British PR firm spinning for tyrant
NauseouslyQuick
Posts: 3
Some of you might have heard of the Maldives, at least as being among the Indian Ocean countries that were hit by the tsunami. The Maldives is a small island nation with a population of just over 300,000. It has been ruled by a Islamic scholar/political conman/dictator for the past 27 years. The people are 100% Sunni Muslim, but that doesn't always mean what you think it does.
This is a regime that has tortured and embezzled its own people for decades. It enrages me that a British public relations company (Hill & Knowlton) is spinning its image to the international community in order to protect precious tourism revenue, controlled by the ruling elite. Thousands of victims displaced by the tsunami still do not have adequate shelter while Hill & Knowlton have been paid $800,000 by the government during the past three years.
The Maldives account is in the hands of Tim Fallon, a former media adviser to Tony Blair. He responded to a spate of criticism recently with a blog entry. Scroll down to check out the comments from a lot of angry Maldivians.
http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/timfallon/archive/2006/10/06/4919.aspx
I know this will be an odd post around here because it has nothing to do with Bush.
This is a regime that has tortured and embezzled its own people for decades. It enrages me that a British public relations company (Hill & Knowlton) is spinning its image to the international community in order to protect precious tourism revenue, controlled by the ruling elite. Thousands of victims displaced by the tsunami still do not have adequate shelter while Hill & Knowlton have been paid $800,000 by the government during the past three years.
The Maldives account is in the hands of Tim Fallon, a former media adviser to Tony Blair. He responded to a spate of criticism recently with a blog entry. Scroll down to check out the comments from a lot of angry Maldivians.
http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/timfallon/archive/2006/10/06/4919.aspx
I know this will be an odd post around here because it has nothing to do with Bush.
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The government began employing Fallon after real opposition to its rule developed in the past few years. There was virtually no opposition until about three years ago. Dissidents were brutally silenced. Torture and custodial death were commonplace. The media is still state-controlled. But things have slowly begun to change. The government has started to lose its grip on power, ever since riots broke out in the capital after prison guards beat an inmate to death, and then subsequently shot another three. Pressure from abroad and protests at home have forced the government to promise (undelivered) democratic reforms.
And in comes Mr Fallon to represent this government and prolong its hold on power with more lies.
While here political activists are faced down by riot police, arrested arbitrarily and kept in detention for long periods. These are people genuinely fighting for democracy. Isn't it ironic, given the official talk of spreading freedom and democracy, that the only offer of support or help from the West has come from an opportunistic image maker who offered his services to the tyrant?