Men born free but living in chains;

Men born free but living in chains;

What is independence? This seems like an obvious question. I'd say it is the ability of a person to do things for themselves. There are many ways of been independent. Economic, social and political independence comes to mind. We got independence from British Rule 44 years ago on July, 26. I believe that the document we signed with the British masters would be about giving us political independence from them. Anyway we were never imperialized by the British as they did with India, we were only a protectorate. I assume we had Economic and social independence from them. Today, as we celebrate our independence, it is important to gauge the extent to which we are independent.
Before I write anything more, let me say I am very passionate about my country and I often get emotional seeing the state of affairs in this country. If you ask me how I feel about our independence day, I would say that I would rather have British rule than this despotic rule. I am not that far up the Maslow’s need hierarchy to work for achieving political goals, but I would love to have economic and social independence. Also, I am not ignorant of the fact that we can never be completely independent as long as we live in a society, but I believe everyone should have the right to live their lives in the way they want. When I was born 24 years ago, I was totally dependent on my parents and for many following years I lived in their shadows. They influenced me as to what I am today. When I grew up and went to school I was bounded by the rules and regulations. The same was applicable even for the college. That time people used to say all this would be helpful in becoming a good citizen and once I become an adult I will be free and can live my life independently. How sad after 24 long years, I still find myself slave to an unjust system forced over me by my own people.
My country is awash with corruption and corrupt politicians. Bribery is the order of the day. I see gang fights- which more so often have caused loss of precious life, the crime rate has increased and people are no longer safer anymore. An entire generation of youth is wasted in drugs and do not have any religious or social guidance. Now, I realize everything is not as good as I thought it would be.
As far as I am concerned the problems with our society have been, the failure of us to establish a democratic system of governance in our country. I believe, with a vibrant democracy we can break free from the chains of autocracy and really feel the merits of been independent. For too long now, we have been chained by a system that systematically undermines human rights, would go to world’s end to hang on to power one more day and have crushed the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of people. Today democracy is the only preeminently acceptable form of governance. Tell you what? Nepal is a democracy now...
What exactly is democracy? We must not identify democracy with majority rule. Democracy has complex demands, which certainly [include voting and respect for election results, but it also requires the protection of liberties and freedoms, respect for legal entitlements, and the guaranteeing of free discussion and uncensored distribution of news and fair comment. Even elections can be deeply defective if they occur without the different sides getting an adequate opportunity to present their respective cases, or without the electorate enjoying the freedom to obtain news and to consider the views of the competing protagonists. Democracy is a demanding system, and not just a mechanical condition (like majority rule) taken in isolation. I believe an undemocratic society is forever chained to slavery, hence, with democracy we would have economic, social and political independence. Freedom is a part of human freedom in general, and exercising civil and political rights is a crucial part of good lives of individuals as social beings. Political and social participation has intrinsic value for human life and well-being. To be prevented from participation in the political life of the community is a major deprivation.
Slowly and painfully, we have now embarked on a journey towards democracy which as it is-is a half hearted attempt by a failed leader to appease an international community which got tired of him and domestic pressure which never relented. There is no doubt in my mind that our country’s journey into the future will be very difficult and problematic if we don’t succeed in establishing a fully functional democracy. I would like to think our future is very bright and that we are going to achieve greater heights. I feel sad because our leadership have failed us big time. A country of 3 lakh people with abundance of resources (oil is not the only resource that the world have) is still an under developed country after 30 years of one man show, is beyond me.
To all those who call themselves leaders (I do not believe we have anyone worthy of mentioning as a leader), I want to make a plea, please don’t destroy our future and that of my country by hanging onto your egos and personal grudges. It is hard to have any faith in this democratic system that we are paying so much money for you guys to establish, as I really don’t see anyone of you working for the better of the nation. It is not only our president who failed us. There are many others like the majority of parliament members and anyone who was a conspirator in this masterpiece of a show.
If we have to have a brighter future, if we want to be self sufficient, if we want to be rich, if we want have economic, social and political independence and most of all if we want our voices to be heard we have no choice but have a democratic system of governance. Our business would be more open to markets and our economy will get more FDI, we would have high level of schooling and there would be social opportunities that widen participation in the process of economic expansion. . Political and civil rights give people the opportunity to draw attention forcefully to general needs and to demand appropriate public action. The response of a government to the acute suffering of its people often depends on the pressure that is put on it. The exercise of political rights (such as voting, criticizing, protesting, and the like) can make a real difference to the political incentives that operate on a government. Political rights, including freedom of expression and discussion, are not only pivotal in inducing social responses to economic needs, they are also central to the conceptualization of economic needs themselves.
The difficult periods that we go through in our lives transform and enlighten our views on life. The devastating effects of social problems, the undesirable effects of so called globalization, more than sufficient ‘free thinkers’ and the struggle for political and economic freedom have helped me appreciate my existence and that of others in a positive way. It is my prayer and wish that one day we would be a vibrant democracy with intelligent and self sufficient people.

