Maldives converted to Islam in 1153 May 10th:: Dhivehi Observer

Opinion
Unconstitutional acts of Dictator Gayyoom has stripped away hope and confidence! (Part II)

Hassan Thakuru, 2nd July 2005

“If we are part of the MPP our water sply will follow with the blood of our people. If we don´t our water supply will follow with milk.”

Maldives is an authoritarian state with limited civil rights. The Constitution do not provides for a presidential system with separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches; in practice Dictator Gayyoom and his family along with his very close associates dominate the power and enjoys the countries wealth. The elections were neither free nor fair. The Majlis (Parliament) consists almost entirely of officials appointed by the President and members of individuals that support him. Therefore it is almost impossible for Maldivians to enjoy their constitutional rights for an independent judiciary, Dictator gayyoom heavily influence the courts in both civil and criminal cases.

Dictator gayyoom´s government's human rights record remains very poor; although there were some notable improvements, it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens could not exercise the right to change their government peacefully. The Government recently permitted the existence of opposition political parties but continued harasses their members and still refusing to allow them to free assembly and voicing against the brutalities of dictator. Security force mistreatment resulted in the deaths of several citizens in custody. Police and NSS forces tortured, beat, and harassed persons. The Government of Dictator Gayyoom has in the past rejected all NGOs and international human rights organisations like Amnesty International to enter the country to investigate the crimes committed by Dictator’s brutal police. Prison conditions are still very poor, and pre-trial detention often lasted several months. Police routinely and arbitrarily detain any body who’s critical of Dictator’s way of handling the daily life of Maldivians. Police and NSS arbitrarily arrested persons, just because of their different opinions and have fabricated their arrest saying they are suspected of extremist sympathies. They also planted evidence on persons; however, Maldivians are still very calm and nice people regardless of their governments desire to name them as Islamic extremists in their own land. The judiciary did not ensure due process. Police and NSS forces infringed on citizens' privacy. Those responsible for documented abuses rarely were punished; however, for the first time since Dictator Gayyoom took power the Government convicted some officers of the NSS and police for serious human rights abuses.
The Government severely restrict freedom of speech and the press, and an atmosphere of repression stifled public criticism of the Government. In May press censorship was eliminated; however, the Dictator Gayyoom´s government in many occasions has warned editors that they were responsible for the content of their publications, and new amendments to the media law in effect encouraged self-censorship. The Government continued to ban unauthorized public meetings and demonstrations, and police forcibly disrupted a number of peaceful protests. The Government prevented many more protests, citing the threat of unrest. Ordinary citizens remain circumspect in criticizing the Government publicly. The Government continued to deny registration to opposition political parties until very recently; however, for the first time in many years of hardworking and sufferings the Dictator gayyoom´s government allowed an opposition political party to functions but Maldivians are very afraid about the futures of the political parties. For the first time, the Government registered an independent domestic human rights organization; however, it denied the applications of two other human rights organizations. The Government of Dictator Gayyoom restricted freedom of movement. The Government harassed and abused members of domestic human rights groups. Several human rights activists were arrested in circumstances that suggested selective enforcement of the law and targeting of human rights activists.
There were no confirmed reports of political killings; however, two years ago some four inmates, were killed by dictator’s brutal police dogs and many more were followed last year at the orders of prison authorities. Human rights observers believed that some of prisoners died as a result of poor prison conditions aggravated by severe mistreatment. In some cases, law enforcement officials warned families not to talk about their relatives' deaths, which were often attributed by government officials to purely natural causes. Some police and NSS officers were sentenced last year, to death terms for their roles in 4 deaths that occurred in late 2003.
Although the law prohibits these practices, both police and the NSS routinely tortured, beat, and otherwise mistreated detainees to obtain confessions or incriminating information. Police and the NSS allegedly used suffocation, electric shock, rape, and other sexual abuse; however, beating was the most commonly reported method of torture. Human rights observers reported that the use of torture abated in some prisons following the 2004 conviction of policemen. Police and security service precincts; and the severity of torture did not decrease during the year 1995.
Security forces continued to arrest and detain individuals arbitrarily, without warrants or just cause. The law provides that police may hold a person suspected of committing a crime for up to 15 days. At the end of this period, the person must be officially declared a suspect and charged with a crime, or he must be released. Dictator gayyoom is fully aware of the torture and systematic killings of Maldivian people, in fact he ordered most of torture and killings by him self.