The increase in xenophobia could also be related to the rise in organized crime and the proliferation of gangs in Malé. A large percentage of youth in the Maldives are brown sugar addicts.
Nihan Zafar, Inhumane Treatment of Migrant Workers, Global Voices, September 3, 2007.
Around 20 percent of the island nation's residents under the age of 15 are using banned substances, according to the National Narcotics Control Bureau.
The HRCM has not always been in the government’s good books, however. Saleem has frequently angered the Gayoom administration by speaking out against human rights abuses.
Paul Roberts, Referendum “Generally Fair” – Human Rights Commission, Minivan News, August 27, 2007.
In a referendum in the Maldives, voters supported a proposal for a presidential system, seen by the government as an endorsement of the president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power for 29 years. The opposition alleged rigging, and the foreign minister became the latest reformist to quit Mr Gayoom's cabinet.
Stephen Abbott, Voters choose presidential system in Maldives referendum, Guardian, August 22, 2007.
Simon Gardner, Maldives Foreign Min quits over reform pace, Reuters, August 22, 2007.
Asia's longest-serving leader will run for re-election at the island cluster's first multi-party presidential elections next year.
Simon Gardner, Maldives President sees reforms complete in 2-3 yrs, Reuters, August 20, 2007.
However, it was unclear how the opposition, which backed a British-style parliamentary government rather than the presidential system favoured by Gayoom, would react to the president's olive branch.
Maldives strongman wants to rule on into fourth decade, AFP, August 20, 2007.
Journalists, reporters and photographers working for dissident websites and magazines are continuously being harassed and even detained, but fortunately Gayyoom is no longer capable of shutting us down because the public is not afraid to stand up against this tyrant.
Ahmed S. I. Moosa, Maldives dictator versus the free media, Asia Media, August 20, 2007.
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