Like the Arab Spring, Male
Inside story of events that led to the revolt Charges of corruption, abuse of power and nepotism against one-time democracy activist Rajapaksa calls new President, voices concern over safety of ousted president
The telephone operator at the switchboard of Janadipathi Mandiraya felt the sense of urgency when a female voice asked to speak to first lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa last Thursday morning. The caller explained she was a friend and it related to on-going developments in the Maldives.
Within seconds, she found herself talking to President Mahinda Rajapaksa instead of the first lady. Mira Laila Ali wept when she said that the life of her husband, former President, Mohamed Nasheed, (45), was in danger. Rajapaksa asked an aide to connect him on the telephone to the new President, Mohamed Waheed Hassen. "I am concerned for the safety of Mr. Nasheed," the Sri Lankan President told his Maldivian counterpart. He was assured that the new government would ensure his protection. He tried to reach Nasheed by telephone thereafter. There was no answer. Rajapaksa was to tell Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzzamil at a wedding reception later that day that even Mira Laila Ali was trying to call her husband but he was not taking the calls. He told his ministers during the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday night that they should refrain from making any comments on the developments in the Maldives. It is an internal matter, should be their only response, he said.
After the phone call, the Presidential international media spokesperson Bandula Jayasekera told reporters that Rajapaksa had in fact spoken to President Waheed about the safety of Nasheed. He also confirmed that the former President's wife had telephoned Rajapaksa. Laila Ali arrived in Colombo with one of her two daughters, Zaya, on Wednesday. Not sure how to reach President Rajapaksa, she had wanted to speak to his wife Shiranthi. Laila counts her as a personal friend having met her on numerous occasions. The last was when the duo spent considerable time talking to each other in Perth, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit where their husbands took part. Laila and her daughter do not plan to leave for Male immediately and are living with friends in Colombo.
It seemed a strange quirk of fate that Nasheed ended his three-year presidency in a diabolic drama he directed. He founded the Maldvidian Democratic Party (MDP) whilst in 'exile' in Colombo with a few like-minded friends. On August 7, 2008, his arch-rival, then President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, had ratified a new Constitution. Nasheed contested Gayoom and three other opposition party leaders in the first round on October 10. No candidate won 50 per cent of the vote with Gayoom leading way ahead of Nasheed who came second. Hence a second round was held on October 29 only between Gayoom and Nasheed, the joint opposition candidate then. In that second round, Nasheed polled 54 per cent of the votes.
Before assuming the mantle of presidency, Nasheed was a champion of human rights, judicial independence and media freedom. In 1990, he wrote to the Maldivian political journal Sangu (Conch Shell) that the 1989 general elections were flawed. He was imprisoned and later won the Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience Award in 1991. In 1992 he was imprisoned again, this time for allegedly withholding information about a bomb plot. Released the next year, he wrote an article to another magazine criticising the elections once more. He was imprisoned again. He carved for himself a niche among countries and nongovernmental organisations for the role he played.
His image was to enhance in a different way when he took over the presidency. Nasheed presided over what was dubbed the world's only underwater cabinet meeting. In October 2009, Nasheed and his ministers wore scuba diving gear and stood underwater as waterproof television cameras rolled off the Girufushi Island. The idea was to highlight how all the low lying islands in the Maldives archipelago would go under water due to rising sea level. The gimmick which focused on climate change and its effect on Maldives generated publicity worldwide. His team of foreign media advisors took money but also did their job well. After being sworn in as President of the Maldives, he vowed in a speech to the nation that he would strengthen "democracy and media freedom". Nasheed also pledged that he would hold presidential elections during the middle of his term of office. However, continued bickering with the opposition parties over a variety of issues distracted him.
During his tenure, he developed a firm grip on the security apparatus and acted very tough on his detractors. As Commander-in-chief, he appointed heads for the Maldives Police Force (MPS) and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). The Police, responsible for internal security, public safety, law and order, reported to the Home Ministry. The MNDF, responsible for "external security," came under the Ministry of Defence. They also assisted the Police during exigencies and helped in disaster relief operations. Until 2004, the MPS and the MNDF were one organisation functioning as National Security Service (NSS).
