Former Maldives Foreign Minister and eldest daughter of the former President of the Maldives, Dunya Maumoon, speaks exclusively to Asia Pacific Daily on the current state of affairs in the Maldives, the relationship between the Maldives and Sri Lanka and China’s role in the Maldives and calls for unity to address several issues in her country.
Q. You were part of this administration and strongly defended its policies. In your opinion where has this Government gone wrong now?
A. I was working in the Foreign Service even before this Government came into power. I worked closely with the current President and his team, and his campaign and became the first Foreign Minister of President Yameen’s Government and also the first woman Foreign Minister of the Maldives, and we had a lot of hope for our country. It has been in the last decade or so that political parties were first introduced in our country, and steps towards a modern democracy taken.
Much work was needed to strengthen democracy, and in terms of Foreign Service to strengthen our relationships with the different countries, get the finances for the big projects, and deliver on the pledges made to the people. Things went smoothly for a year or so, but sadly, as we entered 2015 and going into 2016 we realised the path we were on was not what we had envisaged. And as you would be aware my family played an influential role, especially, my father, in bringing this Government into power. So, it was of concern to us to see that problems were resolved.
Q. Would you say there were opportunities that were missed by this Government to meet the expectations of the people?
A. I believe, prior to this Government, we had the Government of President Nasheed. Even he came in with the support of the international community and also the support of the youth of our country. I always felt he had it on a golden platter to fulfill many of the pledges and take the country in the right direction. If you compare that to President Yameen’s Government, he came in with an even better backing because he had a strong backing in Parliament, though it was a tightly fought election. He had the support of a lot of people in the country. So, he too had a golden opportunity to unite the country, strengthen democracy, ensure the independence of the judiciary and address the concerns of the people, including corruption. So definitely, the opportunity was there. But sadly, what I saw with President Nasheed and also currently, is the inability to rise above party politics and unite the nation with the national interest in mind. We haven’t seen that as much as we would like to see.
Q. So, you see an opportunity for political parties in the Maldives working together to address the issues?
A. Yes, very much so. I have said this on many occasions. I call it a cycle of vengeance, which we see in other countries as well. We have one party that comes into power and prosecutes the other, and you know this history we are now starting to build up, we need to overcome this and only if we unite as a people, can we move ahead. And that can only be done by sitting down and discussing frankly, with an environment of trust. All parties have to work together. Currently, we see a very polarised situation in our country where Parliament is not functioning properly, many are detained and many families are suffering because their loved ones are not with them, and questions are raised about the judiciary. So, it’s in everybody’s interest to address these issues, unite once more and take the country ahead instead of looking back and saying who-did-what and blaming each other.
Q. How do you think the upcoming Presidential elections can help change the situation?
A. I’m hopeful as the Government two or three years back also invited the parties to sit down for all party talks and recently we have seen, the Government has re-issued this invitation.
However, as always there have been questions about the genuineness of the invitation, the opposition insisting, unless their grievances were addressed they were not ready to join. So we have to give and take, if we are to build that trust, and if our politicians are genuine in their efforts, we can see certain things put into place to make sure that we have a free and fair election.
I have welcomed the Government’s initiative, and raised that the opposition has various concerns and that we’ve always found excuses not to sit down. I think it’s time to move, and am hopeful that we would have the maturity as a country because we owe it to our people to sit down and resolve these issues, especially, before the elections.
Q. How do you see the decision taken by Mohamed Nasheed to withdraw from the Presidential race?
A. I think it was a wise and mature decision. I know Nasheed is a strong force and continues to be a strong force in the Maldives politics. My father also remains a prominent and well-respected figure in Maldivian politics, though unfortunately he is detained and is in prison at present. Given that there was a legal decision taken in terms of Nasheed and certain acts he had committed while in office, and given the realisation that it was important for someone who could actually take part in the election to come forward as the opposition candidate, I think he has taken a wise decision to step back and give others an opportunity.
Q. What can you tell us of the opposition Presidential candidate Ibrahim “Ibu” Mohamed Solih and what can he do to bridge the gap between the Government and the Opposition?
A. I think he has spent quite some time in Parliament. I don’t know him personally, but I believe he is a mature and sensible person. And I hope it would help unite the people and have more of an inclusive process in working together towards the election. At the moment the opposition is keen to maintain their unity and have managed that in bringing out this common candidate. There would be many other individuals who would also submit their names. So, how free and fair would this election be, and would we be able to carry it out peacefully, and create that level playing field that everybody wants to see, and how would the rest of the world support and assist us in this process.
