MDP condemns “coup d’etat”, Nasheed released by Maldives security forces

Police with the Maldives’ Drug Enforcement Department (DED) this evening removed alcohol bottles and what they claimed was evidence of other illicit substances from the home of former President Mohamed Nasheed, shortly after his resignation in dramatic circumstances today.

Elements of the police joined opposition protests last night and this morning attacked the headquarters of the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) this morning in Republic Square. A further 60-70 MNDF soldiers joined the protesters. Shortly afterwards, the state broadcaster MNBC was taken over by police and opposition protesters, and rebranded Television Maldives (TVM), the name of the institution under Gayoom’s government.

A spokesperson for Nasheed said earlier this evening that the former President is currently being detained against his will, and dismissed the discovery of the bottles and illicit substances as an attempt to discredit Nasheed and gain popular support for what he described as “a coup d’etat”.

As of 11:00pm, the spokesperson said Nasheed has been allowed to return home.

“Gayoom controls the judiciary, now the executive, the media, and in couple of weeks probably the parliament. One thing he cannot control is popular support for President Nasheed, so he needs to find a way to jail or discredit him ahead of the 2013 election,” the spokesperson said.

Several individuals connected with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were seriously injured during the unrest, while two sources told Minivan News that a party activist was killed today after a metal pole rammed upwards through his jaw. Minivan News is seeking confirmation.

At 3:00pm Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan was sworn in as President. As per the constitution, Dr Waheed must now appoint a vice president to be approved by the Parliament. He may also reform the Cabinet.

Following his appointment Dr Waheed addressed the nation on TVM, and said he was grateful to the police and MNDF who had made “great sacrifices” to defend constitution.

“Today is the day the rule of law has been established in the country perfectly,” Dr Waheed said.

“I will not order the police, military or any person to do anything against the law – I promise it to the public. Everyone will have the protection of constitution and laws.”

According to Police Media Official Ahmed Shiyam, the DED investigation of the historical President’s Residence was prompted when a lorry emerged from the residence with “bags of trash”.

“Security stopped the vehicle and found a number of alcohol bottles in the bags. The police were notified of the situation and an investigation is underway,” Shiyam said.

While “there were many bottles,” Shiyam said the “investigation is ongoing.”

At 6:00pm this evening Minivan News observed Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) and police forces jointly guarding the left entrance to the residence from a crowd of approximately 500 members of the public, most of whom are affiliated with former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), according to onlookers. A police van was parked near the official entrance around the corner amidst throngs of people standing on the low walls to observe the event.

Minority opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed and PPM MP Ilham Ahmed were also present at the scene, speaking with security forces and directing the crowds to clear the road and stay on the sidewalks.

From the upper level of a nearby building bags and boxes could be seen moved into a security van parked within the residence. While bottles were not clearly visible, the scent of alcohol could be detected when the lorry was moved closer to the residence gate.

When asked whether further demonstrations were planned for this evening, onlookers said they believed the biggest ordeal was over.

“It’s done now, tonight we are celebrating,” one of the people outside the President’s residence claimed.

When asked whether Nasheed had been arrested, Shiyam reported that he has been taken to a secure location by security services.

“[Nasheed] is being kept for his own safety now under the surveillance of Maldives National Security Forces, which includes police and MNDF,” Shiyam said. “He is the main concern, as is anything that might happen to his family. Police will take anything related to the family seriously.”

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which was brought to power in the country’s first democratic elections in 2008, appeared subdued today following clashes with police last night, injuries to key members, and the torching of the party’s headquarters this afternoon.

The party issued the following statement this evening:

“We strongly condemn the coup d’etat that has been brought against the constitutionally elected government of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives. Last night rogue elements from the Maldives Police Service in conjunction with the supporters of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom overthrew the democratically elected government of President Nasheed.

“The overthrow occurred after small numbers of police and army personal, in response to a call from leading opposition figures, Abdulla Yameen (former President Gayoom’s half brother) and Umar Naseer (former security officer in the regime of President Gayoom), joined with a group of protesters in the centre of Male, protesting against the arrest and detention of a judge accused of corruption.

