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Opinions &
Comments
Education fund
or special favour fund?
Recently we have been hearing about the Educational Fund setup
by the government to provide further education opportunities
to us Maldivians. According to Ministry of Education, four
thousand application forms have been taken for just 100
places. This includes 75 scholarships and 25 loan
opportunities and the deadline for submitting application
forms was 12th October 2004. This is a dream, which has come
true for us Maldivians who are desperate to gain further
studies. read more
 The
real problem we face today in
Maldives
Our biggest challenge is the
distribution of the wealth of Maldives. We know this country
has the highest GDP in the South Asia region, but the majority
of Maldivians live below poverty line. People in the islands
do not have access to economic opportunity; they live in
extreme conditions with no proper housing nor staple foods
available for them. People are isolated and naive, education
is limited, and the population is suffering from bigotry and
depression. Where does the money go, and why?
read more
 Newspapers
reports that US strongly support Gayyoom's proposed reforms:
Powel
Does
Powel know that the 12-13 August protest that was otherwise
peaceful was turned violent by a rent-a-mob hired and sent by
Gayyoom's younger brother Yameen who is also a cabinet
minister of his as the trade minister? Des he know and
appreciate that Gayyoom's elections are fair with his elder
brother Hameed, his all-time atolls minister (nick named
election minister for his role in elections) using his
influence that he has on the atolls and island chiefs as their
boss? The residents of their constituencies are mainly
politically unaware and can be influenced to be acting like a
rubber stamp in voting the way their chiefs want them to.
read more
The greatest threat to
Islam is Maumoon's Bastardized form of Islam
An innocent taxi driver walking along Maaveyo Magu was picked
up by the NSS on the 13th Aug. He was handcuffed &
blindfolded. Then some one started beating him. He called out
"LAA ILAAHA ILLAHLAAH" (there is no god but Allah) when he was
hit on the kidneys. To which his torturer replied "KALEYGE
KALAANGE EH MIYADAKU KALEY SALAAMAY KURAAKAH NAANAANEY" (your
god is not going to save you today).
read more
Gayyoom: the
congenital liar, going around the bush and repeating the same
old lies and tricks
Wake up the international
community if you really would help the poor Maldivians, before
all reform minded are being systematically eliminated by
tyrant Gayyoom. We will never ask you to help if we have any
hiding places in the Maldives, at least like Sri Lanka. We
will do our job to get rid of the despot. Here today, the idea
of the crooked Gayyoom is to give life sentence to those
entire reformists under custody of brutal NSS. So that his way
is clear for the nest 25 years to be on "Throne".
read more
Gayyoom Gone
Gory & Garish
There are no Maldivians,
regardless of age, gender, occupation and location including
his own family and cronies who can't recognize Gayyoom for
what he his. A pathetic liar and a brutal dictator! The public
is well aware of the reason why Gayyoom's good-for-nothing
family and his ravening cronies put-up with such an
undesirable and horrific character: to embezzle the wealth of
a nation and deprive the majority of her people from what is
rightfully theirs. Well done Gayyoom! You and your gang have
achieved your objective. However, be assured, Gayyoom and his
elite are our marked public enemy number one. We shall not
rest until we peacefully free ourselves from this ever more
gloomy dark cloud of Gayyoomiyaa that has been engulfing us
for over 26 years. My dear people, the day we can celebrate
humanity and ?good riddance to bad rubbish? is not just too
far away. read more
Gayyoom: A man for all hypocrisies
We've seen Gayyoom the student, the Arab,
the teacher, the lover, the father, the husband, the minister,
the rebel, the schemer, the protestor, the prisoner, the
exile, the "President", the brother, the legislator, the
torturer, the dictator, the judge, the cleric, the
grandfather, the preacher, the poet, the stargazer, the
writer, the yachtsman, the podgy bespectacled little man, the
despot, the uniformed commander, the swordsman.
read more
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION?
