Democracy-deficit in the Maldives

An oddly large number of the names of decidedly undemocratic states start with 'Democratic Republic'. Perhaps it is less surprising, then, that the proposal for a SAARC Centre for Human Rights at the recently concluded 13th SAARC summit came from the longest-serving authoritarian of Asia, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives. According to the president, "such a centre, based on civil society, could promote international standards, facilitate cooperation among lawyers and jurists, and share expertise and resources and advocacy of human rights and democracy in the South Asian region". This is a fantastic idea, particularly for a region where democracy is in a state of flux and the democracy-deficit is omnipresent. But President Gayoom does not have the credibility to sell it.

In the light of increasing international criticism, on 14 March 2005, Gayoom unveiled much-vaunted proposals for both political and constitutional reforms in the Maldives, with a deadline of one year. He followed that up by allowing for registration of political parties, beginning 5 June 2005. However, repression has since begun in earnest and the reform efforts have stalled (see also accompanying opinion piece pp 97). Most significantly, political parties have not been allowed to carry out their activities. Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed warned the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on 1 November 2005 that "inciting rebellion" through "peaceful disobedience" was an "offence" that could result in prison time.