If you want to sue Shafeeg, you’ll have to sue me,” President tells Gayoom

President Nasheed has promised that the Maldives Police Service will investigate claims made by local historian Ahmed Shafeeg in his book, that 111 Maldivian citizens were held in custody and tortured by the former administration.
The claims led former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to declare that he would file a court case against Shafeeg for politically-motivated slander.
Spokesman for the former president, Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, did not respond to Minivan News at time of press. However the former president’s lawyer, Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim, was cited in newspaper Miadhu as saying that lawsuits would be filed “against anyone who writes anything untrue and unfounded against Gayoom”, and that all such cases so far had been won.
During a ceremony at the Nasandhura Palace Hotel this morning to launch Shafeeg’s book, titled “A Day in the Life of Ahmed Shafeeg”, Nasheed observed that the former President was not solely to blame for human rights violations.
“The [human rights] violations were not committed by Gayoom alone. A whole system committed them. The whole culture of the Maldives committed them,” he said.
Shafeeg, now 82, was held in solitary confinement for 83 days in 1995 together with three other writers, including Hassan Ahmed Maniku, Ali Moosa Didi and Mohamed Latheef.
Shafeeg contends that 50 of his diaries containing evidence relating to the deaths of the 111 Maldivians were confiscated during a raid by 15 armed men. He was ultimately released by Gayoom with without charge, and was told by the investigating officer to write a letter of appreciation to the then-President for the pardon.
The lawyer representing Shafeeg, Abdulla Haseen, said the family intended now intended to press five charges against the former president after the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) rejected the case, claiming it was outside the commission’s mandate.
The President added that he knew the events chronicled by Shafeeg very well.
“Back then, from 1989 and 1990 onward, I spent a very long time – three years in total – in jail. Of that I spent 18 months in solitary confinement, and nine of those months in the tin cell,” he said.
All Maldivian rulers had employed fear to govern, Nasheed said, and he had always believed that Gayoom had him arrested and tortured to serve as a cautionary tale as the former president and his senior officials were already aware of the intent of “a whole generation” to topple his government since the early 80s.
“So the decision to put me through every imaginable torture in the world from the very beginning as an example to all those people was made, in my view, not because of any animosity President Maumoon had towards me personally,” Nasheed said.
He added that Gayoom alone could not be blamed for all the human rights abuses that occurred under his watch.
“It was not done by him alone. It was a whole system that did it. It was Dhivehi tradition that did it. It was Dhivehi culture that did it,” he said.
The President said said he thought that Gayoom’s decision to take legal action against the 82 year-old historian, who has lasting physical and mental damage from his ordeal, “is going beyond the limits.”
“I ask President Maumoon very sincerely and respectfully, don’t do this,” Nasheed said. “Go to Shafeeg. Go and ask for his forgiveness. This is not the time to come out and say ‘I’m going to sue Shafeeg.’ If you want to sue Shafeeg now, you will have to sue me. That is because I will repeat what Shafeeg is saying fourfold.”
Nasheed urged the former President to seek forgiveness, as he believed Gayoom had the “foresight and learning” as well as “capability and talent”, and had made “many contributions to the country.”
Together with allegations of corruption in the former administration, such as those aired by former Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem prior to his dismissal by the opposition-controlled parliament, allegations of torture remain one of the most politically divisive topics in the Maldives.
Opinions – very strongly held – oscillate between a desire for justice and a desire to move on, a desire for revenge and a desire for reconciliation.
Given the current state of the Maldives judiciary, sensitivity of the issue and extreme political polarisation of the country, it is likely that any verdict with even a remote chance of being accepted by both sides would need to come from an international court. Shafeeg’s family have indicated that they are prepared for this course of action should legal proceedings falter in the Maldives.

marriages on 10-10-10 marks wedded bliss to many

Sunday was a special day for the usually quiet Family Court. Many people were waiting at the unusually packed waiting room for their wedded bliss to begin.

“Marriage was planned a long time back. Though it was planned for the beginning of this year, we delayed it to make it more special.” Nashraf Abdullah who was waiting to be married said.

Most people marry today to make their marriage “special.”

“I plan on marrying once. What we do, we must do it perfectly, isn’t it? There would not be a day as awesome as this,” a youth leaving the court after the marriage said.

“I want to remember this day.”

The marriages were performed “specially” on this special day at the Family Court, as 24 out of 50 planned to be carried out in the court was done in groups.

“Our court has the capacity to perform 10 marriages at once. So we exercised that. Including the witnesses and photographers the court room has the capacity to hold 70 people,” Marriage Registrar at the court Ahmed Abdulla said.

“I do not want the waiting room to get over crowded. But a lack of capacity caused it.”

As is in most countries, many people plan to marry on the catchiest dates of every year. In the Maldives, 87 marriages were performed on 08-08-08, 56 on 07-07-07 and 63 on 06-06-06.

Ritual turns tragic: Hulhudhuffaaru children still missing

When Adam Ibrahim left Raa atoll Hulhudhuffaaru on Saturday to get coconuts from a nearby uninhabited island, his 13-year-old nephew Ahmed Junaid/Fasaana and his 9-year-old sibling Ibrahim Sadin and Ali Ashraf, 9 of White Rose were repetitively beaching a canoe and pushing it back into the water.

The boys refused when Ibrahim asked them “let’s go to Undoodhu [an uninhabited island], we will tow [the canoe].”

Ibrahim and his crew needed the island office’s permission to enter the island’s woods. A few minutes to 7am, the island office official looked out to see if anyone else was coming and saw the boys on the canoe halfway through the islands.

Ibrahim left the island some two hours later around 9am. The crew also left the island later but the boys were nowhere to be seen.

As is customary in most islands of the Maldives, Hulhudhuffaaru children also go out to the sea for fishing on their own from seven-eight years of age.

