If there is anything good flowing out of the weekend arrest of Maldivian Vice-President Ahmed Adheeb, it's the government's belief that the Islamic State (IS) is not behind the assassination attempt on President Abdulla Yameen aboard his official speed-boat. Only weeks before the Sept 28 boat blast, which the government initially described as a possible mechanical failure and not an assassination attempt, three masked men claiming to be Maldivians and holding an IS flag had threatened Yameen and other political leaders on a video that went viral. The government, however, got YouTube to remove the video.
This does not mean that IS is not there in Maldives. None from the country has been caught thus far on the charge. But at least half a dozen Maldivians have died in the Syrian war. Another half a dozen or more might have smuggled themselves to the war-front. Considering the nation's total population of 3.38 lakh, this is a relatively high number, particularly when compared to other nations including India.
IS or no IS, religious fundamentalism has been on the rise in what is a constitutionally Sunni-Islam state. Even the pro-democracy groups led among others by jailed former President Mohammed Nasheed could not do much to reverse that trend and be seen as going against national sentiment. No party contesting the polls and no government succeeding the 30-year-long rule of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom could have risked such a move. Now, it appears the time for a course correction has passed for Maldives -although it is not clear if citizens want such a course correction.
It must be said that religious fundamentalism in Maldives is as much as in any other nation in the region but owes to reasons that are not necessarily grounded in local issues and concerns, as elsewhere. It was thus that the US-led multinational force arrested nine Maldivians fighting against them along the Af-Pak border, some years ago. More recently , a Sri Lankan national arrested for plotting to target US and Israeli consulates in Chennai and Bengaluru, respectively , had mentioned two Maldivians as proposed executors.
While the growth of Islamic fundamentalism should be of concern to India, it must be understood that in this `moderate Islam' state, the first signs of protests against President Gayoom came not from what were referred to as pro-democracy movements, but from religious groups, later registered as Adhaalath Party (AP) or Justice Party . Both Nasheed and present President Abdulla Yameen tried to mainstream AP . They fell half way through, as AP remained religion-centric in its political policies and governmental programmes including in its pro-prohibition and anti-Israeli stance. AP quit the Nasheed government when it was settling down and gave a pro-re igion, civil society colour to protests against him. As a party , AP quit the Yameen government early on, over seat-sharing for parliamentary polls.
AP leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla is now n prison on anti-terrorism charges for over hundred days after organising a street protest against Yameen in which other opposition parties joined in. Compared to AP's rally , the one organised a little later by Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demanding Nasheed's release, and in which AP and other opposition parties participated, did not gather as many protestors.
Despite being a religious nation, Maldives s also a hot-bed of drug smuggling and usage. Successive governments have fought drug smuggling with help from neighbours like India and Sri Lanka. Indian officials and hospitals are involved in rehabilitation of drug addicts. The latter may have fallen prey to the vice owing to a variety of reasons, including large-scale overseas tourist arrivals and inadequate housing in the crowded migrant-city of Male, the nation's capital.
Maldives has the highest divorce rate in South Asia. Invariably , most divorces lead to re-marriage. This means that younger family members have to squeeze into the available space with outsiders or stay out most of the time, or near-permanently . This has also contributed to the socio-legal menace of gangs in Male in particular. These gangs live off petty thieving, or killings and maimings for cash or political patronage. They also peddle and consume drugs.
After the arrest of VP Adheeb following the bomb blast, the police have clamped down on Male gangs that were supposedly connected to him. It will do Maldives a lot of good if the Yameen leadership gives the police a free hand in the matter so they crack down on the gangs. It would also give democracy a boost, and with that a possible reduction in drugs availability as well.
(The writer is a Senior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)
Courtesy: Times of India, October 28, 2015
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.