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Help restore democracy in the Maldives.
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This campaign expresses concern over the lack of information on the violation of democracy and human rights in the Maldives, and aims to increase awareness towards the deterioration of democratic outlooks and civil liberties that has taken place on these islands since the recent military led coup d’etat.
The Maldives, comprising of 1200 islands is a sovereign nation in the Indian Ocean, famed for its tropical palm lined beaches and magnificent underwater beauty. Being the country with the lowest geographic high-point, it is more often in the spotlight for its vulnerability in the face of climate change rather than its recent political struggle and people’s continuing fight for democracy. Unlike what is happening in the Middle East and North Africa, the Maldivians’ fight for democracy, which started long before the Arab Spring, has largely been ignored or overlooked by the US media and the public, due to the lack of information and familiarity.
February 7th, 2012, saw the ousting of the first ever democratically elected President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, following a mutiny, orchestrated by those still loyal to the dictator who preceded him.
Dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30 years of totalitarian autocratic rule was marked by the absence of any independent media or press freedom, as well as the strategic denial of the freedom of opinion and expression among many other basic human rights to the Maldivian people. During this time anyone who stood against the dictatorship were subjected to systemic and systematic torture. However, following a lot of international support and local activism, pushing for fair and transparent elections, the Maldives saw its first ever multi-party elections in 2008, which, previous political prisoner and anti-climate change activist, Mohamed Nasheed won by a majority.
During the years from 2008 till February 2012, whilst making great success in sustaining its newly formed democracy and recuperating from decades of suppressive dictatorial rule, the Maldives made remarkable progress on many other frontiers. Within these 3 short years, Maldives won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council for its radical improvement on the Human Rights standards. President Nasheed also subsidized health care and education, established a system for social security, connected the geographically dispersed Maldivian islands from North to South with a much-needed transportation network. But more importantly, for the first time, Maldivians celebrated their newfound freedom and exercised their civil and political rights without any apprehension.
This young progressive democracy was toppled over with the help of Islamic fundamentalists who opposed Nasheed’s liberal religious views and a corrupt judiciary appointed by, and still showing staunch support towards, the former dictator Gayoom. Nasheed was forced to resign under duress, while the Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan stepped in as President in a transfer of power that was cleverly staged to look legitimate and constitutional. Soon after Waheed Hassan’s rushed inauguration, several representatives from the Islamists’ Adhaalath Party as well as the former dictator Gayoom’s own party took many high portfolios within the new government. This was clear indication that the new President Waheed Hassan was a puppet of both Gayoom and the Islamists.
Initially the US government quickly recognized the new regime as legitimate. However, since then the values of democracy in the Maldives have eroded . Subsequent calls on the Maldives by its neighbor India, as well as the US State Department, Commonwealth, and the European Union, for early elections and a transparent impartial investigation into the events of February 7th, have been brushed aside by the new regime with statements by Waheed Hassan saying that there is ‘no compelling reason’ for it.
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets starting on February 8th, 2012, the day after the aforementioned coup, and thousands continue to fill up the streets day in, day out, demanding back the liberty, equality and justice that had been ceased from them and for the restoration of democracy. The police have responded violently to these calls and towards those asking for early, free and fair elections, thus violating many of the basic civil and constitutional rights of the people. So far, over seven hundred protesters have been arrested (a significant number for a small country who’s population is only 350,000), with reported cases of physical and sexual abuse during arrest and detention.
Despite this, brave Maldivian men and women of all ages continue to press on with their demands with commendable undying spirit and determination. So we call upon everyone to support this campaign in standing up with the Maldivian people in their fight for democracy and to help their voices be heard internationally. Please write to your respective senators, House representatives and local media highlighting these issues that are too often ignored even by large democratic allies. Re-establishing democracy and political stability on these islands, besides being essential for development also serves as a pre-requisite for their influential international fight against climate change, which could ultimately determine their survival.
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION to help us call for immediate international attention, and please refer to the additional material provided if you wish to know more.
Additional Material:
* ( http://minivannews.com/politics/ameen-aslam-report-published-in-english-39974 ) - A comprehensive timeline composed by two members of parliament explaining the proceedings that led up to the coup and what has taken place since then.
* ( http://jura.ku.dk/english/research/news/arrested_democracy/ )- An independent investigation of the events that lead to the coup.
* ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/opinion/choking-off-freedom-in-the-maldives.html )- An article by the vice-chairman of the British Conservative Party Human Rights Commission in the New York Times.