In other words, lights were
measured. Tapes were rolling. Background in action. And when
he says ?ACTION?, the hero enters the set, cameras close up
to the scene where the action is going to take place. And
viola, just according to the masterful direction of Steven
MaumoonBerge, the hero carries out his part of the script. And
he does it so real like that the by-standers take this for a
real world scene and actually were frightened for a while..
Maumoon then says , "CUT" and hangs the phone.
read more
Even if the
demonstrators tried to topple Gayyoom's government, it does
not justify Gayyoom to arrest and beat the protestors
Gayyoom and his cronies think that just by saying "the
protestors tried to topple the government" is an excuse good
enough to justify all the inhumane actions that they have
taken against the protesters. How could they even come-up with
such a nonsensical explanation? Where have they been living
all these days? Do they even watch the news, ever? They are
blabbering about all this, thinking as if there has never been
a protest to topple a government: as if this is the first time
such a thing has happened anywhere in the world.
read more
British
concerns behind Maldives agony
The Maldives is now "free" in that
they don't pay tribute and are not protected by Her Majesty's
government. But the few trinkets paid then in tribute are now
replaced by millions of dollars paid to Cable & Wireless who
had since cornered the communications market in Maldives. The
state-cum-British-company run monopoly of the national
telecoms company Dhiraagu is a joint venture between Cable &
Wireless and the Maldives government. Internet costs US$6 per
hour and a call to the nearest neighbour costs as much as US$2
a minute. Exorbitant rates, unregulated and rampant by reason
of that company being a monopoly are helping them clean up the
Maldives population on an enormously larger scale than the
times of British "protection".
read more
Of Gilded
Cages and Island Prisons
Tourists who arrive in the Maldives
are actually hoodwinked into thinking that they are indeed
beginning a luxury holiday. Little do they know that in actual
fact they are being incarcerated in the island of their
choice, like birds in gilded cages.
read more
Think outside the box
To admit ones
fault is not a crime, but not to is. To forgive is not a
crime, but not to is. There is still time for everyone, to
bring about changes for the better, changes that would end the
sufferings of all Maldivians. Addiction does not only go with
the abuse of drugs, it goes with the abuse of anything; be it
alcohol, adultery or power. The good news for those addicted
is that there are cures for all of these addictions. Step one
is to admit, and determine not to abuse it anymore. Rivalry
among brothers and sisters is only nibbling on your own flesh
and serving it on a platter to your family; everyone gets
hurt. read more
Pepsi or Coke? Or would
you rather prefer Maumoon or Maumoon?: Media, the big fish.
Let me illustrate my point with a much
more simplified example. How many of us have heard of "Kasoti"
and what it is (a Hindi melodrama), and yet never seen a
single episode. Every single Maldivian; whose been living on
this planet for the last couple of years, know about this
program, be it young or old. Now out of the fans of these
melodramas 80% will believe that their lives are just what
these melodramas are about. Now imagine if these melodramas
had been around for twenty six years what it would bring to
our society. Ok replace the melodramas with Mr. President's
media manipulation campaign, well what do you know 'Alakazam'
and the people think we've got a hero.
read more
The cries of a
generation
Today I stand with my head hung, no longer do I have the pride
to look at my brothers and sisters, for I am shamed by what my
elders are doing. Unity and unconditional love seems to have
ceased in a time when we all need to be together in the fight
for our rights as citizens. We the young and the generations
to come are being made to suffer the consequences in a war
that is being waged to gain power, money and lust. I just want
to ask these hordes one thing, do you in the slightest care
about what is going to happen to the generations to come; your
children, your own blood? read
more
Show
of hands or a secret ballot?
The procedural
arrangements for electing a President to the Citizens’ Special
Majlis have come under intense scrutiny over the past several
days. To distinguish the issue more specifically:
Under present constitutional
arrangements, should the election be carried out by a) a show
of hands, or b) secret ballot. There is no question that the
matter is one of constitutional interpretation, hence, as
such, let me make a few salient prefatory remarks.
read more
HULHUMALE' - A useless project
Is it necessary for us
to create a new island? We have more than 900 uninhabited
islands. There is plenty of land in Villingili which is not
used at all. Let me ask you a question, is it really so
important for us to spend millions and millions of Rufiyaa on
Hulhumale' project?
read more
Some are
calling for multi-party democracy, others want rights, justice
and accountability, but what are the pro-reform meetings
really saying?
