(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is concerned that the 22 January 2005 elections in the Maldives have virtually no chance of being free and fair, as promised by the government, because of a striking absence of press freedom in the country. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, his family and supporters control both public and private media outlets, in […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is concerned that the 22 January 2005 elections in the Maldives have virtually no chance of being free and fair, as promised by the government, because of a striking absence of press freedom in the country.
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, his family and supporters control both public and private media outlets, in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees “the right to express one’s conscience and ideas verbally, in writing or by any other method”.
The organisation strongly regrets that the government, which postponed elections after the tsunami disaster, has not taken steps to ensure free media coverage of the campaign for a new Majlis (Parliament).
The Maldives were ranked 157th out of 167 countries in RSF’s October 2004 world press freedom index.
The organisation urged international observers presently in the Maldives, particularly those of the Commonwealth, headed by the former president of Mauritius, to note the flagrant lack of press freedom in their final reports.
Since the start of the election campaign, the opposition has been all but excluded from broadcasts on the state-run radio station Voice of Maldives and from public television.
The country has three privately-owned dailies and around a dozen magazines. The leading newspaper, “Haveeru”, is controlled by the former sports and youth minister. The daily “Aafathis” belongs to President Gayoom’s brother-in-law, while the third, “Miadhu Daily”, is under the head of state’s direct control. Information Minister Ahmed Abdullah leads the paper’s editorial team.
Magazines and private-owned tabloid newspapers in the country enjoy more freedom, even though presidential associates have positions on most management and editorial boards.
The government also maintains a tight grip on publication licences. In March 2003, the Information Ministry revoked 22 licences for “illegal publication”. Targeted publications included “Monday Times”, which was already unable to publish since all the country’s printing houses had refused to print it since 2002 (see IFEX alert of 15 April 2003).
Three cyber-dissidents – Mohamed Zaki, Ahmad Didi and Fathimath Nisreen – have been deprived of their freedom because they launched the Internet newsletter “Sandhaanu” (see alerts of 2 December, 26 and 14 October, 18 August, 30 April and 10 February 2004 and 21 January 2003). They were found guilty of “insulting the president” and “attempting to overthrow the government (. . .) by creating the newsletter entitled Sandhaanu”, even though the Divehi-language site did not post any calls to violence. Zaki and Didi are presently under house arrest in Malé, while Nisreen was recently banished again to Feeail Island. Another cyber-dissident, Naushad Waheed, is also under house arrest after being sentenced to 15 years in prison in October 2002. RSF once again calls for the release of the four cyberdissidents.
On 31 December 2004, the president lifted charges of “treason” and “disturbing public order” against dozens of opposition supporters who were arrested for taking part in a demonstration in Malé in August, but the four cyber-dissidents were not included in the amnesty.
News websites, including http://www.maldivesculture.com and http://www.minivannews.com, are inaccessible in the Maldives, while shortwave broadcasts of the London-based station Miniva (Free Radio) are regularly scrambled in Malé. These media outlets mainly give a platform to opposition figures and exiles.
