A New Dawn in Maldives

Anni, Obama of Maldives

By Manish Chand

MALE: The 41-year-old Mohamed Nasheed, the new president of Maldives, has morphed into a national hero ever since he dislodged Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia's longest-serving ruler, in the watershed elections last month.

A former political prisoner who bore the brunt of political repression during the Gayoom era has become a symbol of hope and endurance for young Maldivians. Comparisons are being generously made with Nelson Mandela, who ended decades of apartheid in South Africa, and the new charismatic US President-elect Barack Obama, who has come to symbolise change not in the US but the world over.

"He is our Obama," says Ismail, a young Australia-educated banker. Ameena, who manages a souvenir shop in Male, is excited. "Maldivians are expecting a lot from him. He has become a hero for all of us," she said.

Nobody refers to the boyish-looking Nasheed, who studied at John Moores University in Liverpool before he became an uncompromising critic of Gayoom and co-founded the Maldivian Democratic Party along with his comrade-in-arms Mohammed Latheef in 2003, by his name. Everyone calls him Anni - his nickname since his college days.

A carnival of democracy in Maldives

It's literally a carnival of the oppressed in this Indian Ocean atoll nation. Cobbled streets of the Maldivian capital are a riot of colour with yellow flags sporting scales of justice, the symbol of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) that led the pro-democracy alliance to victory in the historic polls last month, adorning virtually every seafront building and shop.

Maldivians, specially the young and idealistic who rooted for democracy, throng the streets well past midnight, singing, dancing and having a party time. MDP supporters have organised a generous feast - rice, mutton and colourful sweets, in a thanksgiving party that transcends the political divide.

Go to any street corner, and one will find a gaggle of motorcycle-borne youth chanting and singing, soaking in a new democratic dawn in their life. Says Abdullah Waheed, a 20-something entrepreneur: "It's a new beginning and we are all very happy."

In fact, Male, perhaps the most congested city in the world with 90,000 people living in a 2.5 km area, has been partying since the Oct 28 polls that ended three decades of one man-rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and brought a man three decades younger than him to power. There is also a sense that justice has prevailed after years of political repression that saw pro-democracy activists being tortured and detained for the most frivolous reasons.

Ironically, Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed, the new president who turned out to be Gayoom's genesis, was jailed at least 13 times by the former president. "Anne Divehi Raj", a Maldivian youth chanted. "A new dawn", he replied when asked to translate his mantra into English.

Where is Gayoom?

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia's longest-serving ruler who ruled the Maldives for three decades like his sultanate, has faded from the public view after he was unseated by his rival Mohamed Nasheed.

His portraits still stare from some of the buildings, but not many are missing the man who is widely credited with transforming the Maldives from a sprawling fishing village into a tourist paradise and a hub for Hollywood celebrities looking for their bit of islet to soak in the sun and sand. There is speculation about his future under a new democratic dispensation. But Nasheed, the new president, has chosen to behave in a statesman-like manner and has offered that Gayoom can stay in the Maldives without fears of retribution from those whom he jailed and tortured for many years.

In his maiden presidential address, Nasheed struck a reconciliatory note: "No flowers will bloom, no birds will chirp and no butterflies will flutter in the flames of hatred, jealousy and rancour." His audience knew what he was talking about. Gayoom has already shifted out of the 60-million dollar opulent presidential palace to one of his private houses in the capital.

Clearly, it's not easy for the man who has known absolute power for three decades to live the life of an ordinary citizen. Smarting from electoral humiliation, he decided to give a miss to the swearing-in ceremony of his successor Tuesday. But those who know him well say Gayoom is not the kind to stay out of limelight for long. He is now planning to reinvent himself as a UN envoy for climate change - an issue that has a direct bearing on the world's lowest-lying country that can sink unseen forever if global warming is not checked.

A slice of India in the Maldives

The sunny side of life - Maldives' seductive call to tourists and honeymooners has also worked its charm on nearly 25,000 Indians who have made the Indian Ocean nation their home. Doctors, teachers, chartered accountants, bank managers, business executives, travel trade professionals - Indians have left their imprint in just about every walk of life in this country of 370,000 people that is making a new tryst with democracy.

