We are the 99%

We are the 99%. We will no longer remain silent.

More posters

Reclaim the Parliament

Isn’t it funny how the MPs we elected are trying to give us the finger? When concerned citizens rise up and paste posters on the walls, the MPs are trying to retaliate by making that a criminal offense. The public deserves to know the phone numbers of the MPs. The people can criticize the MPs. No Privileges Bill should make the MPs immune to the criticism of the people. We will not stay idle and watch them pass resolutions and bills against us, the people. We will not tolerate their circus of a majlis chamber. We will reclaim the parliament.

photo: dyingregime

The Parliament belongs to the people

Citizens are expressing outrage over the ridiculous bill passed recently by the parliament to increase their benefits and allowances.

Please join the facebook group which is the main forum for organising the protests. As citizens of this country you deserve a better life and a better future. Don’t let the parliamentarians hijack your future.

More information on this issue:

Maldives Voices

Majlis Laundry

Idhikeeli

Is this the change we voted for?

It was a few days before the second round of voting in the presidential election of 2008. It was precisely the night of 24 October 2008. The air was filled with apprehension, expectation and excitement. The youth of Villingili (ViliMale) held an anti-regime music show. This was the second music show held against the dictatorial regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom; the first show was held in Male on 6 October 2008, just before the first round of voting and organised by our friends Lable Red. We covered these two events on this blog. The youth of Maldives were saying no to the dictator through music.

Organising a music show against the dictatorship was a watershed in the pro-democracy movement. It was just another barrier to be crossed, just like Minivan Bahus (the freedom debates), raising a banner against the dictatorship in Ghiyasudheen School, holding a mass protest on August 12-13. There was the element of fear because there was no guarantee as to how the regime would react to such events.

We can clearly remember that several musicians declined to participate in the two music shows. It was not because they were sympathetic to the regime but because of fear of arrest and torture. The few bands and musicians who participated in those events risked torture and stood up for freedom. Traphic Jamm and its vocalist Kayano rocked the crowd in the show held in Male as well as in Villingili. The show in Villingili is to be remembered especially for the participation of the reggae artist Haisham. His rendition of Bob Marley songs strengthened the revolutionary spirit among the young activists present at the show.

Today Haisham is a prisoner. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing less than one gram of cannabis. The objective of this blog post is not to debate whether it was a crime or not. It may be illegal to possess cannabis under Maldivian law and the law may prescribe a punishment of 10 years in jail. However, it is up to the people to question whether such laws are fair or not.

Today when we reflect on the increase in crime on our streets and the high percentage of young people involved in the drug trade and crime, we have to blame the laws of the past regime. The laws that put a teenager in prison for riding a bicycle at night without a bicycle lamp. The teenager then faces the harsh life in prison, mingles with hardened adult criminals and becomes a hardened criminal. The laws that put young drug users in prison and transformed them into the worst criminals.

The same laws are still in place and the government of President Mohamed Nasheed is so content with the land reclamation projects going on in Kulhudhuffushi, Thulhaadhoo and Velidhoo. The same laws are still in place and the parliament is run like a circus and their infighting makes even toddlers recoil in shame. The same archaic laws are in place, our judiciary is corrupt to the core and several judges are accepting bribes and letting hardened criminals free.

Today the street gangs in the Male are protected by politicians from MDP. The biggest drug kingpins are released and their drug money is given back to them by the judges. Male Municipality President Sarangu Adam Manik’s son can be brought back from Sri Lanka while he was in jail for a drug offense. However, ordinary citizens who don’t have any political connections are punished.

Is this the change we voted for? We did not vote for one elite to be replaced by another elite. We did not vote for the same system to oppress the young people of this country while only the faces in the Cabinet and the President’s Office are different. We did not vote for corrupt politicians to take the helm of our government and to be in the most influential positions of MDP. If we have to take to the streets again to bring a meaningful change we will not hesitate to do so.

“Don’t let them fool you
Or even try to school you, Oh! No
We’ve got a mind of our own
So go to hell if what you’re thinkin’ isn’t right
Love would never leave us alone
In the darkness there must come out to light

Don’t let them change you
Or even rearrange you, Oh! No
We’ve got a life to live
They say only, only
Only the fittest of the fittest shall survive
Stay alive.”
- Bob Marley, Could You Be Loved?