Friends of Maldives (US).
(www.friendsofmaldives.org)
( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Maldives-United-States/337057889713066 )
The Maldives, comprising of 1200 islands is a sovereign nation in the Indian Ocean, famed for its tropical palm lined beaches and magnificent underwater beauty. Being the country with the lowest geographic high-point, it is more often in the spotlight for its vulnerability in the face of climate change rather than its recent political struggle and people’s continuing fight for democracy. Unlike what is happening in the Middle East and North Africa, the Maldivians’ fight for democracy, which started long before the Arab Spring, has largely been ignored or overlooked by the US media and the public, due to the lack of information and familiarity.
February 7th, 2012, saw the ousting of the first ever democratically elected President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, following a mutiny, orchestrated by those still loyal to the dictator who preceded him.
Dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30 years of totalitarian autocratic rule was marked by the absence of any independent media or press freedom, as well as the strategic denial of the freedom of opinion and expression among many other basic human rights to the Maldivian people. During this time anyone who stood against the dictatorship were subjected to systemic and systematic torture. However, following a lot of international support and local activism, pushing for fair and transparent elections, the Maldives saw its first ever multi-party elections in 2008, which, previous political prisoner and anti-climate change activist, Mohamed Nasheed won by a majority.
During the years from 2008 till February 2012, whilst making great success in sustaining its newly formed democracy and recuperating from decades of suppressive dictatorial rule, the Maldives made remarkable progress on many other frontiers. Within these 3 short years, Maldives won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council for its radical improvement on the Human Rights standards. President Nasheed also subsidized health care and education, established a system for social security, connected the geographically dispersed Maldivian islands from North to South with a much-needed transportation network. But more importantly, for the first time, Maldivians celebrated their newfound freedom and exercised their civil and political rights without any apprehension.
This young progressive democracy was toppled over with the help of Islamic fundamentalists who opposed Nasheed’s liberal religious views and a corrupt judiciary appointed by, and still showing staunch support towards, the former dictator Gayoom. Nasheed was forced to resign under duress, while the Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan stepped in as President in a transfer of power that was cleverly staged to look legitimate and constitutional. Soon after Waheed Hassan’s rushed inauguration, several representatives from the Islamists’ Adhaalath Party as well as the former dictator Gayoom’s own party took many high portfolios within the new government. This was clear indication that the new President Waheed Hassan was a puppet of both Gayoom and the Islamists.
Initially the US government quickly recognized the new regime as legitimate. However, since then the values of democracy in the Maldives have eroded . Subsequent calls on the Maldives by its neighbor India, as well as the US State Department, Commonwealth, and the European Union, for early elections and a transparent impartial investigation into the events of February 7th, have been brushed aside by the new regime with statements by Waheed Hassan saying that there is ‘no compelling reason’ for it.
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets starting on February 8th, 2012, the day after the aforementioned coup, and thousands continue to fill up the streets day in, day out, demanding back the liberty, equality and justice that had been ceased from them and for the restoration of democracy. The police have responded violently to these calls and towards those asking for early, free and fair elections, thus violating many of the basic civil and constitutional rights of the people. So far, over seven hundred protesters have been arrested (a significant number for a small country who’s population is only 350,000), with reported cases of physical and sexual abuse during arrest and detention.
Despite this, brave Maldivian men and women of all ages continue to press on with their demands with commendable undying spirit and determination. So we call upon everyone to support this campaign in standing up with the Maldivian people in their fight for democracy and to help their voices be heard internationally. Please write to your respective senators, House representatives and local media highlighting these issues that are too often ignored even by large democratic allies. Re-establishing democracy and political stability on these islands, besides being essential for development also serves as a pre-requisite for their influential international fight against climate change, which could ultimately determine their survival.
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION to help us call for immediate international attention, and please refer to the additional material provided if you wish to know more.
Additional Material:
* ( http://minivannews.com/politics/ameen-aslam-report-published-in-english-39974 ) - A comprehensive timeline composed by two members of parliament explaining the proceedings that led up to the coup and what has taken place since then.
* ( http://jura.ku.dk/english/research/news/arrested_democracy/ )- An independent investigation of the events that lead to the coup.
* ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/opinion/choking-off-freedom-in-the-maldives.html )- An article by the vice-chairman of the British Conservative Party Human Rights Commission in the New York Times.
Friends of Maldives (US).
(www.friendsofmaldives.org)
( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Maldives-United-States/337057889713066 )
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