Justice for Gayyoom and his cronies should be sought with swiftness and fairness

My mother who, like me, is a supporter of MDP and the reformist movement, was looking forward to the day when ex-dictator Gayyoom is brought to justice. But when the onset of that justice was seen Monday night, when Gayyoom was forcefully summoned to the Police Headquarters, my mother said that she felt a tinge of sympathy for Gayyoom.

It’s easy to feel that way since Maldivians are easygoing people who, not only forgive easily but forget easily too. My mother and many thousands of Maldivians would not easily forgive the many atrocities committed by Gayyoom’s ironfisted regime over a period of 30 years ending in 2008, but many Maldivians tend to forget those things when dictators such as Gayyoom paint a rosy picture and hide behind the “law”.

People such as Yamin and Gayyoom and Hameed can now easily pull the letters of the Law or the constitution and preach holier-than-thou prose when they were the ones who trampled that very Law in the past.
The drama that was played out live on Dhi-TV when Gayyoom was taken in to police headquarters for questioning was more enthralling than the infamous “Kasoati” itself. Tens of thousands of people were glued to the TV screens and many thousands more had their ears glued to the live broadcasts on FM radio. Cell-phone networks were jammed and traffic became palpably heavy in Male' through the course of the Monday evening as rumours circulated through the city of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s arrest.

Angry confrontations happened between Gayyoom’s supporters and the riot police. Eventually Gayyoom was summoned to the Police by force. Now the Court has released a temporary ruling which prevents any forceful summon of Gayyoom or Yamin to the Presidential Commission or the Police.

Despite some apparent resistance from various directions, the government must not be discouraged from seeking justice. All efforts must be concerted to bring all the rogue elements from the ex-regime to justice. No one (as Gayyoom has told in the infamous BBC interview) is “above the law”. Hence his own words should apply to himself and his brothers or friends or whoever. If Gayyoom believes he is innocent then he should have nothing to hide. Any delays in the current investigations would be seen as a weakness on the part of the government. Justice should be sought with fairness and swiftness.

Ex-president Gayyoom and Yamin should be made answerable

The Ousted ex-president of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom has been sent a summon to attend the Presidential Commission investigating cases of corruption related to his ironfisted 30-year-rule. The notice was initially sent around 6:00 on Thursday evening but he refused to accept it, claiming that the Commission does not have the legal mandate to summon him. Dictator’s younger brother and former Trade Minister, Yamin also refused to attend the Commission claiming it had no legal mandate. Yamin was later questioned by Police in relation to the matter on the request of the Commission.

According to the Commission, setup by President Nasheed in May, Gayyoom is being summoned to make some inquiries and clarify some issues. Gayyoom’s officials say that they will submit a formal letter on Sunday (19tyh July) stating why he will not attend the commission.

As stated previously in this blog, this country will not heal until the ex-dictator (Gayyoom) and his corrupt cronies are brought to justice. Commission or no-commission, these people will have to be made answerable to the people to clarify many outstanding issues that involve millions of dollars of corruption. Whether Gayyoom or his cronies are responsible for those corruption has to be decided once and for all by a fair and free trial. Any resistance from Gayyoom and Yamin and any of their cronies could be seen as a blatant attempt to delay justice and a possible attempt to hide something.

What next for "Islam" in the Maldives?

The Press Secretary of the President's Office (Zuhair) has openly challenged the system of Hadhdh (canning Fornicating men and women) in Islamic Sharia and the Maldivian Law. This could be interpreted as a challenge to Allah and a challenge to Islam.
What next, one wonders? Would we soon hear Zuhair or some other misguided bureaucrat openly asking for the construction of temples in the Maldives?
I supported MDP and Anni (Nasheed) and I continue to do so, but these sorts of statements from stupid and misinformed bureaucrats such as Zuhair is exposing the shortcomings of the government. I wonder where all the Islam-loving people of this country are. If a person such as Zuhair said a similar thing in, say Pakistan or Bangladesh or even Malaysia, people would have come out in force to protest on the streets, against the one who said it or even against the government! I wonder where the pseudo-religious Umar Naseer stands on this issue!
I'm not afraid of anyone but Allah. That’s the reason why I have written this comment. Who does Anni think he is? And the same could be said about his little conniving helpers if they think they can belittle Allah and His Prophet and His Religion. I do not have to write anything to bring down Anni and his government. If Anni and Zuhair think that they can plan against Allah they have forgotten that more "intelligent and powerful" people did plan against Islam and the Prophet but ultimately Allah and His religion and His Prophet prevailed - and will continue to prevail.