Raajje News Blog

#Maldives: Corruption in governments lives on long after the corrupt leader is removed from office. Such is the state of Maldives, after its liberation on February 7th, 2012 from the corrupt administration led by former President Mohamed Nasheed. Even after the national liberation movement that removed the corrupt leader from office, powerful networks of loyalists are left in place that attempt to strangle the resurgence of the independent sovereign state. Eight months after Nasheed's resignation from office, Maldives is still struggling to rehabilitate the fledgling democracy that he raped together with his money hungry partners. The corrupt leader rules through outright bribery, graft and corruption on a far larger scale than comprehensible to the ordinary citizen. The beneficiaries of the corrupt leader's largesse range from multinationals, rich playboys, international networks promoting private agendas, local businesses, party activists, drug dealers and local gangs. Such...

Male', Maldives. Yesterday's face-off between President Mohamed Waheed and his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed on the Male' streets ended with a victory for Waheed, but perhaps a victory that may be very temporary. Backed by an impressive display of people power over 50,000 strong, President Waheed condemned Nasheed's Maldives Democratic Party as terrorists, as enemies of the state. Alluding to the massive economic losses under Nasheed, Waheed warned that "There is no place for people who destroy our economy." Clearly, public support was behind Waheed. The MDP Women's Protest staged yesterday afternoon to balance the scale was vastly outnumbered, mustering about a 1,000+ to the National Unity's 50,000. The maximum Nasheed had been able to gather at his rallies was just over 7,000, even including his supporters arriving from the islands. However, what is most evident from the past two months of protests and rallies by all political parties, is that Nas...

Male', Maldives. "We will defend our nation, its culture and Islam with the last drop of our blood." pledged President Mohamed Waheed, amidst rousing cheers by the thousands gathered in support of his National Unity Government. In a rude wake up call for Mohamed Nasheed and fallen government, thousands thronged to Male's Artificial Beach today to stand in unity with President Waheed's government. Organizers of the event estimate over 50,000 supporters at the rally, with over 15,000 having already arrived from the islands. President Waheed was backed by the leaders of 8 political parties and 150 civic associations. This is in sharp contrast to the series of rallies being held by former President Nasheed at the South East corner of Male' since February 17th. The most support for Nasheed was received on the 17th itself, with an estimated 7,000 hard core MDP members attending from Male' and the islands combined. Since then, Nasheed's rallies have at the...

Male', Maldives. Maldivians watch stunned as new President Mohamed Waheed calmly invites foreign interference in their domestic affairs, just two weeks after he ascended to power following the resignation on strongman Mohamed Nasheed. Claiming to be a national unity government, the inexperienced Waheed administration is falling over its two left feet dancing to Bollywood music mixed with European colonial lyrics. The Waheed government's capitulation of Maldivian national interests and national sovereignty is unprecedented by any Maldivian government at anytime throughout the country's long history. Throughout the annals of our history Maldives maintained her sovereignty and defended uncorrupted Islam as her religion by maintaining policies of non-interference in our domestic affairs by foreign powers. A small island state in the vast Indian Ocean, overshadowed by the looming mass of India in the North, Maldives has weathered many turbulent political storms, emerging some...