Season of Change in South Asia
Part III - Maldives
[May 16, 2005]

Maldivians form a small close-knit society of under 350,000 people with a more or less homogenous culture, which is a hybrid over centuries of the cultures brought by travelers from India, Sri Lanka,

The Swarna Rajagopalan Column

Persia, the Arab world, Africa and East Asia. Buddhism found its way to the Maldives through these voyagers and subsequently so did Islam. Maldivians speak Dhivehi, and historically have had close ties with Sri Lankan rulers, offering tribute as a protectorate to that island's colonial rulers.

The Maldives became independent in 1965 and a republican constitution came into force in 1968. In 1978, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom became President. Six Presidential referenda and twenty-six years later, he remains in office surviving three attempted coups. The last in 1988 was thwarted by the Indian Navy, which intervened at President Gayoom's request.

The Maldives would seem to verily be the paradise its descriptions speak of.

In the last twenty-six years, President Gayoom has overseen the development of the island into one of the world's most exclusive holiday destinations, even as the resort islands are kept segregated from the ones inhabited by Maldivians in order to limit the negative consequences of tourism.

His government has also raised the profile of the Maldives in international relations by making it an important interlocutor in discussions of global warming. As an archipelago of small islands, Maldives' physical survival itself is threatened by rising sea levels. The December 2004 tsunami was a nightmare-come-true for Maldivians as the sea washed over their lives and many waited anxiously to know whether their relatives on distant islands still lived.

However, while the storefront is riveting, the store is a mess.

A quiet exodus of Maldivian dissidents, mainly to Sri Lanka and the UK, has attained critical mass as a democratization movement. Over the years, the dissidents have used the Internet to disseminate information about human rights violations and the excesses of the Gayoom administration. Prominent members of the Maldivian intelligentsia formed the Maldivian Democratic Party in 2001. Failing to gain recognition for the right to start a party, the MDP decided in 2003 to function as a party in exile. The leadership is now based primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Over the years, scores of dissidents and others accused of being dissidents have been arrested. The dissident websites are full of accounts of torture in Maldives prison-islands.

The Gayoom government's response has been repressive rather than accommodative, banning organizations and websites. The government has been unsparing and unrelenting and even if one discounts online accounts for representing one political perspective, to say all is well would be denial of the cruelest sort.

The establishment of a human rights commission and an announcement in June 2004 that

"A quiet exodus of Maldivian dissidents, mainly to Sri Lanka and the UK, has attained critical mass as a democratization movement. Over the years, the dissidents have used the Internet to disseminate information about human rights violations and the excesses of the Gayoom administration."

a debate on constitutional reform would be initiated followed Gayoom's sixth election victory in the 2003 referendum. However, emergency was imposed in August 2004 and on what dissidents described as 'Black Friday', 13th August 2004, street demonstrations in Malé were followed by large-scale arrests.

The December 26th tsunami caused the postponement of parliamentary elections for a month. At the January 2005 elections, held on a non-partisan basis, there were accusations that the government was threatening to withhold tsunami aid from those who did not vote for its candidates. Further, when the results came out, there was some controversy about how well the opposition had actually done. The Maldivian Democratic Party claimed it had won 18 out of 42 seats contested while the official figures put it at 12. On the whole, Maldivian opposition activists, who contested as independents, fared better than expected in spite of reported intimidation. In a non-partisan election with shifting allegiances and a climate of intimidation, the government said it was hard to know people's loyalties.

While the Gayoom administration claimed that the elections had been free and fair, the Maldivian Human Rights Commission that it had appointed in 2003 quickly challenged its assertion. In a statement on February 3, 2005, the Commission stated that this "was not an election that in general was free, unbiased or removed from undue influence." The government's attempts to dismiss this by citing the findings of the Commonwealth and European Union missions were in vain, as they too voiced their criticisms of both the rules of the election game and its process.

Soon after the elections, Gayoom announced that Maldives would be a multiparty democracy within a year. The opposition welcomed the statement as a public commitment for which they could hold Gayoom accountable.

Devastated by the tsunami and rent by growing political polarization, life in the Maldives is far from the

"On the whole, Maldivian opposition activists, who contested as independents, fared better than expected in spite of reported intimidation. In a non-partisan election with shifting allegiances and a climate of intimidation, the government said it was hard to know people's loyalties. "

heaven that its resort advertisements depict. What will happen next in the Maldives? Will the government keep its word on reform? Will the opposition be able to return from exile, voluntary and involuntary?

Failure to reform the system substantially will undoubtedly make matters worse. As arrests continue, families fall into distress creating a new set of resentments. Moreover, the longer the reconciliation takes, the harder it gets. On the other hand, should the government keep its word on reform, what will be the fate of the democratization movement? Will a timely response dilute the opposition's determination? Will they be co-opted, as South Asia's liberals would put it?

To keep track of unfolding events, you can read Haveeru, the government-run newspaper, along with the Dhivehi Observer, which is the main opposition news portal. Everything you wanted to know about the Maldives, but never thought to ask is available at the Library of Congress site: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/mvtoc.html. For some wonderful writing and art by Maldivians, the destination of choice is Maldives Shores.

Swarna Rajagopalan is a South Asian politics specialist. Her publications include State and Nation in South Asia (Lynne Rienner 2001).

Comments on this Article