“These police and army personnel, especially those from the notorious Star Force established by former President Gayoom then, ignoring the chain of command, moved around the capital in full riot gear, attacking MDP headquarters and the houses of MDP MPs and government officials.
“Many MDP members and government officials were badly hurt. Some are unaccounted for. MDP-associated property continues to be attacked. In this climate of chaos and fear, the rogue elements of the police and army helped to take over the main national TV channel, MNBC, replacing it with President Gayoom’s old TV Maldives (TVM), and also moved to take control of key installations.
“During this time, ex President Gayoom’s allies moved to retake control of the army and police. The opposition, supported by the army and police, then offered an ultimatum to President Nasheed: step down or be faced with a bloodbath in the capital.
“President Nasheed thus resigned in order to protect the public from further violence. His resignation was involuntary in that he had no choice.”

“President Nasheed was taken to the President’s Office under the custody of the security forces and subsequently resigned.

“We also condemn the violent attacks carried out against our members by the Maldives Police Service including Member of Parliament and our former chairperson Mariya Didi and other MPs from the party.

“We call upon the international community to assist us in establishing democracy in the Maldives and protect the officials of the government of President Nasheed. We fear for the safety of President Nasheed and senior members of his government.”

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96 thoughts on “MDP condemns “coup d’etat”, Nasheed released by Maldives security forces”

  1. “Today is the day the rule of law has been established in the country perfectly,” Dr Waheed said. ??? Really?

    What a joke when you accept rouge TRAITORS who broke the LAWS and REBELLED. How could you keep these mercenaries/TRAITORS in the police and army? ANSWER that!

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  2. There was no coup.
    The President resigned and the next in command (ie our then Vice President) took over.
    No one will call this a coup.

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  3. Only MDP to be blamed. The arrest of the judge outside the Constitution and the refusal to reverse course out of stubbornness unleashed this chain of events.

    Well wishers of MDP and many MDP members like myself warned that this would lead to self destruction.

    It all was so easy to see, yet MDP activists believed that they can prevail by Mob Rule.

    President Nasheed is a decent man who tried to do his best for this nation. But sadly he used the wrong methods to deal with various challenges that led to this day.

    Most of all, I have repeatedly said that the GMR deal would be the reason for Nasheed's fall and that this deal will haunt him forever.

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  4. I agree with Alam and Ilyas, this was no coup.

    After spending nearly an year reading about police brutality in various countries and for a while here, it's refreshing to see the police and the military aid the citizens and defend the constitution.

    The new president is a good man but I fear for what foreboding elections as I can't think of a single good candidate from all the currently existing parties. I can't think of a single one that wouldn't turn out like Nasheed did.

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  5. What it takes to be a democratic country
    Dear Maldivian friends,
    You have been overruled by your own history. A history forged in dictatorship, a history written with blood and salted water. A history away from respect. I’m afraid that is what it takes to learn about democracy. Here in Spain we had the fascist army occupying the parliament just after democracy was installed, just like you had yesterday some of the police officers co-animating the street riots. But they could not move forward in our country, just like they will not drawback the democracy in the Maldives. It is time for you all to get together and defend what you consider to be the future of your country. Don’t let fanaticism take your life. Fanatics are just like beaten dogs, you remove the lash, they bite. They bite because they are afraid of freedom. They bite because they have been beaten all their life. That’s all they know. As per police officers, they should know they are not the ones that make the law. They are the armed body of the law but never the law themselves. They execute but don’t make the rules. They are not even paid to decide, but paid to serve.
    You have been into the typical troubles of a young, not to say baby, democracy. You have been tested. More problems will come, more tests will take place, until one fine day you will look at your history and you will see that it all made a lot of sense. Gayoom was wrong: you are prepared to be a democracy, in fact you already are one, how come what happen could have taken place otherwise. Now it is time to learn and fight to move forward. We are many abroad, watching you, helping you, praying if I may say, for you. Keep going, the Maldives is your future and it is worth to fight ( what a word) for it.

