MDP Saleem passes away

Breaking News

Colombo - MDP regional President for South Huvadhoo Atoll, Saleem Ali passed away very suddenly this morning after suffering a heart attack. He has been in Lanka for the past couple of months settling his family there. Mr. Saleem is one of the most prominent activists of MDP and has been under pressure from the Dictator as he is constantly called to appear in court and was jailed a few times in the last couple of year. Mr. Saleem is also a close relative of DO Editor in Chief, Sappe'. Saleem will be greatly missed. On behalf of DO readers and members of MDP, we send our deepest condolences to Saleem's family and pray to Almighty Allah to grant him eternal bliss.

Maldives News @ Dhivehi Observer 2007

A threat to national security? It's your decision

Despite what everyone says to the contrary, Islamic fundamentalism was never an issue worth bandying about until President Gayyoom made it so. And by doing so little does he realize the kind of hornet's nest he has opened up.

In the Maldives, the country is faced with burgeoning social problems. On one side of the spectrum are the so-called parteys comprising of the majority of the nation's youth and on the other side, the bearded and the veiled generally referred to as the Wahhabi's who are being collectively being branded as extremists.

The definition of an extremist, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: a person who holds extreme views, especially in politics or religion.

Insofar as I am concerned, coming from a tolerant society, extremists too can have their niche in the social order so long as they do not become a threat to the society. They can hold any kind of extreme views, be it in politics or religion – a difference of opinion is not a problem – so long as they do not pose a threat to the rest of us.

Propagating violence and carrying out acts of violence are definitely a threat to any society. Yet today, in this community of ours, this rare breed of humanity known as Maldivians, violence is fast becoming an everyday occurrence.

Coming from a nation where there is more sea than land and according to the tourist brochures where even the sharks are friendly we have to be ashamed of ourselves today to acknowledge that violence has become a fact of everyday life.

Gang warfare conducted with swords, iron bars and flick knives, riot police high on speed clashing with protestors on the streets, the introduction of electric batons and pepper gas as a means of controlling peace loving citizens demanding for their rights has become the norm not only in the capital Male' but the disease has spread to the provinces as well. I wonder if all this has had any effects on the sharks roaming the Maldivian seas purported to be friendly at least up until now.

The military or the Maldivian National Defense Force (the abbreviated letters MNDF stands for Maumoon, Nasreena, Dunya and Farish according to analysts) can be seen in combat gear patrolling the streets of Male' carrying pistols since certain extremist elements blew a home made bomb of the kindergarten variety near the Sultan Park gate, adjacent to the MNDF headquarters. What was especially frightening was that the targets were European tourists, the major contributor to the nation's economy.

What was even more frightening was that President Gayyoom saw fit to launch an attack against a generally peace abiding community on Hemandhoo Island who up until now has shown no inclination towards violence. Sure – they held certain extreme religious views but they have mostly kept to themselves and weren't a threat to anyone until Gayyoom attacked them blindly. He has also launched a policy of unveiling veiled women – all in the name of security measures against terrorism.

And according to the latest news reports members of the Hemandhoo community have called upon the help of Al-Qaeda. Should Al-Qaeda decide to comply with the request of their Muslim brethren, and by doing so target European tourists it would destroy years of hard work by the likes of Champa Afeef, the Universal Group and of course Qasim Ibrahim not to mention a score of others with vested interests in the tourism industry.

I very much doubt we require the expertise of Condolizza Rice or General Norman Schwarzkopf to tell us where the problem lies or the direction the country is headed. A senile old man by the name of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom and his reluctance to let a smarter younger generation take over the nation's helm is the root cause of the problems facing the nation and unless we consider it our collective responsibility to ease or tease him out of office, we could be facing a national disaster any day.

State terrorism has given birth to terrorism of the kindergarten variety. And we must bear in mind that from little acorns do mighty oaks grow.

The Inhuman Rights Commission of the Maldives

Words fail me. If I were ever to have a burst blood vessel it should by all rights have occurred  this day. The 26th day of November would forever be imprinted on my memory for various reasons. Let's see if I am capable of communicating my story with its myriad twists and turns.

I woke up early in the morning, had a shower and shave and then donned my combat gear: camouflage pants, steel toed boots and a Polo t-shirt. I made sure I parked my AK-47 at home. I was going to the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services armed with bona fide documents that established my identity as a criminal under life sentence.

The morning hours rushed by in a blur. There were e-mails that needed dispatching and meetings to be gone through. By the time I made it to the Penitentiary Department in the company of my brother Adnan it was half past twelve.

