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.
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.
posted by Ibrahim Ameer @ 9:46 PM
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