Unid stations | Intelligence profile : Maldives
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(Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 16:00:53 +0000)
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Unid stations | Intelligence profile : Maldives
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The Maldives were long an independent sultanate, except for a period of Portuguese occupation. In the 17th century the Dutch, who had replaced the Portuguese, established hegemony over Maldivian affairs without involving themselves directly in local matters. In 1796 the Maldives came under British protection. They became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago.
| Country name | : | Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa (Republic of Maldives) |
| Short name | : | Dhivehi Raajje (Maldives) |
| Capital | : | Maale |
| Administrative divisions | : | Capital island Maale and 19 other atolls: Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu |
National Security Service: comprising Security Branch (ground forces), Air Element and Coast Guard.
The NSS is the paramilitary police, defence, presidential bodyguard, immigration and emigration documentation, border control, intelligence, espionage and civil defence organ of the Maldives regime. Its members serve in both police and military capacities during their careers. The Director reports to the Minister of Defense. President Gayyoom is the Commander-in-Chief.
The NSS is much hated and feared. Torture and executions are still very common. According to many reports torture, humiliation and executions were ordered by senior officers and also by the president himself, and the level of torture an officer was permitted to order was a status symbol. These orders were recorded in the infamous 'Punishment Books' until around 1990. Gayyoom's brother-in-law Ilyas Ibrahim, now the Minister of Transport, ordered prisoners to be electrocuted.
The official notes about the NSS are of course very different and therefore they have to be included here:
"In an archipelago such as the Maldives, the National Security Service, or NSS, plays a key role in the lives of its people by defending them, assisting them, and by maintaining their peace and harmony. Can NSS be termed as a military organization? The answer to this question can be short but wide. The NSS is everything to the small community of the Republic of Maldives. NSS is the principle organization responsible for the defense and national security, law enforcement (police), fire fighting, guarding territorial waters with the Exclusive Economic Zone and conducting rescue operations as well. Carrying out these responsibilities under one organization for 200 islands can be termed as tough and challenging."
The government has complete control of the media, the television, the radio and all newspapers and magazines in the country. The state owns the TV and Radio stations whilst all three major papers are owned by cabinet ministers and the brother-in-law of the President. Broadcasts of clandestine radio station, Minivan Radio, are being jammed by the NSS on both frequencies (11810 and 12015 kHz). The history of the NSS officially starts in 1970 but it descents from a long line of militias that has defended the islands since the 12th century. In 1970, its predecessor, the Sifain militia, were renamed as the National Security Service. In 1988 the NSS armed infantry forces were doubled, intelligence services formed, and six British vessels were added to the Maldive coast guard. NSS officers have been trained in a wide variety of countries including India, USA and Libya, and foreign combat experts and advisers visit Maldives regularly.
The tasks of the NSS are many because of its nature; being armed forces, police, and intelligence agency.
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Unid stations | Intelligence profile : Maldives
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