stay away from politics in the Maldives? what a joke

Got a call last night. My friend wanted to know what I hoped to gain by this blog spot. My question is do I have to "gain" anything? The gist of the argument was there must be a motive, a political motive. WTF! This is my blog where I write whatever bull I want and I don't particularly care two kavaabus if people don't even know that it exists let alone read it. This is where I spill out my gut churning, projectile vomitting, carcinogens and I will continue to do so as long as I please. If he thinks that I am doing this for a political reason, he can go and lick a certain ageing, pimpled derriere.

After the conversation, I realised that my friend's concerns aren't without a reason after all. In the Maldives, every action, every reaction is often politically related even if not motivated. While there are many who tries their level best to stay out of the political sphere, it inevitably lands on them and drags them helplessly into this vortex of lies, corruption, power and greed. A few years ago as long as you remain silent you may be able to escape. Now its no more. Even if you are a hapless bystander, you have no guarantee that you will be able to remain a bystander for long. Someone you know, someone close to you would be embedded deeply inside this political game and you are forced to take sides. And the best way to even try and remain a bystander is to play the political game..what a paradox aye?

So I am not surprised that my friend thought I had an ultimate motive in this and refuses to accept that this is just a tool for letting out my frustrations.

When is the next cabinet reshuffle? hehe

Poli what? err? aye? Politics? what the hell is that?

My grandad's friend Adambe told my dad today that he doesn't understand politics.

When my dad prompted him to explain what he meant, Adambe said, "Katheeb told me that having political parties would be a bad thing for the Maldives. And I believed him. Then he told me later, it is a good thing. So I believed him again. Then he told me a few months back, It is a good thing as long as I join DRP. Now I am confused."

Join the Club.

From a particular point of view, politics is confusing. What do we achieve by trying to convert Maldives into a multi-party democracy? Do we really think we are going to be better off? Better-off for who? For those who are desperately trying to join the political rat-race in the hope that they would eventually end up in the higher echelons of power? Or for those average Maldivian trying to improve his life? Fine, we have a multi-party system now. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is now trying to register a party (even if some claim that they have no desire to run for office but just to highlight the social ills of life. In that respect, I would assume that registering an NGO would have a better impact but then....)

But where does all this lead to? Don't get me wrong. I am all for a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Only I doubt there exists a single one in this world. Doesn't mean we can't be the pioneers in the Maldives!

For most of us (and here I am taking the liberty of speaking for the most of us) politicking have now reached a stage where we are not sure what it has achieved so far and where it is taking us. The MDP has done their shouting on the road. They have had their activists arrested. They have been able to draw cartoons of the President and print them in magazines. The international media has taken an interest even if lukewarm about the Maldives. The President has formed "the ruling party". Instead of asking people whether they supported Victory or New Radiant, people now ask whether they belong to MDP or DRP. The word "Golhaabo" has become a new part of our everyday vocabulary. People log into the net to check DO before they even have breakfast. People we never thought and heard of have suddenly become a big part of the "Sarukaaru".

WHAT ELSE?

For the Maldivian worried about how he is going to buy the school books for his kids, how he is going to pay for the medical treatment of his ailing mother, how he is going to find the money to rebuild his house so that his daughter will have a room when she gets married, worried whether his son would become the next drug addict, whether it would be his house that would get broken into next...I doubt whether he could see the light at the end of this political tunnel.

So if this is all what politics is about it is hardly suprising that Adambe is confused.

I am off for some coffee and some de-confusing time...

maybe do some "Golhaabo Faibaa" therapy on the way......

today's protest and the freedom of choice

Whew!

So I breathe a sigh of relief that today’s protest against police brutality passed off without incident. All right, the turn out was small but the fact that not a single arrest was made is worth celebrating about. For those couple of hours, people in the Maldives who were there at the protest were able to express their views freely and most importantly hear what they wanted to listen to.

Freedom of expression is the keystone of every democracy. In the first session of the UNGA resolution 59(I) was adopted which states "Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and ... the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated."

We cannot make informed decisions if there is no freedom of expression. We would be living in the Dark Ages like we were before in the Maldives. We would be whispering in hushed tones and give scared glances around in case someone was listening and someone reported us; took us to into custody and tortured us. That is sadly what happens most of the time. But not today. Not for those few hours.

Why is the government so scared of giving us something that is guaranteed by the virtue of us being born humans? Answer? simple!

I believe Golhabo is frightened because it gives us Maldivians dignity. It makes us human. And he cannot afford that. If he allows all those in the opposition to be “human” then he cannot get his Golhaa Force to beat them up and torture them. So he has to dehumanize the opposition. So that his Golhaa Force will not hesitate to act on his behalf. They will not stop and think “wait! These guys are human beings like us”.

So he cannot afford to give them the freedom to think. Because freedom means choice.

And they just might choose someone else.

They just might.

Just might.

Might.

talk..talk..talk (atleast Yameen is not a hypocrite)

Talk, Talk, Talk, that is all we seem to do. OK, I am not saying that this MDP/DRP talk is a bad thing. But what good is talking if it leads to nowhere. They talked before didn't they? Remember something called the Westiminster House Agreement? What happened to it? Is it up Golhabo's arse? I am very sceptial about this round of talks too. They will issue some kind of joint statement and then both parties will blame each other for breaking it.

People are still getting beaten up. People are still getting tortured. People are still being dragged around by the police at their whim and fancy. The other day a brother of one of my mates got taken by the police and they kept him for a solid 10 hours without a single question. And people said he was lucky he walked out without any broken bones. Not so lucky is the guy who ended in the ICU.

I cannot for the world accept that Golhabo is serious about reform. For heaven's sake, he has the majority in the parliament. All his cronies are there. If the bugger was serious about bringing democracy and reform why don't he fucking tell them to just go ahead and amend the constitution? What if the MDP kept singing "Here we go round the Mulberry Bush:? What can they do? they are a minority. If Golhabo wants reform he can jolly well do it.

So I dont care how many people actually believe that Golhaa is a reformist. He ain't one. All he wants is to prolong this process so that he can hang on to power as long as he likes. Until Malakal Mauth comes and fetches him. Maybe even then he'll try and negotiate to remain in this world a little while longer. Or he will try and send Golhaa Force after him too.

Talk, talk, talk......yak, yak, yak.

and Golhaa shall be President forever.

NB My friend Ayya just read this and said, "AT LEAST YAMEEN IS NOT A HYPOCRITE". (he didnt attend the talks) hehehe

out with the old and in with the new

So another new year dawns on us...shall I be excited? Worried? or shall I greet it with apathy?

More of the same old shit probably awaits us this year. Ok Saddam is dead and gone, but you bet there wont be the excitement of hanging either Bush or Blair this year. I don't need to be Nostradamus to guess that much. I mean it would be interesting to see how the world reacts if Bush is hanged. Not that I support capital punishment. But just for a moment of pure curiosity I wonder how the Fox news would report the hanging of ol Dubya Bush. Or the BBC for Tony Blair? I wonder if John Simpson would do the final report? ...

What does 2007 bring to the Maldives? more political bull..no doubt. Cabinet reshuffle? Another Golhaa crony brought in with another new Ministry created? More MDP whinging and in-fighting and more Hill & Knowlton spin for the government? Would we ever see some real change in our country this year? Probably not.

For Hassanbe down the road he'll still sit in his Maarkeytu Golhi selling his "lunboa mirus' and would have to make "his rounds to the houses of the rich" to buy the school books for his grandchildren who he's looking after.

Life would not make an iota of difference just because 2007 is 'ere