Feature Comment

No ordinary crime: The stabbing of Mahfooz Saeed

The stabbing of lawyer Mahfooz Saeed on Friday cannot be easily dismissed as gang violence, an attempted robbery, or an assault by drug addicts, writes Hassan Mohamed.

Keeping up with the authoritarians

Why is the international community reluctant to let go of the ‘democracy’ label for the Maldives? Does it arise from a fear of acknowledging defeat, or is it simply because international actors are not keeping up with the authoritarians in the Maldives? asks Azra Naseem.

Video threats, religious extremism and Maldives tourism

Whether the video message threatening to kill the president and harm tourism is authentic or a hoax, it does a lot of harm for the Maldives’ reputation as a safe and paradise-like honeymoon destination, writes Hawwa Kareem

Looking for new hope

In Malé, anger at the government is palpable, so is frustration and a certain amount of despair. At a loss as to what to do, many Maldivians are calling for mass protests and urging the international community to intervene, writes Shafaa Hameed.

Drawing the wrong lessons from Singapore

President Yameen and his cabinet tout Singapore as a development model for the Maldives. They admire its combination of prosperity and one-party rule. But if they conclude authoritarianism is behind Singapore’s success, they are drawing the wrong lesson, writes Hawwa Kareem

Find Moyameehaa – we persevere because we love

Rilwan’s abduction was aimed at killing our hopes for a better world, for what is possible only dies when hope dies. So today, I resolve to put aside despair, to never give up hope, to never give into fear and to never be silenced, writes Zaheena Rasheed.

A year ago today, our brother, friend and fellow reporter disappeared

Today, August 8, marks one year to the day our brother, friend and fellow journalist Ahmed Rilwan disappeared. The international community must intervene urgently to pressure the government to seek foreign forensic expertise and conduct an independent inquiry, writes the Find Moyameehaa team.

A letter for my grand daughter

In a letter to her future grand daughter, Sea, a Maldivian writer, reflects on the meaning of home in a country marred by corruption.

A council in name only

The government’s dismal treatment of the Malé City councilors and their staff feel like an act of reprisal against the residents of Malé, simply for having voted for the opposition, writes Mohamed Saif Fathih.

Judges’ integrity and ethics in question five years after life appointment

Data published by the JSC show there are now only 14 judges who lack the required academic qualifications. But the JSC’s performance in investigating complaints against judges remained dismal. Only 39 of 150 complaints were fully investigated in 2014.

What we talk about when we talk about independence

“Why do we not rejoice in our fiftieth year of independence? Why is the air thick with negativity?” asks Shahindha Ismail

A lingering longing for self-rule

In Addu, on the eve of the Golden Jubilee of independence, stories of the short-lived United Suvadive Republic are told and retold and the longing for self rule lingers on.

On golden jubilee of independence, Addu is silent

The people of Addu say their development took a U-turn since the British left in 1976. Successive governments have neglected Addu, turning it into a provincial backwater.

“We could have done better:” conversations with an independence hero

“Abdul Sattar Moosa Didi, who led the independence negotiations, remembers talks with the British, laments President Ibrahim Nasir’s buried legacy, and reflects on where Maldives has arrived at as we celebrate 50 years of independence.”

The Golden Years, A Golden Celebration – by James Dauris

“A relationship founded on an agreement of protected independence in the past has developed into a relationship today that is wide-ranging and contemporary,” writes James Dauris, the British High Commissioner to the Maldives.

Happy Independence Day

“The future holds the prospects of foreign military bases on Maldivian territorial waters; becoming embroiled in Indian Ocean security issues and potential naval warfare; forced internal migration; living in slum cities; absolute loss of way of life and identity; and total subjugation to a ruthless dictatorship that will always put money before people,” writes Dr Azra Naseem.

Special laws must not pre-empt general criminal law

Laws like on anti-terror are legitimised under the pretext that “special circumstances require special procedures” but are often an excuse to let the inefficiencies of the state continue at the expense of civil liberties, writes Devyani Srivastava.

Comment: ‘It’s not political’

Comment: The old and new penal code

Hundreds of goats sacrificed to mark independence from the British