As Gang Violence and Terrorism Converge in Male’

The terror perpetrated by street gangs, which all too often occurs on the streets of Male’ fits squarely within the scope of committing with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, with gangs of young men wielding clubs and machetes rampaging through streets, looking to settle old scores and causing damage to public property indiscriminately.

Ali Ishar (Chortey) of Kuda Henveiru was brutally murdered on December 2, 2007 following a gang fight with Buru which occurred in the Henveiru ward of Male’.

Four men and one underage kid are to be charged in the death of Chortey and their cases have been handed over to the Attorney General’s Office by the Maldives Police Service. The five who are to be charged in the murder case of Chortey are Minan Rasheed (Findhana) 22, Hussain Razeen (Rabarey) 21, Mohamed Ahusan (Ahu) 24, Shifaaullah Abdul Waheed (Shifa) 25 and an unnamed 17-year-old. Some of these charges may include murder, attempted murder, various weapons charges and assault.

What is Terrorism?

Terrorism is the calculated use of violence such as fear, intimidation or coercion, or the threat of such violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature. Terrorism involves a criminal act that is often symbolic in nature and intended to influence an audience beyond the immediate victims.

Terrorism is a criminal act that influences an audience beyond the immediate victim. The strategy of terrorists is to commit acts of violence that draw the attention of the local populace, the government, and the world to their cause. Terrorists plan their attack to obtain the greatest publicity, choosing targets that symbolize what they oppose. The effectiveness of the terrorist act lies not in the act itself, but in the public’s or government’s reaction to the act.

Strategies

For example, at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Black September Organization killed 11 Israelis. The Israelis were the immediate victims. But the true target was the estimated 1 billion people watching the televised event. The Black September Organization used the high visibility of the Olympics to publicize its views on the plight of the Palestinian refugees.

Similarly, on 02 December 2007, several gangs in Male’ were rampaging through streets armed swords, knives, and wooden clubs in search of their enemies. The murder of Chortey inflicted a serious uprising, Kuda Henveiru attacked a police van in front of the ADK Hospital and smashed its windows and threw stones at the police. They galvanized the will of the Maldivian public, their one act of violence influenced the Maldives Government’s decision to take political, financial, and military actions to combat gang violence.

Every gang has the same claim, they all claim they are powerful than the other. What can we call the actions they inflict with these powers?