:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

Barbarism of Maumoon... Mass arrests in the name of 'National Security'

by A.S.I. Moosa (Sappe')

Confirmed reports say that as many as 30 people have been arrested by gangs of National Security Service (NSS), under the deception of curfew. “They are coming in lorries and going into the houses, drag them in anyway they can, handcuff them and throwing them in the back of lorries."
This horrendous act began at around 3:00 am this morning, Friday 13^th, 2004 and still going on.

Those arrested were The Nedhunge' family members, the family of Maldivian Democratic Party Spokesman, Mr. Mohamed Latheef. Nedhunge' family members so far arrested include, Ahmed Falh, his wife Aishath Najeeb, and their two children Shaafin and Haadhin, Ibrahim Falah, Abdulla Najeeb. When they performed the arrests at Nedhunge', streets on both sides were cordoned off. Women and children were handcuffed from behind, dragged and thrown into Lorries, an act of utter barbarism. No confirmed reports on the whereabouts of Jennifer Latheef.

Ahmed Nazim (who gave an interview to the BBC on 17^th October 2003 criticizing Maumoon’s government) has also been arrested in this rampage. Mr. Nazim Sattar is the brother of Mohamed Nasheed's, member of the MDP. It is expected that all MDP members and supporters and anyone that the regime has marked as undesirable will be taken in. Mr. Nazim is also a member of the General Council of Maldivian Democratic Party, election results were announced only a couple of hours prior to this arrest.

NSS also confiscated MDP T-Shirts and it is clear that this barbarous attack by the Gayyoom regime is targeted against those working for their rights and freedom in Maldives.

This is a horrible and covert attempt to quash the peaceful demonstration, which was being planned for the 14th February 2004 (this Saturday) by the general public opposing this brutal government of Maumoon.

UPDATES :

They have now arrested Captain Abdullah Saeed, a Council member and one of MDP's original members.

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Maldivian Democratic Party
Press Statement
For Immediate Release
12th February, 2004

The deteriorating law and order situation in Male’

Since the riot 0f20th September the law and order situation in Male’, the capital of Maldives has steadily deteriorated. The present unprecedented acts of violence make the once peaceful streets of Male’ a dangerous place. Recent acts of violence include the burning of stalls in a carnival, cutting a person to death and the beating of a petty thief to death by an angry mob and daily incidents of violence.

One of the main reasons for this deterioration of law and order is the widely held perception among Maldivians that Mr. Gayyoom does not now have the moral authority to rule. His legitimacy was recently further strained when he publicly lied to the people of Mal dives about the role of the National Security Service (NSS) in the killing of prisoner Evan Naseem and the NSS shooting to death of unarmed prisoners. He also manipulated the findings of the Sattar Commission on custodial deaths in order to protect, it is widely believed, the senior personnel of NSS and Ministry of Defense and National Security who gave the orders to shoot. As Commander-in-Chief the ultimate responsibility, lies with Mr. Gayyoom himself.

The unfair treatment of more junior NSS personnel has created a crisis of confidence within the Institution. Many NSS feel that they are being singled out to protect their superior officers including Mr. Gayyoom himself. Reports within the NSS indicate that NSS personnel, including senior officers, are tending their resignations in the hundreds. NSS is not a cohesive, organized and predictable institution anymore. The institution is dysfunctional and cannot guarantee the maintenance of law and order.

Reports indicate that Mr. Gayyoom is, in his desperation, bringing in officers he recently removed, to start another campaign of brutal repression. The ex-officers would, reports indicate, work as a militia and will not have to operate within the legal framework of the NSS. The level of deterioration is dramatically exposed by the fact that he has to resort to daily curfews to maintain law and order in a peaceful homogenous nation of under 300,000 people.

The international community needs to be aware that Mr. Gayyoom can take desperate measures to cling on to power, even at the expense of the lives of the citizens of the Maldives.

Mohamed Latheef
MDP Spokesperson
Contact: secretariat@maldiviandemocraticparty.org