Some things just don’t go together:
Rukkuri
and
Rihaakuru;
Adolf Hitler and compassion; and Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom and
democracy.
read more
Jihad is not only limited
to the use of sword but also word. You've only got
to remove the "s" from sword
In reference to the recent
articles on constitutional matters and how Maumoon does not
respect the law, I wish to state that it is not only the
constitution that is law or considered law in the Maldives.
Something far more powerful and influential is the, "Raeeesul
Jumhooriyya ge Ofeehuge Dhennevun (Announcements of the
Presidents’ Office)" All the Government run offices are bound
by this "Dhennevun (announcement)". Simply the President
announces any of his views, requests or demands or wishes,
they become law.
read more
Summer-Ray must
go
Efforts by the Dhivehi Observer and other campaigns by exiles
certainly seem to have caught the attention of the
international media and, put the heat on foreign governments
to re-evaluate their relations with Gayyoom's government. But
within the Maldives and, in particular, the rural islands,
little has changed. read
more
The need for a
workable plan for an emergency governance in the immediate
post GDP period
The NSS I am sure would have plans to maintain security within
the capital, and to keep the country safe from foreign
aggression during such volatile and vulnerable times. What I
am also sure is that some of the officers at NSS also have
plans to step in to fill that vacuum. This is not what the
people want, NSS should know this.
read more
Need for a
reconciliation plan
GDP (Gayyoom's
Dictatorial Party) government has employed the majority of
educated and capable Maldivians into its work force. Many of
these people are in powerful positions of decision making.
Some of them are even included in the political decision
making on matters of education, economy, health, tourism etc.
It is clear that not all of them are in the inner circle of
the GDP. However because of their connections within the
government they are used by the GDP to make party political
decisions. read more
Why we
need party system in Maldives
My opinion has changed over the years. I was once a very
strong supporter and advocate of the "No Political Party"
movement. I have had a complete and full reversal in opinion
since then and now whole-heartedly and vigorously campaign
for a multi party approach.
read more
A Look at the problems at IGMH
- always room for change
Hospital Management and
Administration is a field in itself and we need people
trained for that. I am surprised at times how things are
mismanaged....it is as if they say that this is the best
possible anywhere.
read more
Maldives in need
of a press law
Presently, there is no law regarding the press in Maldives.
There is only the registration procedures for newspapers and
magazines. Currently, no laws exist regarding press ethics and
responsibilities of journalists, protection of state secrets,
and the rights of the public for access to information. Due to
this, journalists are unable to receive vital information,
regardless of the relevance of certain issues to the public.
Not only do certain officials refrain from speaking to
journalists, but they also do not provide even written answers
to questions sent by journalists.
read more
Is justice only reserved for the
rich?
As we enter a
new era of how the criminal justice system of the Maldives is
going to be operated, we are left with many lingering
questions. How does the use of a lawyer affect the common
everyday person in a country where 60% of the population lives
under the poverty line? Does this mean that justice is only
reserved for the wealthy few who can afford lawyers to
represent them? read more
"Press Freedom in Maldives has been
traditionally very strictly controlled , so letting loose of
such controls suddenly will not be very good. However, public
opinion can best be amassed by giving press freedom” Dr.
Saeed, Attorney General
The media as
of now is a Government poodle and has no conscious of it self.
It need not be. The proposals to allow media as the
springboard for public opinion and debate are intrinsically
not what the public is demanding. We need free media to assist
us in the process of discourse and rational debate. The
Government needs to regulate the media so that it is free from
bias arising from economic interests or vested interests of
owners of the enterprise.
read more
Questions, questions and more
questions that people want answers to
If I may can I say a few words
to Gayyoom? You were the apparent "savior" the last time
around. You got your chance, and
plenty of time too. I might get many people to roll theirs
eyes at this but thank you for what you have done, and
you have done
some good things, but the bad far out weighs the good.