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  6. Awesome,this means only one thing for me.
    Simon Hawkins will no longer be able to carry forward the 'Image of Maldives'
    as a copycat cheap Nation with his crappy 100K logo and stupid slogan 'Always Natural'.
    Amen!!

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  7. Does MDP know what a coup is? If it was a coup, the army would not wait for president to resign. They could have just kicked him out and take over.

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  8. The job of President Mohamed Nasheed was always going to be difficult. His enemies were entrenched in powerful locations. Even the Vice President was his competitor, if not his all out enemy.

    He was finally undone by his own rhetoric and his own incompetent advisers.

    He tried to do too much too soon. He was in a hurry.

    He did not know enough Maldivian history.

    He should have read through and mastered the book called 'Animal Farm'. This book is about the difficulty of changing human nature itself.

    I have outlived another Maldivian President. It all started with Mohamed Ameen. What next?

    Fraternising with the Jews and Israel was a big mistake. Arresting a judge was unconstitutional. Getting the Army and the Police involved in politics, as Nasheed did, was a big mistake also.

    Protests in Male going on for three weeks was too much in a small and thickly populated island. Finally, it all blew up.

    A highly dramatic end to Nasheed's first government. His own policies, more than that of his opponents, proved to be his undoing.

    Finally, I appeal to Minivannews not to surrender and go away. Stay put.

    That is my own considered judgement.

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  9. Shame on you waheed - the biggest back stabber this century has seen. and you say this was the rule of law?? what LAW??? we'll wait and watch your fall. do you think that you can stay in power?? we'll wait and watch. there are many presidents now - maumoon, yameen, hassan saeed, buruma gasim, thasmeen, umar naseem, sheikh imran,,and how can i forget dhiyana??!! Maldives cannot get a better present than Anni.

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  10. Constitution of Maldives-the great winner.President Nasheed who used the army to illegally kidnap senior judge, taught the police to disregard his order. When you step outside the constitution then you can't resort to the constitution for your safety. Sad, the way you had to go, Anni.

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  11. This is a very sad day in the history of Maldives . This is just another begining of a new end

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  12. the best president maldives ever had and will have was anni,he was a brave and kind guy who loved his country and didnt use power to defeat his opposition unlike the previous dictator

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  13. This is a coup in all sense. When a Head of State is forced to resign at gun point it is a coup.
    Countries that have had coups never have progressed or have a peaceful civilian government.
    The moment the Police or the MNDF now gets upset at the government they would stage the same thing.
    Maldivians have opened a pandoras box. Nasheed made many major mistakes and has to be responsible for this fiasco but this is not the way to change governments.
    I feel sorry for my country and ashamed of the Police.

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  14. This is a lesson for all those who topple a long time dictatorship that there is no place for the Dictator or his cronies in the country anymore and should have been driven out instead of experimenting by having those who were ousted around in the parliament and important institutions. Hopefully the new President will establish law and order and get the judges to meet out justice fairly irrespective of the position or social standing. Mr. Waheed is the prime target now. Beware of Gasim,Yamin and Thasneem. They laid hurdles in Nasheed's path. You are next in line to be sacrificed.

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  15. Dear Writer;

    I suggest you to write what you see, not what you think and you imaginary world. we gave 5yrs to serve the country, but you guys failed to do that. what happen in the president palace was the reality. you have to accept it. nothing related to maummoon, by bye anni n his f*** administrators

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  16. MDP as always blames everything on Gayoom and tries to get international sympathy. Why do they fail to point out Nasheed ordered unlawful abduction of a judge and gave deaf years to calls from Supreme Court, Procecutor general and so many others to release the judge.? When he does not show respect to law n order, who will?

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  17. This was a coup whether you believe it or not!!

    And Former president Nasheed wasn't a decent man. He was someone who enjoyed drinking and partying. Its something all his close personals knew. So was that sparky headed tourism minister Zulfa.

