Monday, May 1, 2017

Daily Panic! Possibly never again, but the Pandora’s Box is still open and haunting the Maldives!



So, where should I begin. And how should I begin when I’m in in deep sorrow and pain of losing a friend I only knew as the greatest twat to ever tweet. Exactly five days before his murder I shared with him an interview by a free thinker like him: an interview by Polish writer, Piotr Ibrahim Kalwas. His Daily Panic may be gone, but the Pandora’s Box we opened on 7th February 2012 keeps haunting us. Where we are and what has happened in the Maldives over the past five years certainly have got a strong causation and correlation to the coup which took place on 7th February 2012 and events unfolded afterwards. These events surely have reeled back against us and the society. It has resulted in the murder of Dr. Afrashim, abduction of Rilwan and the murder of Yameen Rasheed (YR). Had it not been for this coup, we wouldn’t have lost these pearls which grew on the bosom of the white sandy beaches surrounded by the lush palms.

The breaches against the human rights which started on 7th Feb 2012 exacerbated ever since. On that horrific day, both uniformed bodies colluded and supported a handful of people who demonstrated animosity towards an elected government. This collusion and support continues ever since, to the extent the public confidence with the Maldives Police Service became so low, some people have chosen imaginary characters like Care Bears over the Police (per a twitter poll by @kuhthaa). This collusion was fueled by Dr. Waheed’s inclination to garner support from the Islamic extremists and hardcore nationalists during the post-coup government. Dr. Waheed came out from his cocoon as the man who spent more than a decade in a mosque in New York, having his dose of daily zam-zam. He even shouted ALLAH Akbar in a rally after taking over the government in 2012 and mentioned his ascendance to power as the will of ALLAH against infidels. Till this day I could not be convinced, and I believe he was a curse from ALLAH to reveal us the real traitors of our nation. Moreover, his government was also considered by many as a handmaiden of Yamin Abdul Gayoom as his elder brother Maumoon abdul Gayoom’s power already began weakening by then. Contrary to many people’s perception that Maumoon was at the helm after the coup, Yamin in fact was tightening his grip. His power within Dr. Waheed’s government was heightened by planting Adheeb, whom he groomed as a political hustler since 2008.  

Whatever the result of this coup one critical aspect was the de-democratization of the nation. The human consequences of the post-coup include the weakening of human rights, clamping down of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the inclination of the government towards extremists and their ideologies. Critics of the government both real and imagined are constantly intimidated using the police and judiciary and are either framed or sentenced to jail. The abduction of journalist Rilwan and murder of YR are the direct result of clamping down on political dissent. Even though it may not be directly state sponsored the collusion and support by the Police and Government towards those giving death threats and warning to them is obvious to many.

As the saying goes violence breeds violence and injustice will breed resentments and conflicts. Hence we need to close the Pandora’s Box. We have no room to justify violations of human rights on the grounds of national security or stability or even national development. My hope is that the people realize the current regimes de-democratization and violation of human rights and pave way for democracy to succeed in the upcoming elections.    

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