When plans come apart at the seams the heads of state of Maldives always resort to the oldest trick in politics: cover it all up with flamboyant accolades intended to make themselves look good.
When Maumoon was having a hard time convincing people of his value to the nation he sought to be recognized at par with world leaders like Lee Kwan Yew, Kofi Annan and Shimon Perez, via the GCMG. He achieved it too.
Now Anni wants to follow suit. In order to cover up the country's flailing leadership, regressing democracy, waning justice, increasing crime, ballooning inflation, declining economy, etc., the government 'applies' (note the application procedure on the site) for the Anna Lindh Prize. The difference between Maumoon and Anni is that the latter could only manage to be hailed in the ranks of journalists and activists, despite his presidency.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! (or "you can't get fooled again", if you prefer). It is about time Anni and his posse learned to be straight with his citizens.
The cracks are showing in the Maldivian government's haste to attain partisan control in the parliament. The self-proclaimed champions of liberty and justice have suddenly transformed into the very leaders Maldivians sought to shed not so long ago. 'How so?!' you ask?
The government is attempting the forceful neutralization of potential threats (it is pleasantly surprising to see this story published on Minivan News, of all gazettes) in the run-up to the elections. The relocation of Randhoo Island Chief is intended to derail any potential opposition rallies on the island, which could lead to the MDP candidate losing ground. This is (most certainly) also a tactic being used to strike fear into the hearts of all opponents who have got anything to lose (a family of five to leave behind, in Hassan Naseer Ibrahim's case).
What it really is is a throwback to yesteryear, when the government's needs were begotten at the cost of people's rights. And here the current administration laments endlessly about DRP's leaders. Gudho gudho!
Anni should take a lesson from President Obama's intended crackdown on tax evasion tactics in the form of overseas outsourcing, incubating, banking and various financial skullduggery.
The foreign currency deficit being experienced in Maldives can only be managed by studying what happens to the annual revenues from major industries, especially tourism, which makes upwards of USD 600 million annually. The government should start sparring with the capitalists in order to attain their operations details, as long as they are doing business in Maldives. If the flow of money within and/or through Maldives is not dissected thoroughly, then it cannot be regulated. If it is not regulated then financial institutions will become weaker day by day.
Anni is one serious player. He would do just about anything to come off as the good Samaritan.
Whereas defamation cases could be filed as civil actions since January 2007, the Prosecutor General amended regulations in April to allow only criminal courts to try these cases. Lo and behold, now Anni is asking the PG to reverse the decision he made only last month. Is this not a put-on intended to show Anni's benevolence?
Minivan News has published an interview with Dr. Shaheed which begs some attention. One of the statements is, 'We’re in danger of sliding back either into a Gayoom-style autocracy by Gayoom himself or perhaps by some other person.'
Apparently his fears hinge on the premise that 'if an old guard comes back, they come back with the message that democracy has failed.'
On 28 April, in an article published on Minivan News, Anni's press secretary was quoted as saying, "What I mean to say is that even if the president wanted to be a dictator, he can’t... The constitution prevents one man holding all the powers. Otherwise, independent institutions wouldn’t exist."
This shows how desperate the current government is of attaining absolute majority in parliament. The government's Foreign Minister is squashing its own claim of institutionalization of democracy. All this, just for the sake of ensuring that no one else gets a seat in parliament.
With regards to institutionalizing democracy, what little work Gayoom did is being undone by the current government. At the moment, the Defense Minister is the Home Minister, the parliament is still on a government payroll, the judiciary accedes to the president's whims (the changing of defamation suits to criminal cases from civil actions) and the constitution does not recognize any of the current MPs.
As for Shaheed's fear of what might happen if the 'old guard comes back', one of their staunchest supporters, the conservatives, are the old guard in UK. No one there is afraid of their resurgence, simply because the institution is stronger than the government. Also, the conservatives' representation in parliament ensures the Labour Party's continued honesty. Hence, without DRP representation (or that of another very strong opposition) in Majlis who will keep MDP in check?
