The Maldives are a group of islands located in the Indian Ocean. The islands are well known for very expensive, luxurious tourist resorts, but for the last several weeks, there have been protests each night. The protests are over the detention of a criminal court judge. The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, ordered the arrest. As a result, a police mutiny, tantamount to a coup, began and calls for the resignation of President Nasheed were heard throughout the islands.
On Tuesday, President Nasheed resigned as president and the vice president, Mohammed Waheed Hasson, took the oath of office. Nasheed said in a statement that he believed the Maldives people would be hurt even more if he did not resign. He said that he wanted prosperity and progress for the Maldives people.
A diplomat in Maldives, Hussein Niyaz, said that things are now getting back to normal. The government is in control of the country and there is law and order on the city streets. Nasheed campaigned frequently for human rights and he gained attention from around the world for his global warming activism. There is a story of Nasheed holding one of his cabinet meetings underwater – in full diving gear – to show the danger that the Maldives are in because of the rising of the sea level.
The first democratic election was held in 2008 and that is when Nasheed was elected president. The former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was in power for thirty years prior to the election.
The economy in Maldives, as well as around the world in other countries, has suffered. When the arrest of the judge happened last month, Nasheed accused the judge of not being fair in court. This drew quick condemnation and prompted what would become nightly protests. As a means of police mutiny, the officers refused to break up the protest last night, which only confirmed Nasheed’s fears that there could be bloodshed at the hands of the police or the military.