Building upon their professional success, they are now itching to make their presence felt in public life with the India Club - an umbrella organization that brings together all Indians, cutting across caste and language divides, living in the Maldives.

The club, the first foreign organization registered as a voluntary body early this year, is in the forefront in bringing Indians working together on the occasion of festivals like Diwali and Holi and channelising their energies in a range of charitable activities like blood donation camps.

"We want to bring the Indian community together to give them a sense of oneness. Our Independence Day function was a great success," says Aparna Faujdar, wife of a hotel executive based in Male. Faujdar came to the Maldives nearly four years ago and has fallen in love with this country replete with sun-drenched islands, pristine beaches and turquoise lagoons. "I love the country. It's so peaceful. It's hard to experience this sense of peace anywhere," she says.

The India Club brings together government agencies like SBI and Indian Airlines and eminent local personalities for the betterment of the community and the development of Indo-Maldivian relations, says A.K. Pandey, India's high commissioner to the Maldives.

The envoy, who is clearly seduced by myriad charms of the Maldives, organized a function at Kurumba Resorts, a 15-minute boat from Male, recently to honour visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari in the presence of the Indian community. Informally interacting with prominent Indians, Ansari also lauded the enormous contribution of the Indian community to the life and economy of Maldives.

The India Club also helps Indian labourers in distress who sometime face harassment at the hands of their employers.

Dr R.J.C. Pandian, who words at ADK hospital, is also upbeat about life in the Maldives. "It's good clean life here. Maldivians feel a sense of connection with India and treat Indians with a lot of affection and respect," Pandian told IANS. Maldivians feel specially grateful to India for its efforts in promoting education and human resource development as over half the population in this country is under the age of 30.

Almost every Maldivian can recall with affection what he learnt from his Indian teacher. Over 6,000 Indian teachers teach at various schools and colleges in the Maldives. India has helped set up the Faculty of Engineering College and Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies. The only government-owned hospital in the Maldives has been set up by India and is named after former prime minister Indira Gandhi which has become an enduring symbol of Indo-Maldives friendship.

New President Takes Charge

By Manish Chand

Male: The Maldives, an Indian Ocean tourist paradise known for its luxurious resorts and sunny beaches, Nov 11 ushered in a new era of change as 41-year-old Mohamed 'Anni' Nasheed took oath as president, marking the end of three decades of one-man rule.

It was an electrifying moment for the 370,000 people in the 200-odd inhabited islands of this atoll nation as Nasheed, a former Britain-educated political prisoner, promised his citizens freedom of expression and dissent and vowed to build a new Maldives from "the flames of hatred, jealousy and rancor".

Hundreds of Maldivians gathered to cheer the president-elect as he took the oath after recitations of Quranic verses and the national anthem in the presence of a galaxy of foreign leaders, dignitaries and envoys at an elegant ceremony at an international convention centre on the seafront in Male.

A 21-gun salute followed the ceremony. Most Maldivians were glued to their TV screens watching Nasheed replace Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had jailed him many times for dissident.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari and Princess Dina Mired of Jordan were among those who witnessed the "unique moment of change" in the nation, comprising 1,190 islands and located 800 km from India's southern tip.

Over the years, the Maldives, which has the highest per capita income in South Asia, has morphed into a luxury holiday getaway and honeymoon nest where Hollywood celebrities don't mind spending thousands of dollars for a few days of peace and bliss.

Clad in a black suit and sporting a bright yellow tie, the color of hope and of the Maldivian Democratic Party, Nasheed, a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, captured the mood of optimism and renewal among people of the Maldives.

"Our republic today is decorated with the new hues that mark this historic moment in time, the age we live in and the circumstances of the nation," the president said.

"Today we can all sense that the time has come for the people to realize their long-cherished dreams," he said in his maiden presidential address.

Blending rhetoric and statesmanship, Nasheed spoke of reconciliation as he exhorted Maldivians to overcome the past and move to a new future.

