03.3 The Staging Post

Virgo was appointed as prime minister by Sultan Mal Vatta on 12^th December 1957. Virgo was thirty-one years old. His immediate demand was that the British should abandon the RAF base in Addu Atoll. He was displeased with the settled amount of tribute tax; £2000 per year paid by the Crown of England to the Maldive Government. He strongly suspected conspiracy involved in the ill-fated episode and untold drama behind signing of the Gan Lease Agreement.

Two genealogical officials of the State Council of Regency arrived at Addu in March 1944 – D’Migili Don Kaléfan and H’Lai Kalo – to draft and finalise the lease of Gan Island to the British. Both educated in Egypt. Their chief and prince, Ceylon-educated, Plenipotentiary Representative Hassan Mal Vatta of the Hura Dynasty and he who invest full power of independent action on behalf of the state in foreign country, toured on HMS Mellow to join them in Addu Atoll. And he travelled with Mr Norman E Castor, First Secretary of the British High Commission in Colombo.

A sultan was not officially installed. State Affairs were carried by the Council of Regency. Word reached the capital that an agreement had been reached and signing to take place. The Parliament left in the dark.

The Leader of the Council was called to attend. Since he was a former sultan, the Brits extended a usual courtesy by sending a Short Sunderland Mark III from Koggala, Ceylon, to fly him and his delegation to Addu Atoll.

It was a hot day. Acting Sq/Ldr Flight Lieutenant Victor Basil sat watching the deep blue water swallowing the island capital. His floating boat idling in the water outside Malé. It turned midday and a cloudless blue sky. He was sweating in the cabin. Then he noticed the special flotilla prepared to eject the jetty with the sultan. Bunting flags and wooden crafts around strumming drums of boduberu in a cavalcade to carry the king. Men in fàìli wraps rowed the boats towards the kandima – the passage to the sea.

“Black Peter! Black Peter!” cracked the radio.

“Receiving loud and clear!” replied the captain.

“Call off the trip and return to base.”

Engines fired up, propellers began to spin, boats continued to row. Noises blared and notes sharpened, the floating boat began to push forward. The drumming stopped but the amba – the chorus of heave – soared. The aircraft picked speed and the rowers hassled to paddle forward to catch a ship with four Bristol Pegasus powered engines.

The Sunderland lifted from water in front of them and flew into a lazy climb. The rowing stopped and still the boats rolled on. The men were exhausted. Two fainted. Sultan Denur in his robe stood astounded, looking at the flying porcupine turning northeast to its nest.

In Gan, the three state officials were told that the acting sultan won’t be attending because of a mechanical fault with the aircraft however signing to continue.

Hassan Mal Vatta was happy with the terms and decided to sign the agreement in the presence of the First Secretary, Castor, and another officer supposed to arrive in Gan.

Shortly afterwards they were ready to travel on HMS Mellow to Malé to submit the lease agreement. In the very last minute, First Secretary Norman Castor changed his plan to fly to Ceylon without going to Malé. Hence the three officials embarked the trawler. Castor and Arthur Moyler, the latter who joined on 25^th March, stayed back.

A week later, they heard on radio that the British trawler, HMS Mellow, was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk in midway to Ceylon on 27^th March. Twenty-three British crew members, two passengers and the prince were lost. And they were gone with the original document of the signed lease agreement of Gan Island.

Three months later, Ceylon Governor Drew Cott sent a delegate with photographed evidence of the original lease agreement as signed by the representatives at Gan on 25^th March 1944. The Council of Regency was in shock to discover the stipulated terms agreed upon. The Crown of England would keep the naval base known as Port T in Gan with 110 acres of land in Hittadu for 100 years and pay £2000 per annum to the Maldive Government. The Council of Regency and the Parliament rejected this agreement calling it deplorable.

When the war was over, Port T was shut down until 1956 when the British wanted to revise the ‘initial’ agreement and this time included new conditions to evacuate settlements in Gan. Talks were held in Ceylon with Prime Minister Remise without consulting the Parliament or the Cabinet.

The Maldivian Cabinet was not keen to lease Gan for such a long period. The British raised the question of Article 4 from a previous agreement made between the parties dating back to 1^st January 1953 which stated that if the need for protection of a Commonwealth country or Maldive Islands arose, the Maldive Government would facilitate the use of her territory by the British. Besides, they also added a clause that stated to consider the sale of land to the British. Including the relocation of Gan folks in Feydu to be borne by the Maldive Government.

As a result, those rising young faces in the political arena began to demand absolute freedom.