You are an intelligent man, at least I think you were, and I
am sure that you do realize that it
is now time for you to go.
read more
The
responsibility of Parliament members
Some of the bills
submitted to the parliament are quite technical. For example,
the bill submitted on April 25 highlights issues regarding
monetary security. But members did not even spend five minutes
in discussing this bill -- it was immediately decided that
this bill be sent to a committee. There are economists and
business professionals in the Maldives. But the question is,
how many members took the initiative to discuss this bill with
such an expert?
read
more
Love, Grief
and Taking Responsibility - A mothers
lament
My
deepest sorrows lie in the state of my country. Beauty has
been hiding a great monster. As clear as it is that every
society has monsters, it is more than disappointing that in my
own country where there are so few people there is such a
great monster. This monster is not an individual but a system
that has festered for too long. For our country to call itself
a democracy is misleading since even today it is being run as
a fundamentalism blighted nation.
read more
Gayyoom,
Hitler and Mussolini
Gayyoom's tactics are very similar to that of Adolf Hitler and
Mussolini. If there is any difference between them, perhaps
it might be that those two European chaps did not lead any of
the Friday prayers in one of the Mosques of their respective
country. read
more
Gayyoom's Lies
President Maumoon
Abdul Gayyoom of Maldives and his supporters accuse Maldivian
Democratic Party (MDP) and all pro-reform Maldivians of
chasing a dream of wealth and riches and life in the
Presidential palace, even though he has shown that he cannot
bear to live his life in an ordinary house or even a palace (Muleeaage)
by building a super palace fit for a millionaire with all the
worldly comforts and riches while 40% of our population is
living below poverty. read
more
The story of State Electric Company (STELCO),
Maldives
For a second, think of what
will happen if we were able to save at least half of that
money and start our own business. Imagine the economic growth
it will result, not to mention increasing income for your
family to live a decent life. Don’t shake your head. This is
the facts of our life. This is development for you, with love
from current regime. read more
Isthafa Ibrahim
Manik resigns?
Following is an email sent to me regarding Mr. Isthafa Ibrahim
Manik who resigned from his post as Director General of
Defence Ministry on 3rd April 2004. Isthafa Ibrahim Manik is
known to many Maldivians as being a ruthless person who took
maximum advantage of his position under Gayyoom's tyranny.
read more
Proud of our
drug dealers - Has Maumoon gone completely potty?
"Well done my boys? You must be
as qualified as me now? fancy a cabinet post?" Come on
Gayyoom, really, this is just too much!
read more
Someone (maumoon@hotmail.com) replies to my
questions
I rest my case themaldivian.org
speaks for itself.
A Message to themaldivian.org
(New)
"Come on
guys.. corruption, nepotism and complete abuse of human
rights... time is up.. you tell him that.."
Read their reply here
Will
Kuoni pullout of Maldives?
Unless the government of the
Maldives brings an immediate end to human rights abuses,
release all prisoners of conscience, start respecting the rule
of law, freedom of expression, freedom of association, a
campaigns calling to stay away from Maldives can be launched.
This will have a significant impact of the economy of the
Maldives, something that this government cannot withstand.
President Gayyoom has a thing or two to think about rather
than spend his evenings enjoying the Shaam E' Rangeen show at
Majeedhiyaa Carnival in Male'.
read more
Mr. Gayyoom unleashes his
militia upon the people
Mr.
Shafeeu garbing himself as a Home Minister went up on TV
Maldives and announced the ludicrous words to the effect that
exercising the constitutional rights of the people as being
illegal. On the 14th February 2004 Mr. Sahfeeu
stated that being a member of the MDP and engaging in party
activity is unlawful. By this act and many other that he has
committed as the regimes Home Minister Mr. Shafeeu has brought
himself down to criminal levels. It is understood that a
variety of NGO’s are exploring the possibilities of bringing
Mr. Shafeeu to a court of justice.
read
more
 Luthfy
advises Gayyoom to rid the government of nepotism and
apologise to the people of Maldives and then resign
Luthfy does not
want Gayyoom to resign immediately. He wants to ensure that
the corrupt elements in this government is ejected, a civil
society is installed before Gayyoom apologises to the people
of Maldives and then resign from office. This is the correct
sequence which will ensure that once and for all, our country
will rid herself from the claws of tyranny, ignorance and
fear, as most political analysts would agree.
read more
Amnesty
International letters to Maumoon remain unanswered?
