Freedom in the World 1998 - Maldives

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 5.5
Civil Liberties: 5
Political Rights: 6

Ratings Change

The Maldives' civil liberties rating changed from 6 to 5 due to methodological reasons.

Overview

The Maldives, a 500-mile string of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, achieved independence in 1965 after 78 years as a British protectorate. A 1968 referendum ended the ad-Din sultanate's 815-year rule and established a republic. The 1968 constitution provides for a president with broad, largely unchecked executive powers who must be a male Sunni Muslim. The majlis (parliament) has 40 seats directly elected for a five year term, along with eight members appointed by the president. Every five years the majlis chooses a sole presidential candidate who is elected by citizens in a yes-or-no referendum. Until 1998, the constitution barred individuals from nominating themselves for the presidency.

There have been several coup attempts since independence. Most recently, in 1988, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom called in Indian commandos to crush a coup attempt by a disgruntled businessman reportedly backed by Sri Lankan mercenaries. In the aftermath, the autocratic Gayoom strengthened the National Security Service and named several relatives to top government posts. In early 1990, authorities permitted a brief period of press freedom as the Maldives prepared to host the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit. Later in the year, authorities banned outspoken publications and arrested several journalists.

Gayoom won the August 1993 parliamentary nomination for the presidential referendum, despite considerable support for Iliyas Ibrahim, a government minister. Iliyas fled the country after the government investigated him for corruption, and Gayoom won a fourth term in October.

Gayoom allowed 229 candidates, all independents, to contest the December 1994 majlis elections. The government heavily restricted campaigning and detained five candidates. In 1996, Gayoom allowed Iliyas to return to the country under house arrest, and in 1997 the president freed his adversary.

In early 1998, Gayoom approved changes to the constitution allowing citizens to nominate themselves for president, after which the election commissioner decides whether candidates meet the necessary criteria and forwards names to the majlis. As before, the majlis selects the final candidate, whose name is then put to a national referendum. In September, the majlis announced that Gayoom was the only candidate it had approved from five who had submitted nominations. On October 18, Gayoom won a fifth term in a referendum, reportedly winning the approval of more than 80 percent of participating voters.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Maldivians cannot change their government democratically. President Gayoom heads a small hereditary elite that holds power. Political parties are not expressly banned, but the government discourages their formation and none exist. The government restricts political gatherings during campaigns to small meetings on private premises. On September 25, the day the majlis declared Gayoom to be the sole candidate for the October presidential election, Amnesty International reported that "election preparations are taking place in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation." The organization noted that authorities have kept Ismail Saadiq, a businessman and political dissident, in detention or under house arrest since July 1996 in a possible attempt to prevent him from participating in the presidential elections. In February, authorities transferred him from house arrest to a detention center for allegedly having talked to a foreign journalist, and they canceled his officially accepted nomination to stand in a parliamentary by-election. Gayoom heavily influences the majlis, although in recent years, it has rejected some government legislation and has become a forum for critical debate.

The president influences the judiciary, which is not independent. He appoints and can remove judges, although this latter power is rarely used, and he can review High Court decisions. The legal system is based on both Shari'a (Islamic law) and civil law. Trials fall far short of international standards. The strict 1990 Prevention of Terrorism Act(PTA) permits authorities to detain suspects indefinitely without trial.

According to Amnesty International, in recent years, authorities have held dozens of dissidents under house arrest or in detention centers for prolonged periods without trial. Prison conditions are dismal.

Freedom of expression is restricted. The broadly-drawn Penal Code prohibits speech or actions that could "arouse people against the government," although a 1990 amendment decriminalized factual newspaper reports about government errors. A 1968 law prohibits speech considered inimical to Islam, a threat to national security, or libelous. In 1994, a court sentenced a Maldivian under this law to six months in prison for making allegedly false statements about the government. Authorities used the PTA to imprison several journalists in 1990, the last of whom was released in 1993. Journalist Mohamed Nasheed spent nearly nine months in prison and house arrest in 1996-97 on defamation charges over a 1994 article criticizing election procedures.

The government can shut newspapers and sanction journalists for articles allegedly containing unfounded criticism. Two outspoken publications, which had their licenses revoked in 1990, remain closed. Regulations make editors responsible for the content of published material. Journalists practice self-censorship, although the mainly private press carries some criticism of the government. The state-run Voice of the Maldives radio and a small state-run television service carry some pluralistic views.

Nongovernmental organizations are legal, although there are no human rights groups and civil society is underdeveloped. Traditional norms generally relegate women to subservient roles, although many women find government employment. Unlike many Islamic countries, women have the same divorce rights as men, although inheritance laws favor men. Islam is the state religion, and all citizens must be Muslim. The government is concerned that the puritanical Wahhabi sect of Islam is gaining adherents on the outer atolls. Practice of other religions is prohibited, although private worship by non-Muslims is tolerated. There are no legal rights to form trade unions, stage strikes, and bargain collectively, and in practice, there is no organized labor activity. The country's high-end tourism industry is the main foreign exchange earner.