Raajje News Blog

Male', Maldives. Day 1 of President Waheed's infant presidency ended in street terrorism, arson and vandalism in some islands, backing a demand by ex-President Nasheed for Dr. Waheed's immediate resignation. In response, Dr. Waheed made three key political appointees, which drew widespread criticism from the public. Police and military response to the riots yesterday are being condemned as brutal and excessive. As Day 2 speeds by, the Judiciary has entered the fray with the Criminal Court reportedly issuing a warrant for the arrest of Nasheed and his Defence Minister DIK Tholhath Ibrahim. The riots in the capital Male' were led by Nasheed himself, while the arson and vandalism in strongholds of Nasheed's party MDP were led by MDP MPs and Municipal Council members. In scenes reminiscent of the last days of Nasheed's regime, large numbers of protestors and riot police officials suffered injuries. The scale and extent of Nasheed's rebellion give a clear me...

Male', Maldives. As the constitutional crisis continues in the Maldives, arbitrary detention and arrests by police and military continue, the Judiciary is in suspension and political parties fight on street corners and public places. President Nasheed and opposition parties entrench their positions and show little sign of moving towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis. All sides continue going through the motions in their scripts while awaiting the much anticipated UN mission on 9th February. On the sides of the conflict, opposition parties are reportedly considering a proposal by Jumhooree Party to build a National Unity Alliance. The key condition in this proposal is that the NUA should field a single candidate for 2013, selected by a primary held among the joint membership of the NUA member parties. JP has also announced that its candidate contesting the primary will be JP Leader, popular philanthropist Gasim Ibrahim. The proposal however appears to be doomed for an ear...

Male', Maldives. Into the sixth day of civic protests against President Nasheed's overturning of the constitution and compromising of judicial independence, the protests shows no sign of abating. If anything, civilian numbers joining the protests each night are increasing. However, at the same time, the protest does show any clear signs of succeeding in its stated demands. Over various nights of protest, leaders of the protest have stated varying demands. It began with a demand for the release of opposition politician Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Qaumee Party. Dr. Jameel was released upon a criminal court order issued by Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed. Dr. Jameel has been detained several times since then, yet not arrested as before. President Nasheed immediately took Judge Abdulla into military detention, an action that violated a number of constitutional provisions while raising a hue and cry amongst the Judiciary and independent governance organs of ...

Male', Maldives. As Government, military and police overturn the constitution, as the judiciary deflates like an old balloon, as independent institutions pass the buck to one another, as opposition parties backbite and undermine each other, the one party touted to be the "extreme" party, Adhaalath Party, once again demonstrate their solidity and focus to the Maldivian citizenry. In the unfolding events of President Nasheed's mockery of the constitution, Adhaalath Party has taken the type of concrete logical steps one would like to see from an organized civilized opposition. Tonight, in an emergency meeting of its party council, Adhaalath Party has formed a 7 member committee to analyze the state of the country and to formulate and implement legitimate strategies and actions to change that state to a better one. The committee is headed by Adhaalath Party Chief Shaikh Imran Abdullah, and has the mandate to undertake any action that is not in contradiction to its pr...