| Editorial
13 July 2005
See no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil mullahs
|
Under intense international
pressure, the Maldive ruling mullahs are attempting
to appear as though they are back-tracking on their recent ban on
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
On 11th July 2005, the office of the head mullah and
President of the Republic issued a media
release stating that the “Supreme Council on
Islamic Affairs was not mandated with interpreting the Constitution”
The Supreme Council had earlier issued a ban on members of the public
being in possession of the text of the UDHR.
The media release went further to state that “the Supreme
Council had not invoked Clause 4(a) of Law number 4/75 which provided
the legal authority to ban specified items, and therefore, there
was no legal effect to the announcement on the Universal Declaration
made by the Supreme Council.”
"Democracy
guarantees the right to choose your religion - and this is against
the rule of Allah!"
- Abu Musab el-ZarqawiThe mullahs are clearly pretending
that they are operating within an environment in which state authorities
are devolved. There is no state authority in the Maldives, including
the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs that has the authority to
act without the written permission of the Office of the President
of the Republic.
It is well known that public officials in the Maldives who violate
or overlook laws, regulations and procedures in the discharge of
their duties, without the consent of the President of the Republic,
are censured and required to make amends if not dismissed and sent
to one of the torture gulags. There are no reports of any member
of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs being disciplined.
The Supreme Council has so far not rescinded its July 5th
public announcement regarding the ban on the possession of the text
of the UDHR.
The true test of whether or not the Maldive mullahs
have been sincere in their statement that “there is no legal
basis to the ban [on the UDHR] and therefore no legal effect”
is a revocation of the 5th July public announcement by
the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the revocation published
in Maldive newspapers and read over public radio and television.
The Maldive Human Rights Commission must also be seen to be distributing
the Divehi language translation of the UDHR, as it had done until
July 5th.
The international community must not let the Maldive ruling mullahs
take them for a ride.
|
rss feed 
