Ending Impunity: Pledges and promises<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”none” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/x7t.a3b.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Maldives\/A-Covid-19-press-briefing-by-President-Solih-on-June-23-Credit-Presidents-Office-scaled.jpg” title_text=”A-Covid-19-press-briefing-by-President-Solih-on-June-23-Credit-Presidents-Office” admin_label=”MAL” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-29px|||||”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”caption” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”6671dcc6-349c-4400-ae04-612e8c6d39b3″ text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_line_height=”1.5em” header_font_size=”39px” header_3_text_color=”#FF0000″ custom_margin=”-27px||||false|false” custom_padding=”31px||1px||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
A Covid-19 press briefing by President Solih on June 23, 2020: Credit: Maldives President’s Office<\/p>\n
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For most of the past half-century when the Maldives underwent its transformation from a poor island nation to an upmarket tourist destination, freedom of expression was severely curtailed. Autocratic regimes set up the first television and radio stations and the few privately-owned newspapers were subservient to the government. No dissent was tolerated.<\/p>\n
The Maldives was nearing middle-income status when former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom acquiesced to demands for democratic reforms. The emergence of six daily newspapers and 15 magazines coincided with the formation of political parties in June 2005 when administrative restrictions were lifted. A relatively free media soon flourished. The end of Gayoom\u2019s 30-year rule in November 2008 opened up further space for free speech as defamation was decriminalised by the first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed.<\/p>\n
The health of the media has since been inextricably tied to the country\u2019s democratic fortunes. The overthrow of Nasheed\u2019s government in February 2012 and the election of former president Abdulla Yameen in November 2013 heralded a dark period of impunity for crimes against journalists. One television station studio was torched in October 2013, journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla was abducted in August 2014 and blogger Yameen Rasheed was stabbed to death in April 2017. A new law re-criminalising defamation that was enacted in 2016 slapped crippling fines on private broadcasters. In this repressive climate, Haveeru<\/em>, the country\u2019s oldest newspaper was shuttered by a dubious court judgment over its ownership. Online publication CNM was forced to shut down after exposing government corruption. Three journalists, who were found guilty of obstructing police duty and fined, became the first journalists to be convicted in the country in more than a decade.<\/p>\nThe resounding victory of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the September 2018 election renewed hopes for a return to democracy. As pledged during his campaign, the draconian defamation law of 2016 was quickly repealed and a presidential commission was set up to probe the unresolved cases of Rilwan and Yameen Rasheed. The broadcasting regulator that imposed fines for defamation was reconstituted. A whistleblower protection law added further legal safeguards for journalists. Reflecting this progress, the Maldives improved its score on international indices of press freedom, climbing to the rank of 79 in 2020 up from 120 in 2018.<\/p>\n
Despite positive changes in the media landscape, longstanding challenges remain and the Maldivian president\u2019s pledge to end impunity and bring perpetrators to justice is yet to be fulfilled.<\/p>\n
Most media organisations rely on politicians and businessmen for funding, often to the detriment of editorial independence. Some outlets promote political parties without even a pretence of impartiality. Advertising by state-owned companies is a major source of income but its allocation is widely seen as unfair and not based on merit.<\/p>\n
Six years after the enactment of a Right to Information Act, a culture of secrecy persists and journalists find it nearly impossible to get information from some state institutions. A survey by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives released in December 2020 showed that a majority of people were dissatisfied with access to official information and only 36 per cent found the right to information law helpful. Of 100 \u2018right to information\u2019 requests filed by NGO Transparency Maldives between 2017 and 2019, state institutions fully complied in only 26 cases. Another 19 cases appealed to the Information Commissioner\u2019s office were concluded without legally mandated open hearings.<\/p>\n
Murder, physical assault and abduction of journalists by non-state actors have not occurred since the current administration took office but cases of harassment and police violence have been reported by opposition-aligned media.<\/p>\n
The resounding victory of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the September 2018 election renewed hopes for a return to democracy. As pledged during his campaign, the draconian defamation law of 2016 was quickly repealed and a presidential commission was set up to probe the unresolved cases of Rilwan and Yameen Rasheed. The broadcasting regulator that imposed fines for defamation was reconstituted. A whistleblower protection law added further legal safeguards for journalists. Reflecting this progress, the Maldives improved its score on international indices of press freedom, climbing to the rank of 79 in 2020 up from 120 in 2018.<\/p>\n
Despite positive changes in the media landscape, longstanding challenges remain and the Maldivian president\u2019s pledge to end impunity and bring perpetrators to justice is yet to be fulfilled.<\/p>\n
Most media organisations rely on politicians and businessmen for funding, often to the detriment of editorial independence. Some outlets promote political parties without even a pretence of impartiality. Advertising by state-owned companies is a major source of income but its allocation is widely seen as unfair and not based on merit.<\/p>\n
Six years after the enactment of a Right to Information Act, a culture of secrecy persists and journalists find it nearly impossible to get information from some state institutions. A survey by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives released in December 2020 showed that a majority of people were dissatisfied with access to official information and only 36 per cent found the right to information law helpful. Of 100 \u2018right to information\u2019 requests filed by NGO Transparency Maldives between 2017 and 2019, state institutions fully complied in only 26 cases. Another 19 cases appealed to the Information Commissioner\u2019s office were concluded without legally mandated open hearings.<\/p>\n
Murder, physical assault and abduction of journalists by non-state actors have not occurred since the current administration took office but cases of harassment and police violence have been reported by opposition-aligned media.<\/p>\n
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