Protests around the world for Maldives detainees

Following Friends of Maldives’ protests outside the Maldivian High Commission and Hilton Hotel in London last week, a further protest was held outside the Maldivian High Commission in Colombo on Sunday, 14th September.

The protest in Colombo was organised by Sri Lankans sympathetic to the democracy struggle in the Maldives and wishing to show solidarity with fellow Maldivians democrats jailed in the Maldives.

It was reported to Minivan News that at 5pm around 20-25 people descended upon the Maldivian High Commission in Colombo with placards demanding the release of the hunger-strikers still held in jail in the Maldives after the Maldivian government’s crack-down of the August 12-13th pro-democracy rally.

After about 10 minutes of protest, traffic police came with a public address system and told the protestors to leave the area as they were disrupting the Maldivian High Commissioner’s Eid party. The protestors then left and regrouped around the corner at the Euro Cinema. Around 100 demonstrators are thought to have taken part in the protest outside the cinema.

Meanwhile in London, Friends of Maldives staged another protest outside the Maldivian High Commission in London, which took place yesterday (Monday). A spokesperson for Friends of Maldives stated that “as long as pro-democracy prisoners remain in jail in the Maldives, we will do our utmost to disrupt the functioning of the Maldivian High Commission in London.”

The protestors wore black hoods and were chained together outside the embassy in central London, symbolising the way pro-democracy activists were arrested and held on Black Friday.