If not for New Maldives, Gayoom would have been removed from power now

November 2003 - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom appoints Dr Hassan Saeed as Attorney General after sacking Dr Mohamed Munavvar, who served as AG for ten years, from the cabinet
July 2005 - Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel resigns and the post is handed over to Dr Ahmed Shaheed.
July 2005 - Mohamed Jameel Ahmed was brought to cabinet as Justice Minister
16 December 2005 - In a press conference in Colombo, the New Maldives was revealed under the clear instructions from Hill and Knowlton, the British public relations firm paid by the government of Maldives to keep the regime of Gayoom in power.

The young ministers were brought to Gayoom's cabinet as an image makeover, after the September 2003 riots, when the police brutality of the regime was finally exposed. Their responsibility was to show the image to the world that Gayoom was bringing reforms, while in reality Gayoom was wasting his time. With the help of New Maldives ministers Gayoom was able to continue his power, while hundreds of pro-democracy activists were being arrested, detained and charged. The New Maldives ministers continued to fabricate the truth and were comfortable with defending the old tyrant, while they themselves enjoyed the powers and influence that came with their cabinet portfolios.

Minivan News covered the press conference that was held in December 2005 to reveal New Maldives.

Dr Shaheed pointed out that the government welcomes scrutiny, noting delegations from the European Parliament, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and the International Committee of the Red Cross had all visited Maldives recently. “We welcome any inspection of our detention facilities,” he said.

The gloss came off, though, in a question-and-answer session where the Ministers were grilled over recent rights abuses apparently at odds with their vision of a ‘nation in transition.’

The Attorney-General was asked if in the ‘New Maldives’ throwing a stone would still be considered a terrorist offense - referring to the case of activist Jennifer Latheef, recently jailed for 10 jail for ‘terrorism’ following the September 2003 unrest.

“Throwing a stone will never be an act of terrorism in Maldives,” replied the A-G. “Jennifer Latheef was not charged for terrorism simply for throwing a stone… [she was charged] for setting fire to and destroying the Elections Commission, police vehicles, hospitals and injuring police.” Jenny was not being targeted because of the political work of her father, he said.

The A-G was asked to explain why setting fire to buildings was terrorism in the Maldives but mob violence in most other countries. “In future, will political dissent equate to terrorism?” he was asked. The A-G stood firm, however, accusing Jenny of “masterminding” the civil unrest.

The fact that Jenny was released not long after being jailed, proved that her trial was politically motivated. The others, who were jailed for alleged involvement in September 2003 riots, were kept in prison till they were released in August 2008, this time to pardon Zia Abbas, Nasreena's nephew. In fact, the trials regarding September 2003 was nothing but a political farce.

The New Maldives ministers went on to say more outragous things during the Colombo press conference.

Ministers were challenged over the trial of the opposition leader, Mohamed Nasheed, who is also charged with terrorism. “How do you expect to be taken seriously when a number of MDP members, including the leader, remain in jail?” a journalist with a wire network asked.

“When you have incidents like we had in August and the incitement, you need to take action,” said Dr Shaheed. The reason so many human rights organizations are critical of the government is “because we haven’t bothered to explain ourselves [to them] until recently,” he added.


Ahmed Naseer, of Minivan Radio, said he hoped to return to Maldives from exile but was fearful of running the radio from Male’. “What assurances can you give me that I won’t be arrested?”

The A-G stated that “we can guarantee that you will not be arrested for expressing your views.” He added, though, that “if you happened to have drugs in your pockets, obviously you would face arrest.”

A senior international journalist then demanded to know why the A-G would assume Naseer would have drugs in his pockets. “If I come to Maldives, will I be arrested for having drugs in my pockets?” he asked. “It seems that you decide to arrest and charge people based on whether you like their face, or what their political views are.”

Justice Minister Jaleel’s response that “many people come to Maldives and are not arrested,” was met with derision.

A Minivan reporter questioned the credibility of the government’s claims to support press freedom when 50% of the newspaper’s staff are currently facing criminal prosecution. The A-G said that only journalist Fahala Saeed was being prosecuted, “for drugs”.

When asked when the reform process would be completed, Dr Shaheed admitted that there was no timeframe for its conclusion. He said that Gayoom’s promise to rewrite the constitution by January 2006 will be missed because of delays in the Special Majlis.

During the next few weeks, we will write more details about the lies of the New Maldives, and expose their true nature. Beware! They are not reformists.