"Could you please get these forms stamped," I requested the girl behind the counter and handed over the High Court appeal forms.

"Where's the person?" she asked. She was referring to the person referred to in the documents and by all rights should be under the custody of the Penitentiary Department.

"Right here," I said tapping my chest with all the mock macho bravado I could muster.

"A moment please."

The moment turned into ten minutes. She was obviously consulting with her superiors.

"We cannot stamp these forms," she said, handing me back the forms. "We have not been informed that you are under sentence."

I handed over the court documents that established my credentials as someone under life sentence.

She took a look at it, handed the documents back to me without batting an eyelid.

"We have not been informed you are under sentence."

I realized the futility of arguing with her. I understood she was simply repeating what she was told to relay.

It was the response I had expected so I wasn't stymied. I walked out onto the street and in the company of Mohamed - a friend who had stopped by to pick me up - went straight to the office of the MDP Secretariat.

When I explained my predicament, Juha, who worked at the Secretariat, offered to accompany me to the criminal court. On the way, I suggested we stopped over at the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives to explain my dilemma. There, after introducing Juha and Mohamed to the Director, Nashat, explained my predicament stressing the need for urgency as the time limit for appealing was set to expire on December 2, 2007, according to my lawyer Shair.

"I will get onto this immediately. I'll call the criminal court and try and sort this out. I will call you before two thirty." Two thirty was the time government offices closed.

We walked out onto the street. Juha's suggestion was to leave the matter alone to give Nashat a chance to sort it out. However, having dealt with Nashat on several occasions I knew him and the way the Commission dealt with the requests for upholding individual rights. In my book he was a lackey of the Maldivian government and nothing more.

Mohamed and myself headed straight to the Justice Building. Juha headed back to the Secretariat.

Luck had not entirely deserted me. I happened to bump into the Justice Minister Mueez as he was about to enter the building.

We shook hands and I explained my predicament and stressed the need for urgency. He took me straight into his office - I had to admit the gentleman had class by glancing around his private domain - and immediately phoned Judge Areef and asked him to look into the problem, stressing the need for urgency.

"I do not want him to miss his right to appeal," the Minister stressed putting the phone down. Inside myself, I had to admit that here was someone who genuinely cared about people. He could have brushed me aside the same way Mr. Abdulla Kamaluddeen had done last Sunday evening after giving me an appointment to meet him.

"This meeting should never have taken place. I'm sorry but I have to terminate it," said the Home Minister Kamaluddeen when I explained the difficulties I faced with the Penitentiary Department. I had had the same problem with the Penitentiary Department earlier and the Penitentiary Department was under the jurisdiction of the Home Minister.

He was a Cabinet Minister and I, a convicted felon, who was presumably in hiding. After all I was sentenced in absentia.

I was ushered into Judge Areef's chambers at approximately one thirty p.m. We chattered for about ten minutes and then I was ushered outside while he checked the records personally to ensure whether the Penitentiary Department was informed of my status as a criminal under sentence.

It was around one forty five I received Nashat's call from the Human Rights Commission.

"The fact that you were sentenced in absentia means that you're in hiding and hence not entitled to any legal rights. You do not have the right to appeal either," said Nashat.

"My lawyer Shair says otherwise."

"I have spoken to two different lawyers and they are both of the same opinion."

It was precisely at that moment, the words inadvertently came to my mind. I was not dealing with the Human Rights Commission. I was dealing with the Inhuman Rights Commission of the Maldives.

"Okay - what do you suggest I do?"

"Write a letter to the Penitentiary Department and explain to them that you're under sentence and wish to be arrested," advised Director Nashat.

"Do you think I'm crazy? I do not wish to be arrested. I go there with bona fide documents bearing the letterhead of the criminal court that states I was sentenced in absentia. My requirement is to get the documents stamped in order to file my appeal at the High Court. The Penitentiary Department will decide whether they wish to arrest me or not," saying so I cut the connection.

A few minutes later I was ushered back into Judge Areef's chambers. He convinced me that he had done his duty as per regulations.

The chit reference numbers are 861, 862 / 2007 / 145 - A and it was received by one Miss Khadheeja from the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services on September 10, 2007.

It was close to two-thirty when I walked out of the Justice Building. I had had enough excitement to last me the day.

I know the government will try their best to block my appeal because the documents I have in hand would easily prove perjury by members of the police and by extension an attempt to frame me. Nevertheless, I plan on making an appearance at the Penitentiary Department tomorrow.

The document being withheld by the police and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives will prove I was arrested from two different locations at the same time. Needless to say, all this defies logic.