Clandestine Radio Watch 198 Extra A
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CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH 198 Extra A
January 24, 2006
CRW is the biweekly online magazine for ClandestineRadio.com, the Web's
only portal on clandestine broadcasting and subversive media.
http://www.ClandestineRadio.com
The full online issue can be read at:
http://www.ClandestineRadio.com/crw/crw.php?id=278
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Maldives: "Tango... Bravo... Red Alert"
By Nick Grace, CRW Washington
January 24, 2006
"TANGO... BRAVO... RED ALERT" reads the headline on the front page of the
DhivehiObserver.com, an independent and pro-democracy Maldivian Web site
based in the UK. Peaceful demonstrations are getting underway in the
Maldives, an archipelago of 26 coral atolls that sprawl across the Indian
Ocean to the southwest of Sri Lanka in a strategic location where US$200
billion of the world's maritime traffic passes through. As the political
opposition, an opposition that has increasingly witnessed a
state-sponsored campaign of fear, gears up to rally for change, the
regime is unleashing its propaganda machine in an attempt to send a chill
through the expected large turnout.
The nationwide demonstrations are being organized by the Maldivian
Democratic Party (MDP), the main democratic opposition to the 28-year
long dictatorship of Maumoon Gayyoom. Beginning at 2 pm local time in
Male' (UTC+5) the demonstrations are expected to gain momentum later in
the evening and will roll into Wednesday, when the MDP's chairman
Mohammad Nasheed, also known as Anni, is scheduled to go on trial for
treason and sedition - charges that carry a minimum of 20 years
imprisonment. A source within the opposition told Clandestine Radio Watch
(CRW) that the trial is expected to last one day if it is not, in fact,
postponed and that Anni's guilty verdict is expected.
CRW reached Anni through opposition sources by telephone and he said that
the regime refuses to disclose its evidence against him. He was arrested
in August 2005 while participating in a peaceful demonstration and is
currently under house arrest.
The next few hours, he said, are critical and the entire opposition
remains unafraid.
Article 26 of the Maldivian Constitution clearly provides for the freedom
of assembly, stating that "Persons shall be free to assemble peaceably
and in a manner that does not contravene the law." Yet the Maldivian
Ministry of Home Affairs has released a press release warning the public
from participating in the MDP's rallies. "The demonstration that the
Party has planned is not permitted by the constitution," it states. "This
demonstration will also undermine the peace and security of the nation.
This is a public statement to inform all that any participation in the
protest of demonstration is not permitted."
As the MDP is beginning to warn its 40,000 members of potential violence
and even mass kidnappings, opposition sources tell CRW that a
1,000-strong militia is being organized by the state security service,
the NSS, to provoke violence that can be blamed on the demonstrators. A
recent campaign of violence in Male' that included firebomb attacks on
government buildings was orchestrated by the NSS in attempt to destroy
the credibility of the MDP.
There are also credible reports that the NSS has dispatched a team of 700
of its members to a large and extremely important island, Aduu, where
turnout is expected to be high. State-sponsored violence, a source said,
is "guaranteed on Aduu."
Olhuala.com, an anti-MDP propaganda site that knowledgeable sources tie
directly to the Maldivian Attorney General and Justice Minister, is
already warning that the protests "will end in bloodshed." Presumably to
set the stage for the expected militia attacks, the site carries photos
of an alleged weapons stash of iron bars, knives and petrol bombs that
the regime is attempting to tie to the opposition. This site, along with
a site called FactMaldives.com that is tied to a son of the dictator, is
also claiming that the opposition will use children as "human shields."
The MDP, meanwhile, is encouraging its members to find inner courageand
strength at this critical moment. The pro-democracy Web site
MinivanNews.com quotes MDP Vice President IH Zaki calling "for your
bravery to increase from day to day, for your resolve to become stronger
and for your courage and spirit."
Traffic on pro-democracy Web sites is already exceeding 100,000 visitors
per day and the UK-based Friends of Maldives organization has resumed its
daily short wave broadcasts, called Minivan Radio, to counter the
messages of state-run media.
While attacks and provocations are anticipated, credible reports indicate
that Gayyoom is becoming increasingly isolated. Important state documents
and records have been moved to a private island and there are rumors that
millions of his dollars have been transfered to offshore accounts. There
is hope that he will opt for an extended vacation outside of the
Maldives.
Nevertheless, sources confirm that the U.S. and British embassies that
oversee relations with the Maldives are monitoring events on the ground
and major news outlets in the United States and Europe are preparing to
report on the crisis. The regime can be assured that what moves it makes
will not go unnoticed.
------------xxxxxxxxxx Team CRW xxxxxxxxxx---------------------
Martin Schoech, Editor in Chief
Nick Grace, CRW Washington
Marwan Soliman, CRW Middle East
Takuya Hirayama, CRW Japan
Richard Lafayette, Global Crisis Watch
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