In response to the question of his tenure with the former administration Shaheed says, "Yes accountability doesn’t exclude anybody. I mean it. But I’m not saying everyone should be dragged to the courts and into prison. I’m talking about the rule of law here. We have to know what happened. The danger here is democracy is still a very new idea in this country." Thereupon he goes off-topic by a mile. He does not manage to give a convincing reason for his continued support for Gayoom despite Maldivians (this blogger included) voicing out their concerns (even as far back as the Sangu days) about corruption and injustice.
Many public figures of the former government excuse themselves by claiming fear of repercussions. If this is Dr. Shaheed's claim too then he should consider the countless Maldivian families he sacrificed in order to feel safe.
In a comment made to a post on this blog a reader claims that:
"online definition dictionaries today most likely carry more weight than most books today on the market - definitely sites like Wiki where contributions come from the best of the best to the village idiot."
Does this mean that people are so addicted to web-based knowledge that they truly believe free online information is comprehensive? Are people really believing that Richard Stallman and his cohort are prevailing in the liberation of intellectual property? Have big corporations like Microsoft finally lost their grips on information-based revenue sources? Has Wikipedia become the unabridged encyclopedia for all time?
Stay tuned to find out...
One could draw some interesting parallelisms between Anni and India's Manmohan from this story. Manmohan's self-insulation from critique could be drawing admiration from Anni. Or could it be that Anni's impetuosity and unilateralism is born out of this admiration?
- Way before Anni was even thinking of the MDP primaries people knew the dangers of burgeoning fundamentalist factions of Islam in Maldives.
- By the time Anni was campaigning for the big job, Adhaalath had gained enough momentum to give the moderates a cause for concern.
- During the runoff campaign, Anni allied himself with Adhaalath for want of their party constituency.
- The alliance struck with Adhaalath manifested itself in the form of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, a non-existent entity at the time of Anni's inauguration.
- The creation of the MoIA enabled Adhaalath to infest its extremist agendas on the state platform in the form of statutory regulations.
- Anni's supporters refuse to accept that he is to blame for compromising his stance on religious issues (if there was one in the first place) by associating with Adhaalath.
- Talk in town is now suggesting that Anni's obedience to the Adhaalath agenda can be attributed to the respect he has for religion.
- Some minority looks to be exploiting this situation to put the blame on religion, which in turn is the same as putting the blame on God, which is akin to believing in a deity, thereby confusing themselves of their own beliefs.
- In the end, the majority accepts the theory that religion failed them (not people), hence burying all history of corruption and injustice under an involuntarily murmured 'alhamdulillah'.
- It will not be surprising if, in the confusion of this theological chutzpa, a new autocracy rears its ugly head and the old oligarchies nestle into another cozy 30-year ride.
- Who will facilitate this? Those who attribute everything to religion and God (atheists and theists alike). God is not directly interacting with humanity (even believers should understand this from their respective scriptures). People commit crimes of their own accord. Whoever is intentionally attributing crimes to religions or God are as naive as the believers and as diabolical as the criminals they help purify (intentionally or not).
Lately, some Maldivians are considering being religious uncool. Revere the wisdom of God's word and you get labeled a buffoon. Consider the Quran a divine revelation and you become a retarded barbarian.
Have Maldivians finally found the secret to the origins of life? More importantly, have they unveiled the posthumous journey awaiting them? Is there some magical travel agency which is selling tickets to eternal bliss after life?
It is surprising that Dr. Shaheed has the balls to counter Gayoom's accusations on behalf of Anni. Interesting that having abstained from voicing his concerns whilst serving in Gayoom's cabinet Shaheed is now portraying himself as a self-righteous monk.
Here is the extent of Shaheed's pro-Anni sentiments. Gayoom says Darfur is a western propaganda and Shaheed interprets that as championing dictatorships. And the next most current dictatorship that came to his mind was Pol Pot?!
It has taken less than 6 months for Maldivians to realize that electing Anni is the biggest mistake they ever made. Even the coalition is falling apart, what with the growing anger within the ranks of Adhaalath and the departure of former allies, Hassan Saeed and Gasim. Time is fast approaching for Shaheed himself to start chastising his current masters (eh fulhah mathin fummaali bakari...). Either that or Shaheed's own head might end up in the sacrificial guillotine.
Minivan News is at it again. It appears that whenever the current government makes a blunder, MN comes to its aid.
