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| Former President Mohamed Nasheed (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Jared Genser
The imprisonment of the former president is a tragic commentary on Maldivian democracy.
In her presentation [PDF] to the United Nations Human Rights Council last month, the foreign minister of the Maldives, Dunya Maumoon gave a rousing and patriotic statement about her country’s self-proclaimed extraordinary progress in recent years:
Maldivians are proud of what we have achieved . . . We are a world-renowned luxury tourist destination and a leader in sustainable fisheries. We are . . . a leader of small island developing states . . . we take great pride in the contributions we continue to make here, towards the promotion and protection of human rights . . . That sense of pride and responsibility has been a defining characteristic of our people . . . [it is] a story set out on our white sandy beaches and azure blue waters, a story of resilience; one we can proudly call, the “Maldivian story.”
Nowhere in her remarks did she describe the reality of the Maldives today. She failed to note that her uncle is president, that her father Maumoon Gayoom was the country’s dictator for 30 years, and that her government came to power after a military coup and stolen elections orchestrated by her family.
Beyond this inconvenient truth, the leaders of all the opposition political parties have been imprisoned, arrested, or given mammoth tax bills to silence their criticism. Critics within President Abdulla Yameen’s party, such his defense minister, have been sacked and imprisoned. Even the chief justice of the Supreme Court was removed. The Government has cracked down repeatedly on non-violent protestors with tear gas, beatings, pepper spray, and mass arrests.
Read the full story at The Diplomat