Clean Up the Judiciary

This man’s name is Mujthaz Fahmy. His mobile phone number is 7778111. We want you to call him. Why? He is the Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which has a mandate under the constitution to appoint and scrutinize judges. As the Chairman of JSC, Mujthaz is keeping important documents to himself without sharing it with other JSC members. He is trying to appoint corrupt judges who have criminal records. The JSC is trying to make those judges permanent, meaning they will remain in their positions till they retire at 70 years of age.

This is an important alert to members and supporters of 919 Movement. In 2008, we worked day and night to bring democracy to the Maldives. We organised campaigns, we put coffins on streets of the capital and we distributed hundreds of fliers. Our friends from Lable Red and the youth of Villingili held music shows protesting the dictatorship. Badhalakah Emmen held a march down the central street of Male and organised music shows. However, the struggle is not over yet. Without a good judiciary our democracy will be like a melody without music.

So please make that phone call to Mujthaz Fahmy and tell him you don’t want criminals as judges. We want you to send him SMS saying you want only judges with clean records in the judiciary. Keep checking this blog for more updates and actions.

For background info on JSC and what is happening now:
Article 285: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Article-285/131398343543647
Velezinee’s Blog: http://velezinee.blogspot.com
Idhikeeli FB page: http://facebook.com/idhikeeli
Idhikeeli Blog: http://idhikeeli.blogspot.com

Marking first anniversary of democracy in Maldives

On 28 October 2008, the people of the Maldives brought democracy to the country and toppled a 30-year-old dictatorship through a nonviolent and peaceful election. It is now time to build on the foundation laid on that day and work towards a democracy of which our future generations could be proud. There are forces within our society trying to destabilise our democracy. There are forces that would like to take the country back to the corruption and autocracy that were hallmarks of the 30-year-old dictatorship. But we are not going there anymore. Never again.

A music show organised in October 2008 by the youth of Villingili (ViliMale') to protest against the 30-year-old dictatorship.

Mariyam Manike, mother of Eavan Naseem – the inmate tortured and killed in Maafushi jail on 19 September 2003 – standing near a coffin placed by 919 at Gadi Buru area of Male’ in October 2008.

Victory for the people of Maldives through nonviolent action

The election held on October 28 in the Maldives resulted in a clear victory for the people of the Maldives. However, against the backdrop of this victory lies months, if not years, of planning and mobilising the people conducted by democracy activists, civil society groups and political parties.

Vanessa Ortiz, Director of Civic and Field Relations, International Center for Nonviolent Conflict writes in Global Campaign for Peace Education Newsletter about the key ingredients for the success of a nonviolent struggle: unity, planning, nonviolent discipline, creativity and confidence. Ortiz cites examples from Maldives to elaborate these ingredients, quoting from Hindha Ismail, one of the organisers of Badhalakah Emmen (Unite for Change) group which mobilised the youth before the election through music and other activities.

Another key ingredient is planning. In the Maldives, many local organizations and activists came together to plan strategically. Overt political gatherings were not allowed and often invited government and police harassment. Planning meetings were planned by pockets of civil society leaders and held in safe spaces. Hindha acknowledges that a great deal of time went into planning. “At the end of each day, all of the active members had a meeting to analyze the effectiveness of the activities carried out on that day,” she reflects. “We also brainstormed constantly for new ideas and took votes on how to proceed.”

The third key ingredient to success is nonviolent discipline. A nonviolent movement can enlist participation from most citizens – young and old, men and women, rich and poor. The Maldivian struggle was committed to nonviolent principles from the very beginning. “Every rally began with instructions and advice on how to use nonviolent tactics,” Hindha remembers.  “Our main message was nonviolent change.” Violence invites repression, and in a contest of arms, Maldivian activists knew they could not win. The use of violence could not lead to the broad-based coalition that they developed, it would terrorize citizens, and violence would not win the international support of potential allies and economic interests that the dictator often courted. Remaining nonviolent was a strategic choice.

It is important for the people to be on alert to guard and protect the democracy in the Maldives. Any attempts to undermine democracy should be challenged through carefully planned nonviolent action.