A government that chooses to rule by the gun rather than by consent,
loses its legitimacy- President Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that “as soon as any government chooses to rule by the gun rather than by consent, it loses its legitimacy and its right to govern.”

The President made the comments during a keynote speech on Tuesday at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

In his address, President Nasheed said that the recent uprisings in the Middle East, where protestors have brought down dictatorial regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, have changed the course of human history. “This year’s protests show, that the power of the government to control information has been broken forever,” he said.

“It is a time of awakening, a moment when Muslims across the world are standing up as one to demand equality, human rights, democracy and the rule of law. These developments provide a fitting rebuttal to those, inside and outside of Islam, who claim that our religion is not compatible with democracy,” he said. He also said that the determination of protesters in Tunis, Cairo, Benghazi and Homs provides us with a lens through which we can perceive the truth: that all people, no matter where they are born or which religion they follow, want the same thing – dignity and freedom.

President Nasheed said that governments everywhere must see peaceful protests not as a threat, but as an opportunity, to start a dialogue with the people and to begin the process of reform.

Stressing the importance of establishing individual liberties and a sustainable rule with the consent of the governed, the President spoke out against leaders that placed their interests over those of their people.

“In the past, when news and information were more malleable, governments had the option of suppressing protests in the hope of breaking them before news spread. Swift, decisive and often violent action at the outset could, in this sense, nip the problem in the bud. Life, especially for those in positions of power, could go on as normal. After 2011, such an option is no longer tenable,” he said.

The President said that following globalization and the democratization of information, “governments simply have no option” but to listen to the demands of pro-democracy protestors. “In a time of awakening, Muslims across the world are standing up, governments must see peaceful protests not as a threat but as an opportunity,” said the President.