A tool to suppress political dissent - MDP

~ Maldive-Lanka MoU

By Asif Fuard

The main opposition party in the Maldives -- the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has expressed great concern over the Memorandum of Understanding on intelligence-sharing signed between Sri Lanka and the Maldives last month. The MDP Chairman Mohamed Nasheed alias Anni who was in Colombo early this month at an interview with The Sunday Times said Maldivian President Abdul Gayoom might use the MoU to suppress the political campaign carried out by the MDP in Colombo.

Mr. Nasheed said:“A large number of Maldavians live in exile in Sri Lanka as they fear President Gayoom and because they have no freedom in their own country. An MoU like the one signed recently will give the Maldivian government the authority to call for the deportation of the politically victimised Maldavians living in Sri Lanka.”

Maldivian Democratic Party Chairman Mohamed Nasheed

“We understand that unlike the judiciary in Sri Lanka, the Maldivian judiciary is influenced by President Gayoom. Because the Maldives has no effective rule of law, the MDP carries its political campaign in Sri Lanka and in other countries. But such an MoU can be used to suppress our legitimate campaign,” he said. “Our campaign is not about slandering Mr. Gayoom. What we ask is for the restoration of the rule of law, media freedom, human rights and for free and fair elections in the Maldives a means of building a vibrant civil society. We have directed this matter to the diplomatic community as well. But the Maldives does not get much attention from the international community. The Maldives is a police state run by President Gayoom where police impunity is taking place and such an MoU can be detrimental to Maldivian expatriates living in Sri Lanka.”

According to reports more than 700 Maldivians have been subject to political detention and this has compelled many opposition politicians to seek political asylum elsewhere. The MoU signed between Sri Lanka and the Maldives came in the backdrop of the September 29 bombing in Male the Maldivian capital which injured 12 foreigners.

The Sunday Times learns that two Maldivians who came to Sri Lanka two weeks ago were deported from the Bandaranaike International Airport after the Maldivian government requested the Sri Lankan government to deport them as terrorist suspects. The Maldives and Sri Lanka signed the MoU on November 1 when Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama visited Male to gift that country a central library.

A special ceremony was held at the Defence and National Security Ministry of the Maldives. The Defence and National Security minister Ismail Shafeeu signed the MOU on behalf of the Maldives. The MoU was mainly based on preventing, suppressing and combating terrorism and to prevent cross border financing of terrorism between the two countries, illegal arms and drug trafficking.

Sri Lankan intelligence sources say Maldives is used as a smuggling route for the LTTE to traffic arms and ammunitions which resulted in the MoU being signed. The Maldivian High Commission First Secretary Miss Louza Ali declined to comment when The Sunday Times asked if the MoU would be used to suppress the MDP’s political campaign.