Consultant Dan
23 October 2010
Nobel Peace Prize as dictator bling
I have just read that the former President of the Maldives, the dictator Gayyoom, had his daughter nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.
It resonates so strongly because while I was in Male recently, I wrote about current President Nasheed and compared him to the peacemakers we expect to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
My first night in the Maldives, I stayed on so-called ‘Picnic Island’, named because it was used by Gayyoom for picnics. It revealed the pretentious, tasteless side to Gayyoom; he left the place littered with fake gold, imported marble features and frivolity. He had a small aviary of imported birds and a little zoo for his amusement.
Picnic Island still has fortifications in place from the bad old days. A luxury motor boat is parked near Gayyoom’s fishing pond and tree house. I could not have guessed that he also coveted a Nobel Peace Prize to add to his collection of dictator bling.
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