    Im glad Nasheed's rule is over and i can only hope that the ever so silent Waheed can rule this country. MDP shouldnt take credit in his rule anymore and state that its still their government! Sayimg such stuff (by Alhaan) prove their incompetence at their defeat. We the people dont want a puppet like Nasheed ruling us. But with such history (Gayoom and Nasheed), i guess its not going to be easy to find such a rule anytime soon.

    And where has MDP's beloved Reeko Moosa fled to? Or should i say was trying to flee to? And from what? The justice? Its such a joke now.

    I wish our new President Waheed good luck. May he have sense enough to rule the remaining months in justice and towards betterment!

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  18. Minivan News: you are the closest thing to an independant media outlet this country has ever had, atleast professional journalism which is enjoyed even by people who are not Maldivian - a source for the rest of the world. It is imperative that you remain and continue your coverage. Please.

    President Nasheed is a hero for so many people. Here's hoping he comes back to compete in the next elections - so many people still want him as their leader.

    In the meantime, President Waheed, please take this nation forward. Do not succumb to the same dark forces that your predecessor was forced to take heed of. We wish you the best of luck.

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  19. He resigned, because his office failed.

    Nasheed had tried to change much all in favor of a few notorious figures in MDP.. If he had listened to even a few honest leaders of MDP and opposition parties, this would not have happened.

    alchohol and drugs found in his palace, were just a bonus. Nobody was surprised by this. everyone who knew these 'notorious' figures of MDP knew exactly what they all had in common..

    Minivan News should try to stay 'Minivan' and report news rather than fabricating it. else this might be the end of public support for this website too. MDP is not Nasheed's associates and hopefully this is a new beginning for MDP too.

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  20. He resigned, because his office failed.

    Mr.Nasheed had tried to change much all in favor of a few notorious figures in MDP.. If he had listened to even a few honest leaders of MDP and opposition parties, this would not have happened.

    alchohol and drugs found in his palace, were just a bonus. Nobody was surprised by this. Everyone who knew these 'notorious' figures of MDP knew exactly what they all had in common..

    Minivan News should try to stay 'Minivan' and report news rather than fabricating it. else this might be the end of public support for this website too. MDP is not Nasheed's associates and hopefully this is a new beginning for MDP too.

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  21. I can see the future so well; he will be charged for consuming alcohol (of course planted by you).... You guys are so predictable....

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  22. I'm not familiar with maldivian domestic politics, but news about violent regime change are disturbing. What is predicted in next days, is it safe for tourist to travel?

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  23. The best thing is now Maldives can kick out all the foreign advisors who have been robbing the country. Mike Mason and Mark Lynas should be brought to justice for siphoning millions of dollars of 'Climate Change' money that belong to the Maldivians.

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  24. Please stop writing news articles which give wrong impression to international media. I heard on CNN that the protesters were supporters of Maumoon. This is such a false news. I wonder from where do they get such false news. I voted Nasheed in the presidential election, but i supported the protesters to release the judge. The protesters in general were not particularly supporters of ex president Maumoon. Now even in this article I see something which said Judiciary is controlled by him. Please start honest journalism.

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  25. This was definitely a military coup. The President was forced to resign and he resigned to save the blood of the citizens of this country. You can clearly see this, as blood was shed by these so-called Police as they beat up citizens and members of parliament infront of everyone.

    This was the threat to the President: either you resign, or we'll go and massacre every single MDP supporter in the country! Waheed is trying to save his skin by paying lip service to his masters in the military and police. It's clear where the orders are coming from now.

    Let's take a look at this so-called "Colonel" Nazim. This guy was expelled from the Sandhurst military academy in the UK! Yes, that's right. He was expelled for disreputable behaviour (I don't want to go into the details). What was his involvement in today's coup? How on earth did he materialise himself, suddenly to demand the resignation of the President?

