MALE, 26 September 2003 — The Maldives has a reputation as a tranquil upmarket destination for honeymooners looking for a touch of paradise. But while the tourists have been sipping their cocktails on the talcum powder beaches and swimming in the clear blue Indian Ocean around the atoll, among the local population a more gritty reality is emerging.
The first anti-government riots in memory, sparked by the deaths of three prisoners at a notorious jail, have rocked the capital Male and left official buildings, including several police stations, burned to the ground. As President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was forced to make an emergency television address to appeal for calm the unrest was followed by a wave of arrests by the country’s infamous National Security Service (NSS).
The crackdown led Amnesty International to issue an urgent appeal on Wednesday to the government to solve what they claim is a spiraling human rights situation.
A clearly flustered President Gayoom, who is seeking another term after 25 years in office, tried to blame the rioting in Male on hardened criminals who, he said, would be punished without leniency. But human rights groups have linked the riots to government tactics that they claim include state-sponsored torture, illegal imprisonment and abuse of power by the security forces on the sun-kissed islands.
Details are sketchy, but the original spark for the rioting appears to have been a fight between two inmates at Maafushi prison. One of the prisoners, Hassan Eemaan Naseem, hit a policeman who had tried to intervene. He was taken out of the prison and beaten so badly by members of the NSS that he died of his injuries.
The security service reportedly kept silent about his death and attempted to bury his body in secret. But news of his death leaked out, and eyewitnesses said a large crowd gathered at the graveside to stop the burial. News of their fellow inmate’s death filtered back to Maafushi jail, sparking a riot. In an attempt to regain control of the situation security forces opened fire, a second prisoner, Abdulla Amin, died from a bullet wound to the head, and over a dozen others were injured, some critically.
When word of the turmoil spread to Male, angry mobs rampaged around the streets of the usually sleepy city, setting fire to the elections office, throwing stones at the Parliament building, destroying records at the high court and torching several police stations. Eyewitnesses said security forces used teargas to disperse crowds.
Areas were cordoned off by NSS armored vehicles, while Maldives radio and television announced a 10 p.m.-4.30 a.m. curfew. In his address to the nation President Gayoom announced an inquiry into the death of Naseem and promised to punish any members of the country’s security service that may have had a hand in the deaths at the prison. Five security staff on duty during the riot have been arrested.
But the speech, watched by inmates on television, appears to have sparked even more trouble at the jail. Outraged by accusations that they had been trying to break into the prison armory when they said they did not even know where it was, a second riot ensued. Some reports said that initially the wounded were left untreated at the prison because of fears that taking them to hospital in Male would provoke more unrest in the capital. At least 12 of those injured in the prison were flown to neighboring Sri Lanka for treatment, where one of them died in hospital. Reports also said that other prisoners were chained and handcuffed in their cells and kept without food and water for more than 24 hours. A large number of inmates were also reportedly sent from Maafushi to the infamous Dhoonidhoo detention center for interrogation.
Eyewitness said that security services began to round up potential suspects.
A woman, who gave her name as Rosa, e-mailed the BBC website. “I have seen many people being hauled in off the streets in Male by the police and the government security forces,” she said. “We have heard that people have been taken away in the middle of the night, nobody knows where to or under what charge ... I have also seen many young people being arrested, not hardened criminals as the government claims. Everyone here is very scared of possible government reprisals.”
According to a report by Amnesty International, arbitrary detentions, unfair trials and long-term imprisonment of government critics are commonplace on the islands. President Gayoom, who is credited with masterminding the economic success of the tiny atoll nation, has ruled with an iron fist for more than two decades.
Gayoom yesterday obtained the full support of Parliament for his sixth five-year term as president. Gayoom, 64, obtained all 50 votes in the national Parliament (Majlis) and would now face a referendum due to be held in October to ratify his position. In 1998 the president won 90.9 percent of the popular yes vote.
But while nobody doubts the result of the October referendum, the first visible stirrings of popular unrest during his 25 years in office might just give Asia’s longest-serving leader pause for thought.
