In a move condemned by free speech advocates, the islands’ government moves to curb literature and poetry’s ‘adverse effects on society’
Poetry and literature will have to be approved by the Maldivian government before they are published in the country, according to new regulations which have been described as a “disaster for freedom of expression” by free speech campaigners.
Published earlier this month, the regulations are intended to “standardise all literature … publicised and published in the Maldives in accordance with laws and regulations of the Maldives and its societal etiquette”, and to “reduce adverse effects on society that could be caused by published literature”, according to an unofficial translation by lawyer Mushfique Mohamed shown to the Guardian.
The rules insist that those wishing to publish books in the Maldives must submit a finished copy of their work, along with a form and a MVR50 revenue stamp, to the national bureau of classification for approval, or face fines. This includes poetry, which is defined by the regulations as “words and phrases structured into verses that fit a particular form, expressing thoughts and ideas that are heartfelt”. One strand of publication is exempted from the requirements: “…any writing published to circulate information among its members/employees by a political party, civil society group, company, or specific governmental body”.
The bureau will be looking to ensure “that the works published in the Maldives do not contravene Islamic principles, the laws and regulations of the Maldives and societal etiquette”, and to “reduce adverse effects on society that could be caused by published literature”. They will also, according to the translation, “respect the constitutional right to freedom of expression and allow novel and constructive ideas”.
Their introduction was “greeted with incredulity and fears of a return to censorship”, as well as being “widely ridiculed and slammed as draconian”, said Ahmed Naish, the reporter who broke the news of the new regulations on independent Maldivian news site Minivan News . There was also an outpouring of poetry on social media in protest at the new rules.
“People are wary of coming out on the streets; they are also weary, having spent almost two years marching for democracy in vain,” said Dr Azra Naseem, a former journalist in the Maldives who is now researching the Islamist radicalisation of Maldivians as a fellow at Dublin City University. “The protest happened mainly on Twitter where all protesters spoke in verse for a few days after the regulations were published.”
Naish pointed to the democratic election of former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience and founder of the Maldivian Democratic party Mohamed Nasheed as the country’s president in 2008, following the three-decade rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, saying that “with the end of dictatorship and introduction of multi-party democracy in 2008, creativity and freedom of expression flourished in the Maldives “. In 2012, however, Nasheed was forced to resign - he claims at gunpoint. Further elections late last year saw Nasheed eventually concede defeat to Abdulla Yameen, brother of the Maldives’ former ruler Gayoom, after months of wrangling.
“The old policies, the old forms of control, and the old fears are coming back. The new regulations are a product of this authoritarian reversal the Maldives is now experiencing,” said Naseem.
At English PEN, head of campaigns Robert Sharp called the “sweeping new law” a “disaster for freedom of expression in the Maldives”.
“The parliament should be acting to expand the space for freedom of expression, not enacting laws that will stifle debate and dissent,” said Sharp. “These new rules will also damage Maldivian culture. How can Dhivehi authors flourish when all novels and poetry must pass a board of censors? Maldivian literature will stagnate under these new rules. We hope the president and the parliament of the Maldives will think again.”
Xavier Romero-Frias, author of Folktales of the Maldives, claims his book has failed to even make it into the country. “Long ago certain Maldivian officials already told me that my first book The Maldive Islanders, which in the last chapter deals with the Islamisation of society, had been banned because it was ‘irreligious’,” said Romero-Frias. “But I don’t understand the reasons for banning this one, because it is just a collection of tales and legends.”
Romero-Frias is still trying to get the book into the Maldives, and has written an essay about his experience, but says his “hopes are at a low point” now. “The nature of the regime is deceptive. The persons that I am able to contact don’t give clear answers. Then suddenly they fall silent,” he said, speculating that “the ideologists of the regime wanted a clean slate so the Maldivian folklore was bothering them”.
“I appreciate that some people find ancient folk beliefs deeply offensive and running contrary to what they believe to be the pure form of their religion,” said Gerald Jackson, Romero-Frias’s editor at academic publisher NIAS Press. “[But] by rescuing a treasure trove of Maldivian folktales and retelling them in a highly accessible form, I believe that Xavier has made a significant contribution towards preserving the cultural heritage of the Maldives and ensuring that this is known and appreciated around the globe. I am just sorry that the people of the Maldives themselves are being blocked from seeing this wonderful material about a world that their recent ancestors lived not so many years ago but all memory of which now seems to be being suppressed.”
JJ Robinson, the former editor of Minivan News who is now writing a book, Paradise Lost: Reporting the Dark Side of the Maldives, said there had been “a surge in fundamentalist sentiment and very little resistance” in the Maldives, and that “the real watershed of the last few months is that extremism is now completely unchallenged”.
There have been, said Robinson, pro-Islamic State (Isis) marches in the streets of Male, all taking place “a 10-minute boat ride from luxury resorts where honeymooners spend up to $6,000 a night to tan on beaches and sip pina coladas”.
“My impression is that the new government, having exploited nationalist Islamic sentiment to return to power, is now unable or unwilling to control what they’ve unleashed,” said Robinson. “The censorship regulations are most likely something demanded by religious forces that the government feels it has to make a show of introducing. President Yameen and friends are adept at using religion as a political weapon, but are not extremist themselves. The impression on the ground is that there’s a line between indulging one’s allies and losing control, which may have been crossed.”
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In response to the criticism of the regulations, the High Commission of Maldives in the UK pointed to article three of the new rules, which it said “clearly specifies that the ‘Regulations for approving literature published in the Maldives’ do not limit or interfere with freedom of expression derived from the Constitution, or constructive new thoughts”.
“The regulations were made public to ensure that all poetry and books published in Dhivehi [the Maldivian language] are published in accordance with the societal norms of the Maldives, and in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the Republic of Maldives. This is intended to protect the 2,000-year-old history of our unique language,” said the commission.
It added that the new regulations “only formalise an approval process that has been in operation for a number of years”, adding that the “most significant development of the new regulations is that they have reduced the amount of time for books and poetry to be approved”. While approval used to take up to seven months, “as a board consisting of five members was responsible for approving all works”, the new regulations mean that “a list of experienced persons will be formed, any one of whom can approve poetry or books”, and that “as a result, the time taken to approve works will be significantly reduced”.
According to Minivan News, following the social media outcry, the Maldivian youth and sports ministry has stated that the rules would not apply to either social media or news outlets.
“The regulations were made public to ensure that all poetry and books published in Dhivehi [the Maldivian language] are published in accordance with the societal norms of the Maldives, and in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the Republic of Maldives. This is intended to protect the 2,000-year-old history of our unique language,” said the commission.
It added that the new regulations “only formalise an approval process that has been in operation for a number of years”, adding that the “most significant development of the new regulations is that they have reduced the amount of time for books and poetry to be approved”. While approval used to take up to seven months, “as a board consisting of five members was responsible for approving all works”, the new regulations mean that “a list of experienced persons will be formed, any one of whom can approve poetry or books”, and that “as a result, the time taken to approve works will be significantly reduced”.
According to Minivan News, following the social media outcry, the Maldivian youth and sports ministry has stated that the rules would not apply to either social media or news outlets.
