A Coronation, not a Congress

Forty two years after this country dumped the monarchy and became a republic, we are once again about to witness a coronation. The DRP's congress is set to take place this month. Former President Gayoom announced in advance that he would not seek to be re-elected as party leader.

But rather than allow democratic forces to be put to work, he endorsed deputy leader Thasmeen. It is no secret that many young activists in DRP dislike Thasmeen intensely and think that he would be a very weak and ineffectual leader. Gayoom went against their wishes and imposed his choice on them.

It was no surprise that by the closing time for nominations, Thasmeen's one was the only application to have been received. Instead of a congress, DRP delegates are set to witness a coronation.

The bombshell that wasn't

So we all heard about a letter that was sent by the officer in charge of the police force in 1992 to the then defence minister saying that people had been detained despite there being no evidence whatsoever against them. It was a proud boast from one senior government official to his head of state. The proud boast of a government that acted with impunity and did not respect the rule of law.

The news was revealed in the live DhiFM interview that the president gave over the weekend.

Yet no one has followed up on this. The letter has failed to make it into the public domain. None of the news organisations have been giving the allegation sufficient attention. If true, it really is shocking. But the general public seems to have just glossed over it.

Only Ahmed from Sri Lanka seemed even remotely concerned about the bombshell that wasn't.