Back in the island, a crisis turned up for two families. Dhiyaana/White Rose and Sameera/Fasaana were concerned because their precious children did not return for breakfast.

The disappearance of his nephew and two other children came to Ibrahim’s attention later on Saturday afternoon.

“My child came to me and said that sister Dhiyaana came looking for Ali Ashraf. I went out to look for him. I did not know where he was,” Ibrahim told Haveeru.

Some islanders reported seeing the boys leaving the island on the canoe with fishing lines and bait.

Assistant Island Chief Mohamed Zahir said no sign of the boys was seen since they left the island Saturday. A capsized canoe similar to the one missing with the three children was found Sunday.

“A boat looking for the children called around 11am today [Sunday] and reported seeing something that looks like a canoe. One of our speedboats arrived at the location and found that it was a blue-white canoe. It was capsized when we found it 1.5 nautical miles off Lhaviyani atoll Hinnavaru. But no [sign of the] children was found,” Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) spokesperson, Lieutenant Abdulla Ali said.

Zahir said strong gusts and rough seas were observed when the boys left the island.

“Children of their age usually go out to sea on their own for fishing. Every child of that age knows how to swim. They even go out to anchored boats on small boats, canoes and even surf boards. They go out for fishing. No one gave much attention because it was usual,” Ibrahim said.

Mother of six, Sameera was mentally struck due to the sudden loss of her two youngest children.

“The children’s mother was mentally struck. She does not even know what she is saying. Does not know what is going on. She does not talk. She cannot do anything. She does not eat. She would sit alone and suddenly call out to her youngest son for breakfast. She even tries to go out to look for her son,” Zahir said.

The father is in banishment, he added.

Adam noted that Ashraf’s father was at Kaafu atoll Huraa for yellow fin tuna fishery when the incident happened. When he heard of the loss, he was stricken and admitted at Huraa Hospital but was later discharged and came back to Hulhudhuffaaru Sunday morning.

According to islanders, Dhiyaana and her husband Saud are in a serious condition.

MNDF stressed that police, armed forces and the islanders are still searching for the missing children. Divers also searched nearby areas Sunday, the armed forces added.

DNA tests match human remains with missing prisoner: President

DNA tests conducted in Thailand match the age and death date of human remains found in Gaamaadhoo jail with that of Abdulla Anees of Bashigasdhosuhge/Vaav atoll Keyodhoo, who allegedly went missing while in the prison, President Mohamed Nasheed said Sunday.

The president made the comment at the special ceremony held at Nasadura Palace Hotel to release historian Abdulla Shafeeq’s memoir “A Day in the Life of Ahmed Shafeeq.”

President Nasheed also said when interrogated by police, the then prison guard Mohamed Naeem of Muraka/Gaaf Dhaal atoll Hoadehdhoo confirmed that Anees died in prison. The case can now be sent to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office, he added.

“I want to help such 111 people in Shafeeq’s diary. I want to determine who those 111 people are and to investigate their murders,” he said.

A document obtained by Haveeru on Sunday quoted the police as saying that mitochondrial DNA analysis was conducted on the remains, as it lacked bone marrow. However, mitochondrial DNA analysis only shows the mother’s genes, making it impossible to cross-match samples of the father’s DNA. Anees’s mother had died, the document says.

The document also notes that the police operation in Vaav atoll on April to search for a relative of Anees’s mother to take MT DNA samples failed so far.

Police interrogated Abbas Ali of Huvadhooge/Gaaf Alif atoll Kondey, Abdulla Naseem of Blue Side/Gaaf Alif atoll Dhaandhoo, Abdul Majeed of Aroma/ Gaaf Alif atoll Villingili and Mohamed Naeem of Muraka/Gaaf Dhaal atoll Hoadehdhoo, the document added.

In the investigation, Naeem claimed that he saw Anees from the boat that took prisoners to Gaamaadhoo jail and no injury was visible when he talked with him on the second day of imprisonment. Naeem recalled that Anees was never seen from the jail when reports claimed that he was hiding in a nearby island. The prison division guard, however, denied the report and said no one missing from the jail was found. Anees went missing in 1984 or 1985, he added.

Official referendum results: 20 islands okay with consolidation, 85 against...

October 11 (HNS) – An overwhelmingly high number of 85 islands rejected government’s proposal to consolidate islands and to create city councils at Saturday’s public referendum, Elections Commission announced Sunday.

According to the official results of the referendum held in 105 islands, only 20 islands backed the government’s proposal.

Haa Alif atoll Baarah and Thakandhu, Haa Dhaal atoll Finey, Shaviyani atoll Fonadhoo and Milandhoo, Noonu atoll Kendhikulhudhoo, Raa atoll Inguraidhoo and Rasgethymu, Baa atoll Dharavandhu and Goidhu, Alif Alif atoll Mathiveri, Alif Dhaal atoll Maamingili and Omadu, Faaf atoll Magoodhoo and Laam atoll Hithadhoo supported the proposal.

Only Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi islanders supported creating a city by grouping Nolhivaranfaru, Nolhivaram and Kumundoo.

Addu atoll Hithadhoo, Hulhudhoo, Maradhoo and Maradhoo-Feydhoo favoured creating a city in the atoll, while Feydhoo and Meedhoo rejected the plan.

Meanwhile, Laam atoll Hithadhoo islanders equally accepted and rejected government’s consolidation plan by 215-215.

The government and the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) earlier agreed that islands would only be grouped if majority votes were received in favour. However, majority votes were not received from any island. The agreement also stipulates that if majority votes were not received from two out of the three islands planned for grouping, only the island agreeing to the plan with majority votes would be consolidated.

Of 88,882 eligible voters, only 26,676 participated in the Rf11 million referendum.