In 2008, the Majlis (or Parliament) enacted a new Armed Forces Act that established legal parameters for MNDF. Nasheed who assumed office in that year, also broadened the scope of the defence and security apparatus. Besides Male, three different commands were set up for the National Defence Force in the North, Central and South of the archipelago. As they grew in strength, serving Colonels were promoted to the rank of Major General. Regularly groups would arrive for training with the Sri Lanka Army. Some were trained as commandos by the red beret troops. Recruitment to the Police force increased. The equipment provided for them - anti-riot tools and protective gear worn to secure different parts of the body - were all new and matched those used by Police forces in the Asian region.
Nasheed also forged a close relationship with the Rajapaksa administration. So much so, he became the first ever foreign dignitary to be the chief guest at a passing out parade of the Military Academy in Diyatalawa on December 27 last year. On the occasion of the yearend commissioning parade of 187 cadet officers, he was the guest of honour. In a speech on that occasion, Nasheed said "…Peace has come to Sri Lanka, but this is not the time to stand down. Sri Lankan Army should always be in our minds, vigilant of what not only might happen in the Peninsula, in the islands but also of what may happen in the wider Indian Ocean. We live in an area, in a region that is so focused with international conflicts and issues situated right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. We are the people of the Ocean to defend and to maintain the peace of the Indian Ocean….."
The words were prophetic. Nasheed would not have visualised five weeks ago that he was in an Indian Ocean island, the Maldivian capital of Male, unable to enforce his directives without the backing of his own Police and National Defence Force. A political tsunami of heavy proportions has been brewing for weeks since the arrest of the Criminal Court's Chief Judge, Abdullah Mohamed. Protagonists of Nasheed said Abdullah Mohamed had 'exceeded his mandate' as a member of the judiciary. However, opposition parties argued in one voice that Nasheed had not been "comfortable" with Mohamed's judgments that embarrassed both the Maldivian President and his MDP government. Nasheed had ordered that Chief Judge Mohamed be detained at the National Defence Force headquarters, one of the most secure locations in Male. It overlooks the sea front where the President's Jetty is located. Police took charge last Tuesday and released him by afternoon.
Mohamed's arrest led to opposition parties staging daily protests at the Artificial Beach grounds, a venue allotted to the business community to put up trading stalls. It has been so named because the area has been reclaimed from the sea somewhat thus changing the borders of Male. The Sunday Times pieced together the story behind Nasheed's exit after speaking with an assortment of people in Male. They included supporters of MDP, the opposition parties, civil society groups, senior Police and National Defence Force officials. Here is what happened.
Last Monday night, on one end of the grounds, supporters of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) gathered and were facing the opposition group at the other end. They were shouting slogans against opposition speakers. The opposition group included the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) led by Former President Gayoom and his former party Dhivehi Rayyathige Party (DRP), Gaumee Itthihaad Party, Adhaalath Party, Islamic Democratic Party, Maldives Democratic Party and the Dhivehy Quamee Party. Speaker after speaker began speeches that were highly critical of Nasheed and his government. Some were inflammatory. Emotions among opposition supporters were reaching fever pitch. Equally, anger within the supporters of the government side was boiling over. A full frontal confrontation between infuriated factions was not possible for only one reason - Police contingents armed with anti-riot gear and rifles loaded with rubber bullets were in the middle. They were on the ready to come down hard on both sides. A senior police officer arrived at the scene and wanted the contingents to withdraw immediately. "If we leave, they will fight. There will be bloodshed. Who will take the rap," a police officer asked his senior in Dhivehi, the national language of Maldives. The reply came almost instantly. "You don't worry. The National Defence Force (NDF) is coming soon," he replied. The junior officer was defiant. "We will leave only after they arrive," he responded.