" The following Amnesty
International letters addressed to President Maumoon Abdul
Gayyoom and copied to the Maldives High Commissioner in London
have remained unanswered: letter date 21 January 2003
regarding the reported death of a young man as a result of
torture while in the custody of the NSS; letter dated 6
November 2002 on concerns about the charges, trial and
conviction of Naushad Waheed;"
read
more
Letter
from a correspondent
Gayyoom and Drug
Dealers
Dear Editor, I travelled with Gayyoom's entourage to Egypt
several times during the early 80 and 90s and among the
trivial topics he took up with Egyptian authority, was to
obtain release of Maldivian drug dealers in Egyptian jails.
read more
Paris
Principles made sacrificial lamb
After MDP press releases and
newsletters have made the human rights document a household
word among the Maldivian intelligentsia, the Paris Principles
must have been Gayyoom's public enemy number one, giving him
nightmares in his sleep and haunting his waking hours. He
must have really taken time to think and plan a good
strategy. As it turned out, this public circus organized in
the form of a ‘Workshop on Human Rights and the Paris
Principles’, held with the ostensible objective of informing
and educating officials and senior functionaries in the
private sector on human rights issues and principles, was the
perfect setting he carefully chose for smothering all hopes of
human rights in the near future.
By Freemaldives
read more
Salvaged the regime; claims the saviour
The regime in Maldives could not meet the
resistance and the foreign pressure created by the human
rights and pro-democracy forces any longer. The main force
raising the issue of recent incidents of brutality is
Maldivian Democratic Party, working in exile. They are the
main voice fighting for the constitutional rights of freedom
of expression and association in the Maldives.
read more
Freedom
is in the air (by Freemaldives)
After sweeping Evan Naseem under Sattar
Commission’s carpet, washing one’s own small hands with all
the oceans of the world and dabbing it with all the perfumes
of Arabia, the smell is still there; but it’s not Evan’s
corpse rotting. It’s the sweet fragrance of freedom. Freedom
is in the air..
read
more
Rhetoric to
buy time: Another G-Constitution
Gayyoom can get the special Majlis packed
with his loyalists and supporters with heavy ballot rigging
and intimidations. The recent threats by the commissioner of
elections saying that he believes that certain elements are
acting contrary to the elections regulations, and therefore
will act against them, is a more clear indication of the make
up of the new Special Majlis.
read more
Drug Abuse in Maldives
Some of the messages on this guestbook have
suggested that we kill all drug users - of course we may be
able to get rid of some individuals, but drug abuse would
still persist as a social problem. There would be waves of new
drug addicts to fill the places of those we 'kill', and as
such, 'killing' drug users would be most absurd and futile, if
we are to deal with the issue rather than target specific
individuals.
read more
Gayyoom sheds his sheep's
clothing
The wolf has now bared its fangs.
As a last resort, Maumoon has been forced to take open help
from the criminal nexus that he had carefully kept hidden from
the Maldivian public for over a quarter of a century. Yes,
Maumoon has finally revealed the real power behind his
criminal rule – Koli Ali Manik. Who
is he, many young Maldivians will ask?
read more
Ilthimaas letter
translated
by www.maldivescultures.com
"My loyalty lies with the people of Maldives and to the
nation, not to Maumoon"
Sappe' 10/12/2003
An
Islamic Constitution for Maldives?
from
newmaldives group posted by
freemaldives2003@yahoo.com
The
death of Eevan could have been prevented!
by a Maldivian
Sea of
Change
by
Ahmed Naseer -
Fithuroanu Villa, Male'
Inshaa Allah we will hand
power back to people
by an NSS officer
"We
appeal to you ... help my father Mohamad Zaki and the others."
Miss. A. Mazeena Zaki
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