Nobody is above the law

Nobody is above the law

As I understand it, the popular principle of justice is to have equality according to number, not worth. The decision of the majority must be final and must constitute justice. In other words “NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAW”. After 30 years of iron fist rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, we now see a democratically elected government in place. I would say the current government is the most democratic government we have had for the known history of this country. The post election behavior shown by the two candidates need to be applauded and should have set the precedent for the politics of this country for the next five years.

The purpose of this writing is to say that it is very well to forgive and forget, but if we don’t conduct an inquest into what happened in those long 30 years of rule by Maumoon, it means indeed some people are above the law. I can understand that we need to look forward, as opposed to looking backwards, but what promise does a future hold if our elected officials are not accountable to what they do in office with our money. The purpose is not to implicate any individual, but by not probing into the past and reconcile with it, we effectively loose our souls and would be forever burdened by the weight of history. The purpose is to reform the corridors of power politics and make us believe in the system that we so proudly have enacted, or else I am afraid we would never be able to clean ourselves off the disgraceful stains that we inflicted on the face of our country. The intention is to set an example to future governments that the promise of a more perfect Maldives holds more value in our hearts than be bothered by the petty politics of them.

We are told that we don’t have to dwell on past abuses, because we won’t repeat them. But so far no one from ‘Maumoon era’ has expressed remorse for anything. What makes anyone think that they (DRP) or their political heirs won’t do it all over again, given the chance? In fact, what guarantee do we have that current government would do anything healthier if they know that they too can get away with abusing the citizenry as they like?

Now let’s talk about the celebrated abuse stories, corruption scandals and state of affairs of our country through thirty years of Maumoon government. It is widely believed that torture was widely practiced in our jails (I am not saying there is absolutely no torture taking place now). I have heard countless stories by people who were jailed for no reason: other than for criticizing the government policies- recall their ordeal. Many Sheiks were jailed and some even recall that their beards were shaven with chili sauce rubbed onto their face. There are countless stories of death while in police custody due to the unbearable torture they were forced to. Moreover, nobody can deny that during the thirty years we have had countless cases of political prisoners. Anyone who dared to utter a word against the ruling elite were jailed and made to suffer for their outburst. Recall the famous story of the late Dhohokkobe. There are thousands of people who are pining for a chance to get justice for the injustices inflicted upon them by the former government.

Wikipedia have listed Maldives 6th on a list compiled for widespread nepotism in the country. President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom once had 13 of his brothers, brothers-in-law, and classmates as members of his cabinet. Most of the rich in this country today are direct beneficiaries of the Maumoon government. If you doubt this, have a real look at the Bank of Maldives Audit Report published on the 18th of this month. Meanwhile, up to the ratification of the new constitution, we had a dysfunctional political system or institutions where political officials openly sought illegitimate personal gain through bribery, cronyism, nepotism, patronage etc. The constitution we had before was completed with in a span of 17 years and it proved to be a huge disappointment. What I know for certain is that 17 years is a lot of days to complete a constitution and a lot of money must have gone for that. Is this not a blatant misuse of our money? Do we just forget this as if nothing happened? Do we just let the above mentioned improper and unconstitutional conduct of our governments’ impinge on our future and be happy about it? My belief is that as long as we lack proper accountability in our government structure, our march towards a more prosperous future will be long and tiresome.

What about Air Maldives? What about FPID? What about MNSL and the countless corruption cases that we know publicly? Air Maldives was the first airline of the Maldives and the country's national flag carrier. It began operating in the 1970s, during Ibrahim Nasir's presidency. By the year 1999 Air Maldives dissolved due to bankruptcy. The losses amounted to $50 million. Many people allege that this was due to prevalent corruption and mismanagement. No explanation for this sudden death of our National Carrier was given by any public official. Likewise, MNSL was once a large company with more than 80 vessels making huge profits. The company now has around 3 vessels. Who would take the responsibility for this mismanagement or do we not investigate if there is any corruption involved. This is exactly why we need an inquest into these corruption cases, so that we the ordinary citizens are assured that our interest will be safeguarded and if anyone is guilty, they will be punished.
Today, I see that we have lost our soul as a nation. We are a nation of 100 percent Muslims. We don’t have racial segregation. We speak one language and we don’t have vast differences in our culture across the islands. We are an interconnected society, where everyone knows everyone. And yet, it saddens me to say that this small nation of ours is awash with religious tension, widespread drug use, wasted youth population, corruption, gang fighting, robbery, rape, child abuse etc. I weep for my country that we no longer have the religious harmony that we should have and how our youth: society at large have strayed away from Islam. Yes, I do want to question the leaders who took oath of office to respect the religion of Islam, to uphold the constitution and the fundamental rights of us citizens. I do not believe they have truthfully discharged their duties.

The central theme of my argument is that public officials must be held accountable for what they do while in office. They should be made to pay a penalty if they are guilty of any wrongdoing. Only then can we trust in our governments. Only then can we reap the benefits of truly democratic society. Only then can we work to make a country more perfect and achieve a prosperous future.