Afif Didi in a letter to the news paper on May 25^th of 1959 stated that he had noted with interest statements made in the press and radio concerning the political situation of Maldives and in particular reports of the various utterances of the Male’ Government in Ceylon and London. He wanted to present this side of the picture.

Some of the reason for secession Afif Did claimed from Male’ which he referred as the old capital of Maldives (he has decided that he as an outspoken responsible citizen and a government servant as the deputy atoll chief has lost faith to the point it drove him to form his own government and it has more credibility to be the legitimate current government) was as following

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He claimed that the indifferences of the administration to the elementary needs and fate of the people of these islands were outrageous. Food and clothing, medicine, education social welfare and c were non-existent(there are some improvements in some of the main islands in terms of education and health care and an allowance for a few privileged handicapped people with connection, after driving a hard bargain to claim; apart from that Afif Didi claim of the average Maldivian situation has not changed. There are still many islands without any health facilities no formal educational establishment to take them beyond basic level of education. Social welfare is a term kept off  from the Maldivian dictionary and is so far the citizen, who had never being out side the country had as it goes ignorance is bliss, does not even understand that such a term exist.).

 For many years, Afif Did stated that they had been reduced to serfs and bled by extortionate by taxes and levies. At the commencement of the year 1959 further taxes were imposed and the people who had noting to left to give revolted (taxes had been raised in some basic necessary materials to hundred percent. For example despite of the fact that there is no public transport system what so ever in any of the islands including the capital out of sheer necessity if a common citizen by a common vehicle for commuting they had to pay the same amount to the Maldivian Government. To facilitate the drained budget and disappeared resources of the last thirty years there had been talk that the duty or tax would become 200 percent. This means if a common citizen buys a motor bike for basic commuting needs for ten thousand rufiyaa, they will have to pay twenty thousand to the government).

He asked to bear in mind that they had not had a single doctor for 18000 undernourished people, nor any medical supplies whatsoever. They had no schools, no means of communication, and no public utilities. All this was stated as certainly the fault of Male’. Epidemics of Asian flu, Malaria, Enteric, Typhoid, Diarrhea, Conjunctivitis &c sweep islands periodically during the year. In addition, in 1958 a serious outbreak of Decentry causing many deaths. When appealed to Male’ for help they refused and very piously told to go and read Quran. The R.A.F doctors came to the citizen’s aid supplied medicine and visited the sick day and night. H asked the question where any body can question why they hate Male (at present even though we do not get asked to read Quran as at treatment the amount of people dying from malnutrition, loss of life lack of facilities to treat diagnose diseases; or the loss of life normally a sea journey in a mechanized Fishing Dhoni from islands without any health facilities to an island with facilities is relatable to a lot of Maldivian specially in the main atoll communities. Every community if asked would have suffered is suffering from such losses due to lack of health care. However it is a policy of the government to relate to the Presidents education in a Muslim Foreign country as a justifiable reason for the citizen to respect him and let him carry on near absolute monarchy a term he used to describe the politics of Maldives prior to him while  pledging himself to foreign newspapers not to be like these ruler.)’.

Afif Didi stated that their main export from their islands in the South was dried Maldives fish which they send to Male’ for sale in Ceylon. Payment were made to Male’ in Ceylon rupees, but the citizens were forced by Male’ authorities to accept Maldivian rupees which then was one Maldives rupee was worth only half a Ceylon  rupee. The people had to end up buying food what they could afford from Male’ at Ceylon Prices (the absence of private banking and building societies, finance providers, loan providers and other such facilities except for a couple of Banks like India bank situated only in the capital and the fact that the monopoly over such practices were centrally controlled, by the Bank of Maldives non-formally attached to the government had handicapped the people to flourish and create their own jobs, businesses etc. The fact that since the trendy government came to power lack of government responsibility to revive or help people had lead to the disappearances of industries such as weaving and making mats etc Furthermore a gradual transition to modernity of the country had lead to people becoming on imported good paying triple prices of the sort that Mr. Afif Didi was talking about)

The letter also stated that that the presence of British in Addu Atoll had absolutely nothing to do with the will of the people to break away from Male’. Attempts had been made before and as recent as 18 months prior to writing the letter Afif Didi stated that men were imprisoned for trying to make an improvement of their situation (I would not even comment on imprisonment and will let the readers to see for themselves, as my beloved fellow Maldivians are at a better vintage point by been in the country and actually experiencing things worse than imprisonment.)

He defended R.A. F and said that they had no knowledge of their intentions to make an uprising on the first day of 1959. It was a planned action by the people to show Male’ that they were determined never again to submit to the despotic rule of a government of one family. He stated that he wished to make it clear that they had set up a government unanimously elected by the will of the people. He stated that United Suvadive Island is a state of 18,000 people willing and able to support themselves in spite of Male’. That they were now the citizens of United Suvadive Islands and their immediate policy was betterment of their people, friendliness to all nations and in particular to the British who had sincerely helped and wisely guided the Maldives whenever they desired to do so in the past (Really can’t comment on this one as we do not have the blessed mercy besotted on us of having a sugar daddy like Britain stationed in any part of the country like Afif Didi did. Left to fend it all by ourselves had been the reason why we are where Afif did was fifty years ago; worse off as we only had the mercy of the crucifier).

Furthermore, he stated that they were in favor of the Staging Post and Radio Station at Gan and Hithadhoo Islands respectively, which would bring economic development and prosperity to the islands. He earnestly appealed to United Kingdom and the people for help and understanding, He stated that they had been inhabiting these islands from times immemorial, possessing there by inalienable rights over them, the ownership therefore thereof could not certainly be claimed by the Male’ Government. Furthermore, he appealed to the British Government to kindly grant them facilities to open negotiation at once with a view to conclude a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between her Majesty’s government and the United Suvadive Islands. He ended the letter stating that he hoped the British Government and people would appreciate the justice of their cause and recognize the United Suvadive Islands. It was signed as yours Truly Abdullah Afif Didi President, United Suvadive Islands. The Secretariat. Hithadhoo. United Suvadive Islands( we at the moment need to appeal to involve external help and guidance to establish a true Democratic Governing System in the Maldives. Internal agents never are able to bring political change. It is both internal and external forces and pressure or partnership that brings democratization to countries. We need to take appeals  not only to European Union or United Kingdom. The United Nation has been and still is the body responsible for establishing democracies. They provided the resources, the manpower the skill the training pre and post monitoring and other strategic help. We are not lucky enough to secure strategic interests of countries such as United Status who does democratization. So our only chance to a fast resolution to the political dead lock we faced we had to make attempts at getting heard by the United Nation As our small man with a big mouth made an impression at UN I think the general Maldivian identified by smallness have an opportunity to impress the UN and get our case heard).