    Contrast that with Brigadier Jaleel. Jaleel is a graduate of Sandhurst and a proud bearer of the Green Beret. I still remember having seen and met Jaleel after his graduation and how proud he was of that marvellous achievement. He has made so many sacrifices for his country as a soldier and he'll be particularly remembered for the way he took charge of the situation when faced with impossible odds against Tamil mercenaries in 1988.

    The plot that took place today has been in the plan for a long time. The old regime die hards knew that this was the only way they could topple the government of Nasheed. Waheed is simply a puppet of Yaamin, Gayyoom and clan. He will be taking orders either directly or indirectly from them! We've clearly seen that today.

    We are returning to the dark old days of Maldives. Everything that happens will be shrouded in mystery and underhand deals and corruption will go to the next level. You can bet your last Rufiyaa that none of the corruption cases involving former regime members will now go forward! President Nasheed will be put on trial on some trumped up charges; whether it be alcohol or drugs or something else. Mark my words. Nasheed is their number one enemy. The old regime will not let leave their enemy wounded. They will go for the jugular. Nasheed was naive not to have done the same!

    I really feel very sorry for Nasheed. He was a good man and he really wanted to make a difference to this country. He made quite a few mistakes and I've been pointing them out for sometime. He should have listened to the technocrati and moderate voices in his party.

    Maldives, close your doors. Democracy doesn't deserve you.

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  26. Maldives Gayoom has stashed over USD800 million in Malaysia alone.. You want his people to run the country. Its better if your island sink beneath global warming !!

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  27. Anni : You stood up against the dictator, the opposition, and mullahs very strongly.
    Yet you crumble and gave in to the likes of dumb idiots within your party.

    Reeko, Musthafa, Mariya : are your weaknesses.

    The day you take hard stance on these leeches, I would vote for you again.

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  28. Minivan News! Are you really an independent news source? What a farce? Do not believe even for a minute that you can hood wink the international community again. Was it a coup ? What a joke? Why can't MDP go beyond Maumoon? What has Maumoon to do with yesterday's events? Doesn't MDP realise that some of their own members and all the other political parties were involved in the events that forced Nasheed to step down? This time around I happen to be here in Maldives and I have seen everything closely. Just like many Maldivians I know who the thugs and hooligans were. Nasheed made mistakes. He should have accepted his mistakes and tried to move forward. Instead his own cronies forced him to do all what he did and the result was his down fall. Why don't we all learn to move beyonfd Gayoom. Let us get professional help ( therapy) if necessary!

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  29. TRAITOR WAHEED WAS INVOLVED IN A MILITARY COUP, WITH MEMBERS OF THE FORMER REGIME, AGAINST THE COUNTRY'S FIRST DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT. SHAME ON YOU. YOU WILL NEVER BE OUR PRESIDENT.

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  30. a very nice country ,now ahead with intellegent and open minded president.

    the changes to democracy in 2008 was a big step in the history of the maldives led to mr nasheed an icon of revolutionist took power, this nice man was with insufficient education and no carisma to lead the country further.

    the maldives needs an intellectual educated person like dr waheed to move ahead , and now all in order.

    dear maldivians , support your new president and help him to improve your country as he is capable to do so.

    good luck dr waheed , .

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  31. Waheed won't last six months. The fundamentals have not changed. There's still a massive hole in the budget. Prices of goods will continue to rise. Inflation is on the rise. The judicial system is corrupt and ill suited to the needs of the country. Drug addiction and youth employment is on the rise. Lack of housing, clean water, etc. and the list goes on.

    Removing Nasheed isn't going to make any difference to these facts on the ground. Waheed doesn't have a magic want to make these go away. He sure got the job he's always had an eye on! Let's see what he makes of it.

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  32. Dear Editor of Minivan News;
    Are you really an independent news reporter? If so try reporting without factually and without bias. It was not a member of the MDP that died due to being viciously stabbed by an iron pole. It was a young man from the Maldives Police Service. Have some shame and some respect and try not to appropriate sympathy for the MDP by reporting his death adn his political allegiance incorrectly. If reports are correct it was persons loyal to MDP that carried out the fatal atatcking. GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT IF YOU WANT TO BE ACCEPTED AS AN UNBIASED NEWS SOURCE.

