 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Island experience helped me reach the top
– President Nasheed
Exclusive
Various epithets have been used to describe the Maldives new president Mohamed Nasheed,but to those at The Island,who have known him since 1990,he is very much the restless journalist looking for the next big story.
Speaking exclusively to The Island on Sunday, in his 19 th floor Colombo Hilton suite,while his aides kept checking their watches and signaling that it was time to leave for the airport,President Nasheed did not forget his former bosses and colleagues and humbly recalled that we were "kind enough to accommodate him."
Nasheed,has come a long way since his days at The Island,but remains the down to earth person he was and humble to the core.On more than one occasion,he apologized for not being able to allocate more time for the interview, amidst his busy and tight schedule.
Educated in the Maldives and United Kingdom,Nasheed at 41, is one of the youngest South Asian leaders.Amnesty International described him as prisoner of conscience in 1997 after being jailed and ill treated on several occasions for leading the revolt against former President Gayoom’s administration,which he described as a corrupt dictatorship.
Nasheed, was one of the earliest and boldest dissidents in the Maldivian archipelago of 1192 islands.Prior to his stint at The Island, he established a reputation for his political commentaries in the Male based "Sangu" magazine, at a time when vocal criticism of the Gayoom regime was almost non existent. "Sangu" was subsequently banned.
Though short on experience in governance,Nasheed has shown signs of statesmanship and a case in point is his refusal to be revengeful and resisting pressure from certain quarters in the Maldives, to try Gayoom for alleged corruption,abuse of power and human rights violations. "My first mission",he says "was to oust a dictatorship.Now my task is to root out corruption and develop the country. I am focused on the future,where democracy will thrive and all Maldivians can enjoy the fruits of development."
Excerpts of the interview
Q – Mr.President,many years back you worked as a journalist at The Island newspaper.How did that experience help you in your future endeavours?
A –I started my journalistic career at a newspaper in Male called Sangu. This newspaper was subsequently banned.It was in 1990 that I met the then Editor of The Island Mr.Gamini Weerakoon,who gave me an opportunity to write.Four years later I came back and lived in Sri Lanka for around eight months and wanted to see if I could continue working for The Island.So I met the Editor in Chief Edmund Ranasinghe.The Managing Director at the time was Mr.James Lanerolle.Both of them were kind enough to accommodate me in The Island, during my eight month stay in Colombo.
Q –Did The Island, experience help you in your political life?
A- Very much so.It was an independent newspaper with free thinking journalists.I saw how news was gathered and the emphasis placed on the importance of freedom of information and expression.More importantly it was the ability to interact with a cross section of Sri Lankan’s.All that was because I was able to stay and work in The Island.
Q- Did,the experience also help in your struggle to establish democracy in the Maldives?
A- Definitely, the thinking process,ideas and acquaintances that were established.
Q – How, has your state visit benefitted the Maldives?
A - I think it has been very fruitful.We have been able to reach a solid understanding with Sri Lanka on the need for another archaelogical survey of the Maldives,which points to our very firm relations.We also had access to your industrial leaders and were able to introduce them to investment opportunities in the Maldives.The Sri Lankan government looked after us very well and President Mahinda Rajapaksa was a very good host.We would like to invite him to visit the Maldives as soon as possible.
Q- Were there any Sri Lankan financial gurantees for the development of Male and the Maldives as a whole.
A – No,we did not seek such gurantees.That was not the intention.We explored areas and opportunities where both countries can benefit.There are a number of Sri Lankan investments in the Maldives and we wanted to see how such investors can be assisted to further diversify their portfolios.
The whole mind set of my government is to facilitate free market partnerships that would give a turbo boost to the Maldivian economy.We believe that the private sector should be the engine of growth and investors in state owned enterprises could actually own them.Less government involvement means less corruption.The Maldivian State Electrical Company will be the first among many other institutions that would be privatized.
Ten percent of the Maldivian tourism industry is owned by Sri Lanka entities John Keels Holdings,Aitken Spence and the Galle Face Hotel group.We would not only like them to increase their holdings in the tourist sector,but look at other areas of investment as well. The Maldivian business community is also being encouraged to interact more with the Sri Lankan banking sector
Q – You also sought skills development assistance?
A-Yes,we are looking at skills development, infrastructure investments and a wide spectrum of issues.Our two countries have agreed to collaborate in various fields,including the sharing of expertise in the rule of law and democratic governance.Sri Lanka has already offered to help in the field of skills and human resource development, which would include the grant of scholarships.
I wish to express my gratitude to the Sri Lanka government for supporting the democratic orientation of the Maldives.We want to build on that favour and strengthen our historic ties.As a goodwill gesture the Maldives will back Sri Lanka’s application to host the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo in 2012.
