The new government should take responsibility for the explosion of violence and murder in the Maldives?

The eighteen year old student with his accomplice murdering a 23 year old Youngman yesterday is just another example of what is going wrong with the current government. How many people have been stabbed in the last few weeks, how many houses have been robbed the last few weeks since this government came to power? Some news papers have reported that the young men behind the fatal stabbing of the 23 year old have direct links with the current governing political party MDP.

Added to the burden of growing violence on the citizens is the release, and different concessions given to the six hundred or so criminals in the prison. Because they have decided to go on hunger strike the government released more than hundred of those people who are convicted criminals without any consideration on the public safety and the current growth of violence.

The government with a history of violence strategies to achieve its ends so far has been manipulating the ongoing violence and robberies within different parts of the country to fit its own agendas, as most targeted victims belong to other political parties or people who supported the other parties in the last election, Nasheed and MDP has been giving a deaf ear to our calls and attempts to bring the situation under control.

One thing this government should realise is while violence and the current wave of crime works for their advantage, to watch what happening, particular cases of violence and murder is an indication of the loss of rule of law and anarchy in the Maldives. The main reason why governments are formed is to uphold the Rule of law, needed to provide the security and peace for its citizen to live. However from the beginning despite our ongoing efforts of the victims to bring to the attention of this government, that offenders see this government as an opportunity to engage in violence and crime, because of their ultra motive to attain political popularity among those who belong to that group, a major support base of MDP they ignored the efforts. The result is what we are seeing today.

The growing violence, this latest murder and President Nasheed’s failure to even acknowledge what is happening combined with the parties past indicate this government is unconstitutional and anti-democratic and has no intention of combating or controlling the ongoing violence. Destabilising our peaceful existence as a mean to stay in power will no longer work for the Maldivian people.

This recent incident resulting in loss of life indicates that no one is safe. People who are simply going out and about going on with their lives are getting fatally stabbed. Attacks on people’s life and property has sky rocketed and people are now living in fear during broad daylight. What is really going on here is the message that MDP as a political party has given to violence lovers has gone for too long without any attempts to reversing it. That is MDP’s anti democratic often violent strategies during the begging of the democratic reform era means that under a government by them violence and robbery damage to properties etc is no big deal. This is why the government should come out now and let these people know that they are concerned about what is going on and disassociate their party and themselves from that kind of behaviour. President Nasheed should have given the message loud and clear as soon as he came to power and should react immediately and show that he himself and his party strongly condemn violence.

There is also a culture within the Maldives police service to investigate crimes and attacks of violence after it happens. Their role they see fit is to investigate the crimes and violence as cases. This culture is not only in Male’ but every police station established in the atolls has started operating this way since the new government came to power. However the protection of common citizens is an on going responsibility and police should be doing their job pre, post and present attitude. Maintaining the rule of law is a full time job and prevention should be the strategy at all times to prevent the criminals from committing acts of violence and crime. We say in medical terms that prevention is better than cure. The same can be applied in the case of violence and crime. It is important that Maldives police service formulates a strategy to combat the situation before happening and instead of waiting to react after crimes and voice is committed; they should implement and maintain strategies to thwart it from happening. How many houses have to be destroyed, how many Maldivians need to be stabbed and how many Maldivians need to die for them to start on such a code of conduct. Enough violence and enough crimes have been committed for the government and Maldives police force to immediately start preventive and protection programs and strategies.

The people particularly those who supported other political parties in the last election has been living in fear for their lives and properties. Houses and properties have been burned down and it is a fact that damages to peoples properties has occurred in different parts of Maldives. It is also a fact that even the most vulnerable like the old has and are been the victims of robberies and violent rampages.

The media and human rights organisations of Maldives since Nasheed and MDP’s government came to power seem to have ceased their operations. Nasheed once becoming the president has closed his powerful weapon Minivan newspapers and a couple of other anti-government media run by him and his family. Many of the newspapers that were critical of situations as such, like Minivan newspapers wanted to change the government. But after coming to power what is happening under this administration particularly the growing amount of violence and crime means we need media and institutions to get established to make this government accountable and take action. We need more media sources to start making Mohamed Nasheed and his government accountable to control the situation. For the ongoing crimes and violence to be controlled such a media is necessary.

We need the Maldives media to document the violence and cases of crime, not only what happens in the capital but what is happening around Maldives in the different atolls and different islands. Many of the incidents that occur in the islands never have any space in the centrally controlled media in the capital island Male’. Similarly the police force needs to disperse their task forces to the atolls and islands and document every incident. Any case of violence and crimes are human rights related, therefore NGOS that were doing the job before Nasheed came to power, should also take responsibilities to publicise the incidents. Together even though the government, (many now suspect behind the violence) continues to give a deaf ear, we can do something in contributing to protecting the victims and the general citizens.