I am hopeful and would like to see the Government also taking steps to ensure that it is a free and fair election
Q. As a former Foreign Minister how do you see the Foreign policy of the Maldives?
A. I think during my father’s time, we had maintained a very balanced foreign policy.
As you know we are in the Indian Ocean and even now the Government says we have an ‘India first’ policy. I, myself would have repeated that often. India is a close and long-standing friend of the Maldives.
During this Government, we have developed our relationship with China, which is not a surprise, because we see this in many countries. There are many reasons for it, largely, because China is able to grant the finances and other support that our developing countries require, especially in terms of infrastructure.
Currently,they are supporting us to build a bridge and now we see big projects, like a new airport terminal and a new runway coming up. These are positive developments that I think will benefit the Maldives in the long term. Now many have raised issues, are we going to pay back these loans? Are we going to fall into a trap where we are held because of the debts? As a former Foreign Minister I strongly feel, our sovereignty, and independence is important. We urge all countries to be respectful of our sovereignty. We can have structures and buildings, but as human beings we want our freedoms, and rights.
Q. Is there a role the international community can play to ensure that democracy is established in the Maldives or should it be an internal process?
A. I guess I’m an internationalist. You know a lot of countries use the argument that these are internal matters; no country should comment and I may have made statements along those lines.
But I think there is a balance, because we live in a world where we have international systems. The UN exists – how effective it is may be debated. But there is a moral duty on other countries to ensure that things are going in the right direction, to be there to support that process, and if you see atrocities that we see across the world – wars, genocide – then it’s very much the duty of the international community and you cannot just step back and say that is the country’s internal matter.
Definitely, the Maldivian people want to see that support coming; they don’t want to be dictated to, but they want to see that support. I am glad the international community is watching closely at what is happening in the Maldives.
I would not want to see any kind of sanctions or actions against our country. I don’t think anybody would want that against their country. I would rather see a process of engagement, and I hope our Government continues to engage and listen, and genuinely take some of this advice.
Q. What is your opinion as regards the relationship between Sri Lanka and the Maldives?
A. We value the friendship. We have strong historical ties, our people to people to contacts are advanced and I’m happy to see that. Many Maldivians live here, many Sri Lankans are working in the Maldives and there’s a lot of travel, and trade between the countries. I value that relationship and hope we can strengthen it.
Sri Lanka has also on some occasions, but rarely, made public statements about Maldives and I remember speaking to the Foreign Minister a couple of years back to say that as a close friend we don’t really like being criticised by public statements, because close friends talk to each other, they give frank advice if things are not going the right way, and I think Sri Lanka definitely should urge the Maldives and the Maldive Government to take things in the right direction which would benefit the people.
We, in the Maldives are glad to see that things are going well in Sri Lanka. I know you’ve had very difficult years.
I know you’ve had a bitter long-drawn out war and it’s very heartening to see you have overcome that and are moving ahead and things are looking good and we can feel it when we visit.
We wish the Sri Lankan people well and hope to have that continued support while we too struggle with democracy. I know you’ve had many experiences that you can share with us.
Q. Where does the Maldives stand on women in politics and in your opinion where should it be in a few years from now?
A. I have strongly advocated for the presence of women in politics. Our last Parliament actually had more women than our current Parliament. So, definitely in terms of their presence in Parliament we need to improve it.
At various decision-making levels we need to improve the presence of women. I think women need to gain the confidence that they can perform in many of these positions and come out more strongly. I’m heartened to see that in Sri Lanka we have very active women in positions of importance.
It’s my wish to see more women active in Sri Lanka and in the region. Whether it’s a man or woman, when they contest at an election or for public office, it’s not so much the gender that matters, but their experience and maturity, educational qualifications, their motives, integrity and honesty to serve the people and work for their betterment.
There is a debate going on in the Maldives, on this, especially as we don’t have many women candidates for particular positions within parties, where there’s a strong push for women to come forward. I believe, just being a woman, or for that matter a man, does not make one entitled to a particular position. I do support some level of positive discrimination in some countries, like reserving seats in Parliament, but in our Constitution it wasn’t passed. I think to give women a push in a certain area, sometimes you need that, so that qualified women have the opportunity to come forward and serve the people in their capacities.
We have a significant number of women who have served, including, Speakers in Parliament and now we’ve seen Attorney Generals. We’ve seen women in many positions including, in the Cabinet. I’m hopeful we would see many more women coming forward in the future.
(Colombo Gazette/ Asia Pacific Daily)