Young presidents are in vogue. None more so perhaps than Maldives’ 41-year-old president Mohamed Nasheed, who ended dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s threedecade grip on power. Nasheed, who has long prodded the country’s nascent democratic process, has been to prison 16 times, been tortured twice and remains committed to liberal politics. He’s been in office just over a year and is busy trying to build new institutions to last, even as he tries to save his country from disappearing — literally. If global warming proceeds apace, sea levels around the Maldives will rise 60 cm in the next 50 years, swallowing large tracts of the country, says the president. During a visit to Delhi, he talked climate change and constitutional change to Ranjan Roy. Excerpts from the interview
Are you able to adhere to your roadmap of establishing democracy in Maldives?
Our expectations were a little higher than what we are achieving right now. In terms of institution-building, the judiciary lacks the capacity to deliver. With the first multi-party election, we were able to come up with the first fresh executive. With the first parliamentary elections, we were able to come up with a fresh parliament. But we never had anything fresh in the judiciary, so the judicial system is as it was under the dictatorship.
Do you trust the old judiciary?
I trust them, but the thing is, to my mind, they do not know what is going on. They might, on one fine day, ask the president’s office for instructions on asentence. The next judge might do something more ridiculous against the legislature or the executive, another judge might start giving media interviews.
I trust them, but the thing is, to my mind, they do not know what is going on. They might, on one fine day, ask the president’s office for instructions on asentence. The next judge might do something more ridiculous against the legislature or the executive, another judge might start giving media interviews.
Do you want a liberal judiciary or a bit of shariah?
We don’t want a mixture of shariah. We are looking at a liberal judiciary. But you have to be mindful that Maldives is a Muslim society. So the shariah and the liberal judiciary aren’t contradictory. Shariah can be as liberal as common law or Roman law. The other area is corruption. I can’t expect people to be completely honest the very next day.
We don’t want a mixture of shariah. We are looking at a liberal judiciary. But you have to be mindful that Maldives is a Muslim society. So the shariah and the liberal judiciary aren’t contradictory. Shariah can be as liberal as common law or Roman law. The other area is corruption. I can’t expect people to be completely honest the very next day.
You’ve had personal experience of torture?
I was tortured twice but that was long ago. But we do not want to torture our people. But there will always be some people at the penitentiary who’ll do it.
I was tortured twice but that was long ago. But we do not want to torture our people. But there will always be some people at the penitentiary who’ll do it.
Should the man you ousted, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, be worried?
We don’t think Gayoom should be worried. But he should take responsibility for his portion and say sorry.
We don’t think Gayoom should be worried. But he should take responsibility for his portion and say sorry.
How can India help?
India is already helping. The Prime Minister was very quick to give us a soft loan of $100 million — 50 million in grant and 50 million in loan. So, at least I got three months to sort things out. It gave us that breathing space. India is also very willing to invest heavily in lucrative areas like tourism. India can assist us by building capacity in the judiciary. And India can assist us so much by being the huge example that it is. Maybe others misunderstand India but I don’t because maybe I know India.
India is already helping. The Prime Minister was very quick to give us a soft loan of $100 million — 50 million in grant and 50 million in loan. So, at least I got three months to sort things out. It gave us that breathing space. India is also very willing to invest heavily in lucrative areas like tourism. India can assist us by building capacity in the judiciary. And India can assist us so much by being the huge example that it is. Maybe others misunderstand India but I don’t because maybe I know India.
On climate change, does Maldives get the sinking feeling that no one is really bothered about the victims?
We need shared responsibility. You can’t ask countries like India to stop consumption. We might be the victims but there are millions and billions of others. I shouldn’t be so selfish to push for that. Countries like India should invest heavily in renewable energy and maintain lower emission levels and higher energy consumption. I think the winners of the 21st century will be those who are bold enough to venture into new technology. We are on the verge of a technological breakthrough, a revolution again that would have more impact than the industrial revolution perhaps.
We need shared responsibility. You can’t ask countries like India to stop consumption. We might be the victims but there are millions and billions of others. I shouldn’t be so selfish to push for that. Countries like India should invest heavily in renewable energy and maintain lower emission levels and higher energy consumption. I think the winners of the 21st century will be those who are bold enough to venture into new technology. We are on the verge of a technological breakthrough, a revolution again that would have more impact than the industrial revolution perhaps.
Do politicians worldwide really care about global warming or are they just protecting their turf?
I don’t think people are still that concerned about it. Countries still don’t have climate change as a major election issue. Until it becomes an election issue, politicians aren’t going to take notice. But it will become one in the next five years. There is a new generation of people growing up for whom climate change is a serious problem. Even as early as next summer, you’ll see huge numbers of people out on the streets, in the same fashion they were out in the 1960s, to save the world. There are narratives about the end of the world in every culture and religion, so here is going to be no backlash against the emergence of climate change as the big issue.
I don’t think people are still that concerned about it. Countries still don’t have climate change as a major election issue. Until it becomes an election issue, politicians aren’t going to take notice. But it will become one in the next five years. There is a new generation of people growing up for whom climate change is a serious problem. Even as early as next summer, you’ll see huge numbers of people out on the streets, in the same fashion they were out in the 1960s, to save the world. There are narratives about the end of the world in every culture and religion, so here is going to be no backlash against the emergence of climate change as the big issue.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maldives gained independence from Britain on July 26, 1965
It’s the smallest Asian country
At just 4 ft 11 in above sea level, it’s the lowest country on the planet
Its original inhabitants were Buddhist; Islam arrived in 1153
Maldives gained independence from Britain on July 26, 1965
It’s the smallest Asian country
At just 4 ft 11 in above sea level, it’s the lowest country on the planet
Its original inhabitants were Buddhist; Islam arrived in 1153
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