At the early morning ceremony held in the Republican Square to hoist the big flag and to pass the military divisional flags to respective commanders, the President noted the services of late President Ibrahim Nasir, who as Prime Minister, negotiated the deal in 1965 with the British, which made Maldives an independent nation.
Although President Nasheed was graceful enough to recognize and thank the former dictator Gayyoom for his services to the nation, the fact of the matter is that he was one of the key reasons why we, the Maldivian people, were deprived of real independence and freedom for more than 3 past decades.
Although President Nasheed was graceful enough to recognize and thank the former dictator Gayyoom for his services to the nation, the fact of the matter is that he was one of the key reasons why we, the Maldivian people, were deprived of real independence and freedom for more than 3 past decades.
President Nasheed began his address by saying that the country is witnessing an important moment of change. He noted that we are in a different era of change and that the people are now able to express their views freely and participate in organized political activism. The President also noted that the powers of the state were now fully separated and in particular he noted that the judiciary was now fully independent of the executive.
It is not untrue to say that we are really experiencing real independence for the very first time here in the Maldives. Various programs are scheduled to mark the day and an official dinner is also planned for tonight evening in the honour of the foreign dignitaries visiting the country to participate in the ceremonies.
There are reports that the ousted dictator is also going to give an address on DhiTV this afternoon on the occasion of Independence Day. As leader of the main opposition party, perhaps it is not a bad idea to provide the people with a message but many will see this as an attempt to undermine the authority of his successor. The question is, how can we accept a man who took away our freedom and undermined our rights for 30 long years to talk about ‘independence’ and inspire us. He will most definitely end up blabbering about a set of definitions completely alien to the very word ‘independence’, as was the case with his definitions of ‘reform’ and ‘democracy’.
It was in deed a proud moment for many of us to see President Nasheed presiding over today’s ceremony as Commander-in-Chief and be given full state honour on the very ground where he was dragged when he protested for our rights just a couple of years ago. It was also quite overwhelming to meet the many victims of torture at the hands of dictator Gayyoom, attending the official ceremony today as state dignitaries.
Today, we must renew our vows, unite and work hard to develop our nation, as requested by our beloved President, who is no doubt a beacon of hope for the people who brought about the change from dictatorship to democracy.
Finally, perhaps, it is time the former dictator realized that his service to the nation can only be of real benefit if he lived with honour and dignity, instead of being a real obstacle for change that we all aspire.
source:dhivehiobserver.com
