13th FEBRUARY 2007

FOM protest at Hill & Knowlton

Friends of Maldives have carried out a demonstration in Soho Square, London at the UK headquarters of PR firm Hill and Knowlton. Friends and relatives of current political detainees were present, as well as former torture victim Abdulla Mahir.

FOM calls for Hill and Knowlton to cease working with the Government of Maldives.

FOM handed out hundreds of leaflets to passers-by, local firms and employees of Hill and Knowlton.

Positive comments were given to the protestors by people from neighbouring offices such as “they deserve it for being so greedy”. An employee of Hill & Knowlton was shocked and disturbed to find out the extent of H&K involvement with the Maldivian Government: “I will bring it to the attention of the global CEO of Hill & Knowlton.”

Maldivians regard Hill and Knowlton, and in particular Tim Fallon, the Director of the Maldives Campaign, as shadowy international representatives of the Dictatorship of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom- who has been in power for 28 years. The PR firm was first hired by the Maldives Government in September 2003 following the shootings of prisoners during the unrest in Maafushi prison.

Maldivians are asking Hill and Knowlton to relinquish their contract with the Government of Maldives following accusations that the money paid to H&K - believed to be in the region of $20 000 per month- would be better spent on re-housing Tsunami victims - many of whom remain living in temporary shelters following the Tsunami in late 2005.

Maldivians have expressed their views by posting comments on Tim Fallon’s blog:

"You have received more than US$800,000 from our coffers. How much more should we the people of Maldives suffer at your expense? Do you realise that there are still several families who are homeless in the Maldives because of the tsunami and living in temporary shacks?”

“Mr Fallon. You are not helping my country to democratize. On the contrary you are doing nothing but drain our resources. You are doing nothing but being a road-block to the Road Map for Reform. You are forcing the people of Maldives to suffer when all we want is to hasten the process of democratization of our country. "

Questions have been asked why Public Relations firm Hill and Knowlton and its director Tim Fallon are needed by the Government of Maldives if real democratic reforms are in fact taking place in the Maldives. Opponents of Gayoom argue H&K are employed to whitewash the regime in the international community. There have been few real democratic reforms in the Maldives since Hill and Knowlton began the contract with the Government of Maldives three years ago. Arbitrary detention, repression of independent media, and an increase in military expenditure remain pillars of support for the regime.

Hill and Knowlton failed to secure any successful milestone of the Roadmap for Democratic Reform - Tim Fallon the director of the Maldives campaign has accused main pro-democratic opposition party MDP of being the “protestation of a small and fragmented group of opponents".