16 Arrested Over Attack On Atoll Chief

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Sixteen people have been taken into police custody, including one boy under 18, over a physical attack on Raa Atoll interim chief Mohamed Abdullah in the atoll capital, Ungoofaaru, on Saturday night.
Over 75 people had gathered at the Atoll Office to complain about a report Abdullah allegedly failed to send to the Disaster Management Centre in Malé.
According to police, the victim’s head was injured and the office was vandalised by the group of angry residents.
The attack forms part of a series of conflicts between the residents of Ungoofaaru and residents of nearby island Kandholhudhoo, who were relocated to Ungoofaru after the 2004 tsunami.
A native of Ungoofaaru, 24, who wished to remain anonymous, told Minivan News residents had gathered to question Abdullah about a report they had produced on education for internally displaced persons.
The residents requested to meet Abdullah. However, “[A senior staff member at the Atoll Office] told the people he was not there. And then people saw him come through the back door,” the resident said.
“People saw him in the dining area. Then they broke the door to get in. They broke a TV, tables and chairs,” he added.
Another eyewitness, 22, said “one of the men held [Abdullah]” but “they did not use any weapon. People spat on him, but I cannot confirm if he broke his head...I saw him that night and he did not have any blood.”
Police confirmed that Abdullah’s head was injured and he also suffered other injuries, whilst 16 were arrested over the incident. They would not reveal further details.
Witnesses were only aware of eight arrests, but said the eight individuals they knew were in custody had been seen to take part in the attack.
Meanwhile the Raa Atoll Office said, “We do not give information to the media.”
Mohamed is the chair of the Internally Displaced Persons Committee, dealing with tsunami refugees on the island.
According to committee members, he was given a report produced by other committee members on education in the island, to be handed over to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
“But the DMC came here and said they had never received a report,” a committee member said.
The committee member said he had received a message about gathering at the atoll office. “The offer came to me because they wanted as many people there...They did not go to fight.”
According to residents Abdullah has been “actively participating” in campaigning for the government’s Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP).
“He is using the atoll office launch to do that...[health minister] Ilyas Ibrahim was here too,” said a 22-year-old Ungoofaaru native.
“Everyone knows the story...they use speedboats for DRP purposes all the time...He was not in the island for a week when residents gathered,” he added.
Atoll chiefs briefly became part of the civil service after the Civil Service Act became law in May, meaning they were prohibited from political activity.
But in August, a decree by the President defined a variety of posts he said were necessary for the “proper functioning of his duties”, and should hence return to the umbrella of the President’s Office.
The decree means atoll chiefs, powerful local government figures, are again free to take part in politics.
Since the relocation after the tsunami, repeated conflicts have occurred between the tsunami victims and natives of the host island. A Kandholhudhoo native said, “Kandholhudhoo and Ungoofaaru people fight a lot.”
Conflicts after the Maldives’ win in the South Asian Football Federation championship in June saw one side throw stones at the other, the resident said. “We called the police, but they were out of the island,” he added.
The Kandholhudhoo natives are due to move to the newly developed island of Dhuvaafaru early next year.
But the island also appears to be suffering from religious divides.
A breakaway group have “built a place to pray near the powerhouse,” the Kandholhudhoo resident said. “They have been recruiting children. So people called the police, and they did not do anything about it...Later people came and demolished the place.”
Local newspaper Jazeera reports the attack on the mosque occurred last Wednesday, whilst police confirmed this case, but again could not give further details as the case is under investigation.