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  33. Our religion "ISLAM" walks-above all the Maldivians.

    What President Nasheed has done was arresting a Judge - who has been conducting and concluding Criminal Acts and offences against Islamic-Law. This judge's justice was to release corrupted bussinesmen like, Dictator bro, Yaameen, Gasim (who has gathered all the wealths by reaping the Maldivians).

    So when the right and proper law (according to the book of Allah SWT and as per Haddees of Umah's prophet Mohammed SAW) was implemented by our President Nasheed; these bloody bussinesmen was unable to tolerate (as they will be brought to justice for a fair trial, once the new judiciary is elected). And all their "HARAAM" wealth will be gone to astray.

    The last resort for them was to pay few Green-Color notes to the MNDF and Police and let them force our president to resign - by pointing a gun at him - and saying that they will shoot to the public if he do not resign.

    So, to save our faith of ISLAM - we believe our President Honourable Nasheed has done the right thing - by acting over the Judiciary.

    One day Allah Subahanahu Wata'aalaa will give the reward for his truthful work.

    All our prayers to Allah SWT is with our President Hounourable Nasheed - may Allah guide him and his family to pray to Allah SWT more than 5 times a day and read wholly Quran as much as they could, for the only sake of Allah SWT.

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  34. maldives back to dictatorship and ownership of Maumoon,constitution is under his power now and in his power,constitution means restrictions to everything MDP&nasheed does...Police is back to being slaves of Maumoon,back to slavery...that's what they wanted.welcome back to maumoondom,idiot country!

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  35. I dont understand why all these rubbish happenning to only muslim nations in the world.
    As a Sri Lankan i had worked in Male' Maldives for 8 years and what a peaceful country it had been and indeed i am very very sad to hear the latest development.As usual i can only Pray for Maldives.

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  36. If Gayoom comes to power again, it i the end of Maldives. Sadly we Maldivians do not know what democracy is all about. We are used to live in dictorships. THIS IS THE END OF MALDIVES.

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  37. Elements of Police ? 60 - 70 MNDF Officers ?

    There were more than a thousand !

    Seems to me Minivan news is finding it difficult to digest this latest development and the fall of Nasheed....

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  38. Maldives returns to a technocratic government to peacefully administer the country.

    I welcome the silence of the post-Nasheed world. No street-revelry, no loud condemnations of past wrongs, no ebullient declarations that the government belongs to this person or that.

    Sorry Nasheed, as your ardent supporter Ahmed pointed out you were your own undoing. I urge you not to use Minivan and your party supporters to create further havoc and dissension in this country. We are a nation now and not a a warring State any longer. God bless the Maldives.

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  39. The misled sheep that think this was some sort of "peoples revolution" make me laugh. You morons all make me ashamed to be Maldivian.

    He resigned because he was smart enough to realise that it was a coup.

    You can't hold someone at gunpoint, steal all their **** and then say it wasn't armed robbery because you never took the shot.

    This is a victory for the corrupt.

    How could you possibly say the opposition knows anything about freedom when the first thing they did, even before the President resigned, was to change the names of tv & radio stations?

    If you watch the "news" on VTV (Villa TV), owned by Qasim Ibrahim, a member of the opposition; you'll see just how messed up these people are. It shows nothing but one sided propaganda with reporters and news crew expressing personal opinions (all of them scripted against whatever Qasim wants).

    On the other side of the spectrum, the religious extremists who are also a part of this opposition mob (who have no unifying policies are are destined to self destruct); have already claimed victory for their "Islamic Shariah" which they seek to impose. If these people come to power, it is truly the end of democracy and freedom in the Maldives. They use religion as a political tool to spread fear and hatred. If you are against them, you are somehow against god and therefore OK to murder. In this sense, they make it impossible to be against them because they equate themselves so much with what is holy.

