Submitted by Capt. Shafiu Gasim
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| The Last Promise: A BRIDGE between Male and Hulhumale. |
In one form or another Maldives was ruled by a Dictator
since time immemorial. As the society progressed and its people became educated,
the push for democracy and freedom intensified. Finally, in 2008 President Gayoom
had to succumb to the pressure from the public and Alas! Maldivians got the
Democracy and Freedom they called for.
During the campaign of the first free and fair elections, the
last promise Mr. Gayoom made to the people was a “Bridge”. It was going to be a Bridge between Male and
Hulhumale. It was the last sigh of the ailing President who had run out of
promises, short of fame, heavy with brutality, and forgotten moralities.
The election results confirmed Mohamed Nasheed better known
as Anni to be President of Maldives from 2009 to 2013. He came into power on a platform of promises
to reinstate a better economy, better salaries, better transportation, lower
prices, and houses for the homeless, and a state of art health program for all
Maldivians.
Maldivians were more than willing to forgive Anni, for the
blunders made due to his inexperience in public office at least during the
honeymoon period of this new presidency. But as the days passed by the phenomena
of Anni blundering became his usual way of decision making; like a dumb kid not
learning from his own mistakes and repeating them. This led to the rise of the
public’s agitation to a level of no return.
Anni’s disregard for democratic rational and values,
ignoring Court decisions even those of the Supreme Courts of the land and in
his zeal for protests and unrest coupled with his eloquence for rude speeches,
dismayed the Public to a deeper abyss of hopelessness and mistrust in his leadership.
All this added up to Public outrage on to the streets of Male. Day by day, the
once peace loving people of Maldives became an antagonized public facing the brutality
of an arbitrated Police force on its streets.
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| THE BRIDGE |
To calm the situation and the anger of the people, Anni dug deep
into the textbooks of Autocratic rulers; easily available by his bedside was
the book on “The Deeds of Gayoom”, the very man he contested and won. In his
dismay and desperation, with no one to turn to and no time to spare, he flipped
through the pages to the final chapter of the book; THE LAST PROMISE. Panic
stricken Anni found salvation. It was the
promise of a BRIDGE; the bridge between Male and Hulhumale.
Remarkably, like the last sigh of a once ailing President
who had run out of promises in 2008, President Nasheed too; short of fame,
heavy with brutality, and forgotten moralities wasted no time to announce his “BRIDGE”
between Male and Hulhumale.
The thought may have come a little too late, for one could
interpret the situation Anni the President of Maldives is in as catastrophic; a
State of the Nation where
1. Military abducting Chief
Justice and political opponents.
2. Supreme Court Judges
intimidated and terrorized by ruling party (MDP) thugs
3.
Daily protests both by the
government and the opposition running late into the night
4.
Arbitrary arrests of
citizens opposed to MDP by the Police Force have become a routine.
5. Opposition Parliament
Members are summarily arrested with brutal force.
6.
Economy has been brought
down to its knees.
7.
Unemployment level is at an
all-time high
8.
The evil is flourishing: young men and women are flocking to take part
in the Para military force of the ruling party.
9. High ranking government
figures tendering resignation are on the rise
10.
Gang culture is on the
rise, ruling the streets of male, terrorizing the public.
11.
Police force is incapable
of stopping street violence, preoccupied by political vendetta assignments
12.
Free media is warned, it
would be shut down if anti governments sentiments are aired.
13.
Social fabric of the
society is torn to pieces
14.
All democratic institutions
set up by the 2008 constitution is paralyzed
15.
The Maldivian dream is
nearing its end.