The NDF arrived moments later and the Police withdrew. They stayed at the venue for a few minutes and left the area. Police officers who were on the NDF radio net learnt of the withdrawal instantly. Angered by this development, Police disobeyed their senior officers and headed again towards the grounds. On the way there were minor brushes with the departing NDF personnel. At least four truckloads of policemen fired tear gas, dispersed the crowds and brought the situation under control. To vent their anger, they also set fire to the MDP office Haaruge. They damaged computers and other equipment there.
As if that was not enough, they later chose to have a sit-in protest in the promenade outside the Police and the National Defence Force headquarters. On the other end lay the sea and the night breeze was strong. Some 800 policemen were now demanding that their Commissioner, Ahmed Taseehu come to their location and extend an apology for issuing "illegal orders." Those speaking for their protesting colleagues said they have been taught during training "never to follow illegal orders" and declared they would call off the sitin only when the apology is extended.
The time was now around 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Armed National Defence Force personnel formed a cordon around the policemen who were seated in the promenade. They now blocked other police officers from joining. Earlier, some had come in after producing their official identity cards. A senior police official spoke through a megaphone. He said that they all should be united and urged them to co-operate. He added that the NDF had wanted to interview the prominent protestors who were spokespersons for the group. This ignited a cacophony of voices. There were shouts in Dhivehi that all of them would go with the defence force and not just a few. Now more spokespersons were springing up to demand that the Commissioner Taseehu turns up to extend an apology.
Commissioner Taseehu was in his office monitoring the developments. A few police officers turned up there and he asked them to tell protest leaders to go to the NDF headquarters. One of them said that was a ruse to round up some of their junior leaders and place them in custody. It was 4 a.m. Teams of defence personnel armed with wicker shields, tear gas grenades and rifles loaded with rubber bullets arrived. They began to fire tear gas shells. The strong winds kept blowing them away but it did not deter them. A free for all followed. Protesting policemen, some of whom possessed weapons fired with rubber bullets drawing return fire from defence forces. Some onlookers ran whilst others joined the policemen and threw stones at the defence forces. When two hours of confusion and the fog of tear gas cleared, it was past 6 a.m. on Tuesday. President Nasheed, who had taken up position at the NDF headquarters, arrived at the scene accompanied by heavily armed bodyguards. "You have done something wrong. You have to hand over matters to the defence forces now," he told the crowd of policemen. They shouted back at him accusing him of being responsible for the crackdown on them. There were also shouts of 'resign,' 'resign.' A shocked Nasheed went back to NDF headquarters and ordered another crackdown by the defence forces. "Crush them," he said. The forces personnel arrived at the promenade. There were more exchanges of rubber bullets and firing of tear gas grenades. Now a major showdown between the police and the defence forces was looming. Police had asked civilians around the area to withdraw. Some senior officials of the defence forces had told their men of the futility of attacking the Police. They listened and there was a sudden lull.
It was 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Entering the scene was retired Colonel Ahmed Nizam. Once an officer in the NDF, he had been deenlisted by Nasheed. This was allegedly on the grounds that the Colonel was a staunch supporter of the former President Gayoom and should not remain at the headquarters. He went to Courts and won his case. The Court held that the dismissal was unlawful. However, Nizam did not want to return to the defence forces. Nizam obtained the approval of General Mohamed Jaleel, Commander of the NDF to speak with Nasheed who was inside his headquarters. By this time, sections of the NDF had begun to voice their support for the opposition parties. With a division inside, Jaleel perhaps did not want to urge his men to continue to heed orders from the President and Commander-in-chief. He felt it could be resolved through dialogue and thus avoid bloodshed.
Nizam had a lengthy meeting inside the NDF headquarters with President Nasheed. He had told him there was no option left for Nasheed with loyalties of the Police and the defence forces badly divided. Nasheed had lost their support. His continuance in office, he said, would lead to not only bloodshed but also have a debilitating effect on the country. He also said that people wanted him to resign. Nasheed said he wanted to go to his office and announce his resignation to the media from there.
A hurried news conference was summoned but participants were told expressly that no questions should be asked. Nasheed announced he would resign and read out a prepared statement. Nasheed said in a televised address,