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.
