Tagged: Maldives coup

Regression, regression, regression

It has been almost four months since the first democratically elected government of the Maldives fell on 7 February 2012. Since then, the new regime has lowered the national discourse to a level that befits the fourth Century rather than the 21st.

What has been accorded top priority in the national agenda despite the social, political and economic turmoil in the country are not policies for economic survival, decreasing the rising criminality and gang violence, social welfare schemes and educational development  but sorcery, anachronistic and cruel practices such as Female Genital Mutilation, length of men’s beards and coverage of women’s ‘modesty’. And alleged irreligiousness of Nasheed and his supporters.

The agenda for the All-Party talks, for all intents and purposes a ‘Roadmap’ for returning the country to some sort of normalcy is a case in point. It clearly demonstrates that the new regime has no intention of putting democracy on the agenda; it prefers to make a mockery of reformists’ demand to do so.

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Coups, cocks and condoms

by Azra Naseem

Ever since we humans  signed the social contract, there have been great many reasons and excuses for restricting freedom of assembly. I’d wager, though, that throwing a ‘cursed cock’ at army personnel, or being in possession of unused condoms have never before been among them.

Yesterday the Maldives Police Service raided the protest camp the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has erected near the north-eastern shores of Male’ the capital with a search warrant issued on the basis that it was being used for black magic and sorcery, along with other ‘criminal activity.’ Having searched the premises, they triumphantly announced to the press their discovery of ‘evidence’– an unused pack of condoms.

According to diligent reporters at Minivan News, a local online newspaper, it was a packet of Moods Ultrathin. Perhaps their criminality lies in what they promise. As Moods’ Indian manufacturers would have it, they give you the ‘delight of uninhibited pleasure’. And in modern Male’, being dragged kicking and screaming back to the 14th Century by Islamists, pleasure is fast becoming a crime punishable by Sharia.

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Who let the crows out?

by Azra Naseem

However you feel about MDP protests, you cannot say they are lacking in imagination.

When they were at Raalhugan’du, MDP activists’ first base after the coup, the place had a buzz similar to the Occupy sites that sprang up in cities across the world in this year’s anti-capitalist fervour. There was music, political oratory, poetry, and pudding. The young, the old, the city-folk and the islanders mingled, united in their condemnation of the coup.

Having been sent packing from Raalhugan’du, accused of possession of condoms and beer, MDP activists have transferred the atmosphere to street demonstrations. Now they come with drums, slogans, baton twirlers, and clever placards.

Now we have the Case of the Missing Crows at Usafasgan’du. Who let the crows out? Did they engineer a great escape, tired of the crowd incessantly cawing for early elections? Or, did the police kidnap them as is alleged?

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