Maldivian Democratic Party] recognise this. It was very significant, for example, that the MDP members of parliament did not support the plan for a political demonstration in November last year. They are moderate, but are occupied with other things and should concentrate on pushing through reform in a democratic way.”

“It is the responsibility of everyone to see that change takes place with stability. We cannot become a mini-Iraq.”

In light of the attention the Maldivian reform process is beginning to receive in Britain and throughout Europe, Sobir feels that political reform is also necessary for the further development of the tourism industry.

“We have a successful tourism industry. It is healthy tourism, clean tourism. People who visit Maldives have traveled a lot and are a very informed group of travelers. Many of them are repeaters – they come year after year because they like it so much. Yes, they come for sun and sandy beaches, and luxurious resorts, but they see also that political development is occurring.”

“Maldives specialises in a relatively exclusive category, with medium to high-end resort facilities. We do not have mass tourism. The people who visit Maldives want to be associated with a democratic country, which respects human rights. The workers in the Maldives tourism industry want a functional democracy too. It is important to promote ethical tourism. Tourism development and the political reform process go hand-in-hand.”

For Sobir, there are also other threats to the tourism industry other than political turmoil. He is concerned about the high levels of heroin addiction among Maldivian youths. He is also worried about the rise of a new, pugnacious form of Islam, which threatens the traditional Maldivian way of life.

“There are signs that Islamic fundamentalism is creeping in. It is difficult to quantify but there are people who have started introducing extreme views. This is a matter for concern, and people should not ignore it.”

“We want Maldives to be a moderate Muslim country, where we have women working in industry and they have a strong role in politics and economics. This must continue.”

“It’s fine for girls to wear the veil if they wish, as has been noticed by Maldivians and visitors alike. This is not a problem. But there are people with extreme Islamic views and they should not impose their values on others.”

Sobir works hard in London to promote the Maldives as a moderate, progressive Muslim country.

“I often take part in three-faith events, where Muslims, Christians and Jews meet to discuss things of shared interest. It is interesting that recently a Jewish leader in London spoke positively of Islam as a noble religion. When it is possible to be so tolerant, it baffles me why there is so much misunderstanding about Islam.”

“An Australian couple had an opportunity to meet the President on a recent visit to Maldives. They were asked what was most striking. They said they had heard so much that was bad about Islam, but now they could see that Islam can be good for a country and it is a noble religion.”

“Once we achieve democracy, Maldives can be a good role model for the rest of the world, especially the Islamic states. We could be a small island Muslim state with a thriving tourism industry and respect for human rights.”

As for his own plans, Sobir insists he does not have political ambitions.

“I have no intention of standing for the Presidency, if that is what you mean.”

“There are a lot of qualified younger people in Maldives who should come forward and throw their hats into the ring. My boss, the Foreign Minister, Dr Shaheed, for example, is a very able young man who is very good in negotiations.”

“One day I will return to Maldives but I do not wish to do anything big. Certainly, I would not want to be a politician.”

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