Raajje News Blog

Male', Maldives. Dear Vice President Dr. Waheed, Firstly, welcome to the Maldivian struggle for human rights and freedom from oppression. Your interview to AP and your blog today maybe a little too late and a little too self serving, but it does add weight to the protest we Maldivians have been engaging in from November 11, 2008 when you stepped into power one step behind President Mohamed Nasheed. Secondly, please do not trivialize the daily struggle of the Maldivian Youth by decrying their efforts. No. We have been protesting since 11 November 2008 against the human rights violations by the regime in which you share and which you worked to put into place, against the poverty and economic degradation brought about by policies and programs run by the Cabinet in which you sit, and the reversal of democracy that you and your colleagues have propagated. Thirdly, it is with great disappointment but no great surprise that we note that the level of your protest against President ...

Male', Maldives Maldives is in a state of civic disorder early this morning as President Nasheed turns it into a Police State with strong police and military actions against all democratic institutions. Independent and non-partisan institutions such as the Judiciary, Maldives Human Rights Commission, Prosecutor General's Office and civic bodies have called upon President Nasheed to stop his brutal police and military actions and to uphold law and order in the country. Maldives Police Service late last night arbitrarily arrested opposition politician Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and held him at the infamous Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre. This is Jameel's second arrest within 48 hours. Police grounds for Jameel's arrest were not stated. Dr. Jameel's re-arrest by police comes within 24 hours of his release by order of the Criminal Court. Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) then detained Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed against his will at their Girifushi Trai...

Male', Maldives The historical civic protest in the Maldives on December 23rd, 2011 saw an escalation of President Nasheed's intimidatory tactics against free media in the country. Under Nasheed's direct order as Commander in Chief of the Maldives Military, the Military had sent a written warning to all free media, warning against the airing of anti-government demonstrations. The military warning was received by all media channels and print media just hours prior to the mass gathering at Victory Square to protest against President Nasheed and his corrupt Government. A few days prior to the protest, Maldives Police arrested Ali Ahsan, web designer and online news editor, for creating a website which provided updated news on the upcoming Civic Protest. In further actions against free media, President Nasheed shutdown Maldives youth website www.mvyouth.net on the day of the Civic Protest, in a move to stifle dissenting voices against his corrupt government. The websi...

Male', Maldives. 8.40 pm Maldives President Nasheed orders riot police to crack down on peaceful civic gathering at Victory Square, in the capital Male'. Media on site report that riot police, present in great numbers at Victory Square since mid afternoon, are preparing to move into the large gathering. The civilian gathering is currently estimated to number over 12,000 strong, the largest such civil protest in the Maldives to date. Nasheed's order comes minutes after protest leaders air the demands on the gathering. Announce by Sheikh Imran, the gathering has two demands: 1) removal of all statues erected for the SAARC Summit in November 2011; and 2) an apology by President Nasheed to the Maldivian people for UNHRC Pillay's anti-Muslim comments in the Maldives a few weeks ago. The rationale given for the latter demand is that Ms. Pillay visited the Maldives on Nasheed's invitation. Protest leaders announced that if these demands were not met, the meeting at...