By our correspondent in Male’

The newly wed Hollywood couple, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, has refused to meet with the Maldives dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a reliable source has told Maldives Today. According to our source, the request to meet Gayoom was declined by the couple currently on honeymoon in the Maldives.

Tom and Katie tied the knot on November 18 in a very private wedding in Italy and arrived in the Maldives the following day. They are on super-yacht Arctic P owned by Tom’s friend James Packer.

Recent comments made by a government official to Minivan News add weight to our source’s claim that the government has been trying to get in touch with the Cruises.

When asked if the Maldivian government was keeping tabs on the couple, the Chief Government Spokesperson, Mohamed Shareef said: “Is there a reason why we should be doing this? If someone wants their privacy and if there’s no particular reason why we should be invading their privacy, we shouldn’t.”

But despite believing the couple deserved their private space, Shareef still said that the newlyweds should get a real taste of Maldivian culture and tried to entice them ashore with Maldivian dancing.

“People would really love to meet them, show their culture and say ‘hello’ at the least,” said Shareef. “They are really curious and feel they should show some of their culture, especially dancing.”

Despite the claim by Shareef that the government is respecting the privacy of the Hollywood superstars, our sources say that the government has even asked the local handling agents of the yacht not to allow anybody else to meet with the couple, since the dictator Gayoom could not meet with them.

Our sources also claim that Television Maldives (TVM) tried to get an interview with the couple. After unsuccessfully attempting to get this interview, the variety programme Heyyanbo aired a report on the Cruise honeymoon on Friday afternoon. TVM tries to get interviews from various celebrities who visit the Maldives ranging from musicians to football stars. In the interviews they ask questions like whether the visitors enjoyed their holiday, what are their impressions of the Maldives, and then use the answers repeatedly for propaganda purposes. TVM tries to portray the Maldives as the idyllic holiday haven where everything is picture perfect. The state-owned TV station tells the local audience that the country is developing fast under the present government and that scores of foreigners have admired the current state of the country. In contrast, white beaches of islands such as Maafushi and Dhoonidhoo have been used for torture; coconut palms have been used to tie prisoners for weeks under sun and rain.

Our sources also reveal that the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives is trying frantically to get some publicity for the islands through the Hollywood couple. But so far Tom and Katie have refused to meet with any official of the ministry or participate in any event.

We have reliable information that the dictator Gayoom tries to meet with just any rich and famous person who is holidaying in the Maldives ranging from Saudi princes to American billionaires. He relishes the fame he gets through local television when the 300,000 people living in these islands see their president meeting with a celebrity. Little does he realize that his people are already tried of his 28-year-old dictatorship and of his obsession with vanity.

Further reading:

http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=2641