    These are strange times indeed.

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  40. Change is good. Change brought around too soon cannot be digested. History bears witness to this from President Mohamed Amin Didi's case and now from President Mohamed Nasheed's case. Each of these leaders brought good change (as well as change that people could not digest so fast) and opposition played their best politics in these 2 cases as well. Let's see if the politicans can walk the talk.

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  41. Hmmm true. That is a valid question. I think Ms. Johnstone and Mr. Robinson have overstayed their welcome.

    Foreigners are supposed to respect the sovereignty of countries they visit. We cannot allow foreign people to write articles that interfere with our domestic affairs.

    I think the best thing to do is to kindly advise Ms. Johnstone and Mr. Robinson that they are welcome to enjoy our country or work in it as long as they refrain from commenting on internal affairs and politics in public fora. It is after all common courtesy.

    I hope Ms. Johnstone and Mr. Robinson will be civilized enough to accept this criticism.

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  42. There is absolutely no way that democracy can be seen under the present circumstances. Precedent has been set. A corrupt judge and his rise above the law brought down a lawfully elected government. I warned weeks before that this would be a battle to the bitter end as far as the Gayyoom regime die hards were concerned. They were never going to let the judiciary out of their fists, for doing so would have led to their own incarceration.

    Unfortunately for MDP, they buried their head in the sands, and didn't see the tide rising against them from a very unexpected source. You can clearly see some of those behind the coup as they presented themselves as the "saviours" of the nation when they tried to "negotiate" infront of the MNDF HQ.

    For those wishfully thinking that this brings calm and peace to the nation, my warning is that you're very wrong. A very dangerous precedent has been set and none of the wrongs of the past has been resolved. Changing an elected government at the point of a gun will never lead to a peaceful transition. Those with guns and batons took control yesterday, but they can't take control of the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of people in this country.

    There is no technocratic government in place! In fact, hardly a government is in place at all. If Waheed has any sense, he'll call for elections sooner rather than later.

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  43. President Nasheed has gained world wide respect and admiration for the way he chose his Country over his power. The Opposition simply can't digest it and they will be doing everything they can between now and the next election to ensure that President Nasheed's reputation is ruined. Well, for those of us who believe in him and respect him, any nonsense that the Opposition sprouts will be just something to laugh about over coffee.

    This was a military coup and anyone arguing it not to be must go and look it up in the dictionary.

    When a bunch of Police and Military personnel sold out their own Country for a bigger bank balance, what's to stop these same people from doing it again for a bigger prize next time? And they will have no loyalty to Yameen, Gasim or Thasmeen or Maumoon or whoever who filled their pockets this time. They will do it again for someone else and retire to lead a rich and happy life! Now these people will rule by force, and because people are scared of what they may do, we'll obey them. But make no mistake, THERE WILL BE NO RESPECT WHATSOEVER left for these thieves! They have betrayed all of us and one day Insha Allah, they will pay for it. They should spend as much of that money as they can now, for when they die and go to their graves, they won't be able to take it with them!

    Yameem, Gasim, Thasmeen, Maumoon and Adhaalath buggers, keep in mind that what goes around comes around, and pretty soon you guys are going to be overthrown by the same military and police heroes who took your money today. So take my advice and get rid of those people today! But of course you'll have to be careful to do it in such a way so as not to expose yourselves!

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  44. @tsk tsk on Wed, 8th Feb 2012 10:08 AM

    "I think the best thing to do is to kindly advise Ms. Johnstone and Mr. Robinson that they are welcome to enjoy our country or work in it as long as they refrain from commenting on internal affairs and politics in public fora".

    Aha, signs of our newly laid down "democracy" already eh? Is that a threat? Even I didn't expect it would start this soon...

    I knew it'd start at some point; Maldives goes back to its old ways...

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  45. The very fact that Ahmed Nazim, in MNDF is back in power shows that the Waheed administration loves THIEVES and CORRUPT officials!

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