"No flowers will bloom, no birds will chirp and no butterflies will flutter in the flames of hatred, jealousy and rancor," he said, while alluding to bitter partisan politics that had preceded the first multi-party elections last month that ended the three-decade rule of Gayoom.

He also promised to deliver on the five promises made by his Maldivian Democratic Party and the pro-democracy alliance he led to power, including better transport facilities in remote islands, controlling the cost of living, providing better housing and healthcare, and banning drugs from the country.

In a populist vein, he also announced a stipend of nearly $200 for people over 65 years of age - a measure that is aimed at winning the older people who were more inclined towards supporting Gayoom.

In a veiled dig at his predecessor, who chose to live in $60 million presidential palace, Nasheed hinted at more austere living and transparent governance.

"It is human to be consumed by the trappings of office and its lures... I pray to the almighty to keep me steadfast in honoring the responsibilities of my office and in protecting the rights of the people," he said.

Nasheed has promised to convert the presidential palace into a university and live in a more modest place.

‘Our strategic interests lie with India’

By Manish Chand

MALE: The Maldives' primary strategic interests lie with India and there is nothing that can change this plain fact, says the new foreign minister of the Indian Ocean country that installed a democratic regime last week after three decades of one-man rule.

"Our primary strategic interests lie with India. And there is nothing that can change this plain fact," Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed told this writer in an interview in Maldives’ capital city days after the 41-year-old Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed was sworn in as the first democratically elected president of the country.

"We have always been able to identify our interests with those of India. The 400 miles (640 km)between Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and Male is never going to change. That simple geographical fact is the cornerstone of our foreign policy," said Shaheed, a self-confessed Indophile who has visited India at least 20 times.

"Our foreign policy is convergent to that of India," he stressed.

Shaheed played a key role in the democratic movement in the Maldives that dislodged Asia's longest serving ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the country's first multi-party elections last month.

He also served as foreign minister in the Gayoom presidency, but resigned last year and joined the pro-democracy alliance after he felt Gayoom was not interested in promoting real democracy in the Maldives, home to 25,000 Indians.

"People should credit Maldives with more maturity in foreign policy. We have never embraced any policies that will upset the regional balance of forces," Shaheed said when asked about China's attempts to scale up its presence in the Maldives that some fear could endanger India's interests in the country.

The 44-year-old Shaheed, who became the country's youngest foreign secretary at age 34, is upbeat about new areas of expanded cooperation between India and the Maldives under a new democratic dispensation like science and technology, IT and renewable energy.

"The past contains the seeds of the future. After the 2004 tsunami, the Indian government provided the budgetary support to the Maldives. We are hopeful it will come this time also," he said.

"We are inviting Indian companies to invest in schools, hospitals and infrastructure. We are also planning an international tender for the construction of an intra-Maldives marine transport network. Indian companies are welcome to participate in it," he said.

"Some people link strong India-Maldives ties with the Gayoom era. But all the primary architects of Gayoom's foreign policy are on this side now - Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, who is now presidential spokesperson, long-time foreign secretary Salah Shihab and myself," he said.

"In fact, I articulated the India doctrine. Our foreign policy is convergent to that of India," he stressed.

Capturing national enthusiasm and the sense of renewal that has washed across the shores of the Maldives after the democratic elections, Shaheed said: "People are thrilled. Many of us have aspired and dreamt of this moment for a long time."

Shaheed asserted that the new government will overcome "all cleavages and obstacles" and fulfill the promises of better governance and economic conditions to about 370,000 inhabitants who live in 200-odd inhabited islands of the archipelago, better known as a tourist paradise that is a big draw with privacy-seeking Hollywood celebrities.

In a country that relies overwhelmingly on tourism, restoring financial health will be a top priority, the minister said while admitting that the recession in Europe has affected the flow of tourist dollars into the country.

"The rough and tumble of politics and governance has begun. What is now required is common sense, stability to resolve real issues. I am confident that this government can pull it through," he said.

There is no alternative but to live up to soaring expectations of people, he stressed.

"People have said yes to democracy. We are confident we will deliver. Till then, we are in warranty period."

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