The current arbiter must be removed :: Maldives News :: Dhivehi Observer

Nashid Column

The current arbiter must be removed

by Dr. Ibrahim Nashid, G. Keneree Ge, Male', 09 October 2005

Many in the Maldives would agree that the single most important instrument used by President Gayoom's security forces to instil fear in the population, and thereby suppress any kind of opposition, is the extensive use of arbitrary detention. Arbitrary detention contravenes every international agreement President Gayoom's government has signed.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention defines any arrest that violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in particular, the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of opinion and expression, and the right of peaceful assembly and association as arbitrary detention. These are fundamental rights of every human being. These rights should be inalienable. The same rights, apart from the right to choose a religion, are also given to each and every Maldivian by the Constitution of the Maldives. But in the constitution Gayoom has added an if-clause that allows him to take these rights away whenever it pleases him.

By the Working Group's definition it would not be wrong to say that a big majority of those detained by Gayoom's security forces are detained arbitrarily and therefore against the UN Human Rights Declaration. We, Maldivians, all know people who have been detained for expressing their thoughts and those who have been detained for exercising their right to peaceful assembly.

The other more disturbing aspect is when the police officer or security agent can simply arrest somebody for an unspecified offence whenever he or she pleases and keep the person in detention for a number of days and then release the detainee without any charge. This is the situation in the Maldives and of course the time in detention is not very pleasant. More often than not the detainees are beaten and even tortured during investigations. Female detainees as a rule have to suffer sexual abuse. High profile political detainees may escape the physical torture, but they have to endure long periods in solitary confinement and quite often are held incommunicado. The average citizen accused of theft or disturbing public order is not even allowed a lawyer to represent themselves during the investigations. Abuse is hurled at them if they dare to remind the detaining officer of their right to legal representation. In a high number of cases the detainees are simply released without even an apology. Instead they are reminded in no uncertain terms that they can be taken in again if the officer wishes.

The arbitrariness of the legal system in the Maldives does not end with arbitrary detention. Those who are sentenced or charged often find themselves pardoned by the President. It may be a pleasant surprise to find oneself suddenly 'free' halfway through a jail sentence or to find the charges against oneself dropped before the first court hearing. This being the case, appealing to the President carries more importance than trying to prove oneself innocent. This is not the system we need. A modern legal system needs laws and regulations that each citizen can rely on. We need a system where mechanisms are in place to handle miscarriages of justices. We need a system that does not depend on the whims and fancies of those in power, especially those of an aging dictator.

It is quite clear to everyone who wants freedom and democracy in the Maldives that it would not be possible to have a just legal system in place while Gayoom is in power. To remove Gayoom from power we have to work both from within and outside the Maldives. We have to show to the outside world how he is treating his own citizens. The international public should be informed every time he goes back on his promises. International organisations may be quite willing to take actions against Gayoom's government for the manner in which he is treating the citizens of the Maldives. But for this to be more effective they have to be provided with more information. Cases of torture and abuse in detention have to be documented and presented to these organisations to prove to them that despite Gayoom's claim to the contrary, detainees are systematically abused by his security forces.

In this respect, I would like to offer to write these reports and to submit them to various international organisations. However for this to be successful I will need data. I will need descriptions of abuse, the reason for abuse, names of the people who carried it out and when and where it happened, in fact as much information as possible. The information can be either in Dhivehi or English. I am fully aware that Gayoom's government will try and hack into my email and will also send a lot of bogus information too. To avoid including such cases and to be credible I have to inform you my readers that the information must be in a manner that I can verify its authenticity.

Please send information and comments to ibrahimnash@gmail.com And, click here to see previous articles by Nashid