On
Maldives State
of Emergency,
US Reiterates,
UN Silent, Re-Praising
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 6 --
With a state
of emergency
declared in
the Maldives,
Inner City
Press on
November 4
asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric if
the UN had any
comment --
really, if the
UN is doing
anything at
all. Dujarric
responded to
Inner City
Press with an
if-asked
statement,
below.
The
UN has said
nothing since.
Others have pointed
out that
"the whole
democracy
project was
derailed by
ex-UN official
Mohamed Waheed
who staged a
coup in Feb
2012" -- not
the first, or
last,
connection
between the UN,
its staff and
coups d'etat.
Meanwhile,
the head of
the UN
Development
Program on November
6 re-tweeted praise
of the Maldives,
here (as
UNDP has
refused for a
week to
provide a copy
of a document
its Teresa Liu
signed with now
indicted David
Ng Lap Seng
and Dominica's
Prime Minister
Roosevelt Skerrit,
click
here for that.)
On
November 4,
the US State
Department
issued this
clearer
statement,
here.
At
the State Department's
November 6
briefing, this
was asked:
QUESTION:
Maldives – day
before
yesterday you
issued – it’s
quite a strong
statement on
the imposition
of emergency
in the
Maldives.
That hasn’t
been lifted,
there’s more
people who
have been
arrested.
What do you
have to say
about the
situation
there?
SPOKESPERSON:
I would just
say what I
said in a
statement
earlier, that
we are deeply
concerned with
recent events
there in the
Maldives,
including the
announcement
of a state of
emergency that
curtails the
vital civil
liberties,
human rights,
and
fundamental
freedoms.
We’re
concerned by
reports of
continued
politically
motivated
arrests and
call on the
Government of
Maldives to
afford all its
citizens due
process.
We again urge
the government
there to take
steps to
restore
confidence in
its democracy
and judicial
independence.
QUESTION:
But they
haven’t done –
taken any of
these steps.
SPOKESPERSON:
Is that a
question?
QUESTION:
Yeah, so what
do you have to
say?
They haven’t
--
SPOKESPERSON:
I would simply
restate what
we said
before.
I mean, we’ve
made our
position very,
very.. The –
we’ve – we
continue to
make our case
and will
continue to do
so. I
mean, I think
where we’ve
been on this
issue has been
very, very
clear and very
consistently
so.
That’s not
going to
change.
Here's
was the UN's,
which may now
post-US, and
two days and
counting
later, be
supplemented:
“The
Secretary-General
is concerned
about the
recent
political and
security
developments
in Maldives.
States have
legitimate
national
security
concerns, but
the
Secretary-General
emphasizes
that states of
emergency
should be used
only when
strictly
necessary, in
proportion to
the stated
threat and in
accordance
with the human
rights
obligations.
In this
regard, he
hopes that all
civil and
political
rights of the
Maldivian
people will be
restored as
soon as
possible.”
Back
on March 27,
2015 Inner
City Press
went to the US
State
Department's
daily briefing
and asked
spokesman Jeff
Rathke about
the conviction
of the
country's
former defense
minister
Nazim, and
threats to
deport migrant
workers if
they protest,
amid attacks
on free press.
From the State
Department's
transcript:
Inner
City Press: I
wanted to ask
you about in
Maldives the
former defense
minister has
just been
sentenced to
11 years. And
I know the
State
Department has
expressed some
concern about
former
President
Nasheed’s
trial. There’s
also a
situation in
which migrant
workers there
are being told
if they
demonstrate
about their
rights they’ll
be deported.
So I’m
wondering, is
the State
Department
monitoring
this? Do you
have any
comment on
developments
in the
Maldives?
MR. RATHKE:
Certainly, we
are. I don’t
have a comment
in front of
me. We’re
happy to look
into that and
come back to
you.
While this is
often said at
the UN - and
this week in
Washington at
the IMF on
Inner City
Press'
question about
Haiti -- in
this case the
US State
Department DID
come back with
a comment, issued as a
“Question
Taken”
later on March
27:
For
Immediate
Release
TAKEN QUESTION
March 27, 2015
Concerns
on Recent
Developments
in Maldives
Question:
Does the
United States
have any
comment on the
arrest of the
former
Maldivian
Defense
Minister?
Answer:
The United
States is
deeply
troubled by
recent
developments
in Maldives
that call into
question that
nation’s
commitment to
democracy and
individual
human
rights.
These
developments
include the
conviction of
former Defense
Minister
Mohamed Nazim,
who was
sentenced to
11 years in
prison on
weapons
charges March
26, and the
March 25
arrest of
Maldivian
journalists
under
allegations of
obstructing
police duties.
Nazim’s
trial was
particularly
concerning, as
it was marred
by the same
apparent lack
of appropriate
criminal
procedures as
the recent
trial of
former
President
Mohamed
Nasheed,
including the
inability to
call the
requested
number of
defense
witnesses and
concerns
regarding the
lack of
impartiality
and
independence
of the judges.
Freedom
of the press
is a
fundamental
democratic
right, and we
are in touch
with Maldivian
authorities to
clarify why
the
journalists
have been
detained
without
charges.
We
call on the
Government of
Maldives to
take steps to
restore
confidence in
its
hard-fought
democracy and
the rule of
law, including
judicial
independence
and freedom of
the press.
We'll have
more on this
-- including,
from the new
Free UN
Coalition for
Access, on the
situation of
the press in
the Malvides.
Watch this
site.
, 