According to MN, the president's rebuttal is summed up thus:
'...the public has become overly accustomed to the same manner of speech after having the same ruler, Mamoon Abdul Gayoom, for the last thirty years.'
If that is the president's idea of an apology then he certainly has no respect for equality and fairness. His statements are no less than intentional fear-mongering devised to attain political leverage for his party. Debate all you want, but there is no contextual distortion in that interpretation.
If it is the pressures of the job getting to him, then he should offer a proper apology. This author suspects that any such apology will surface (if at all) only after the parliamentary elections.
The attorney general's go-ahead to enforce reconciliation via licensed preaching makes one wonder if she matriculated in some orthodox Muslim mosque. One would think that modern lawyers, such as Maldives' AG, would consider implied precedents prior to the endorsement of regulations.
With this latest regulation the government is implying that it is punishable under law to offer religious advice unless one has been granted a license. This could imply that children can now take legal actions against over-zealous parents. It should also imply that all Islam teachers should have attained necessary licensing.
Who issues these licenses? One would be inclined to answer 'God.' No, the God-given license to practice and preach religions has now been superseded by a government-issued one. Strange, considering that MoIA is run by supposedly the most devout Muslims in the country.
The world is also being taught a lesson in absolute governance here. Whereas all the leading democracies are trying to find the right premise under which to enforce proactive legal measures against religions Maldives has already established it. So what if it infringes on more basic rights such as freedom of expression? Tough luck.
Remember the entourages complete with tuxedoed officials proudly pointing their noses skywards as they flanked Maumoon during his presidential trips? Remember how every time Maumoon came back from a foreign country the tarmac would be lined with an endless cohort of ministers who always had a smile and a warm handshake? Dear reader, ask yourself why all these accomplices (who were so viscerally pro-Maumoon for the longest time) are now either dropping out of sight or pointing their fingers at Maumoon.
Consider the majority of leading capitalists of Maldives. Remember how everyone would accuse these capitalists of collaborating with the government in amassing their fortunes? Remember how a kith or kin of the president always seemed to be complicit in building these oligarchies? Is it not surprising that these oligarchs are now refusing to defend Maumoon? Even more so that they are accusing the ex-president of corruption (that which they themselves profited from)?
The same old oligarchs are using the spectacle of Maumoon's demise to cover up the corruption they helped seed. The fact is the current government is helping pave the way for the cleansing of the oligarchies by victimizing their old vassal: Maumoon.
Dear reader. Consider your country's future in the hands of a government resorting to quick-fixes and smoke-screen tactics. If you are concerned, demand investigations against all the accomplices of the former government. Give no quarter to anyone who helped the former government enjoy those entourages whilst you had to make do with the most measly of incomes (if you can call it an income at all).
Do not forget to buy a copy of Juke Kartel's Nowhere Left to Hide album (Toby Rand's first!).
Dear reader, you decide if these maps can be labeled 'our interactive atoll maps' by anyone (other than Adobe).
Interesting that this notion was put forth in a 2006 plan (not a 2009 one).
A question has been posed as to the ethical/legal implications of Maumoon's continued involvement in politics. The AG has gone so far as to say “No democratic country allows financial privileges granted to former presidents to be used for political purposes.”
That is a hilarious statement to make considering the self-indictment for utter stupidity. If the AG were keeping up with current affairs he would know about the extent of Bill Clinton's involvement in his wife's campaign. This is what was hinted in the last post, but one reader has failed to understand the obvious interrelation.
The question is, did Bill Clinton refuse to use tax-payer funds for office premises? The answer is no. President Clinton did indeed use state funds to rent an office space with an annual rent of USD 354,000. No one questioned his dedication towards the US when he signed up as 'campaigner-in-chief' for Senator Clinton's campaign.
If the AG prefers a lesser democracy akin to Maldives, then consider Malaysia's Dr. Mahathir's love-hate political stance with regards to Datuk Najib's ascension.
The AG's obsession over the former president brings into question his objectivity and his political motivations.
With regards to the AG's damning of the ex-president's involvement in politics, one recalls Bill Clinton's efforts in pushing his better half's political agenda during the recent US elections.