President Mohamed Nasheed has spoken to the leader of the Tunisian opposition as ripples from the fall of its deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali spread throughout the Arab world.
Speaking to Moncef Marzouki over the phone, Nasheed expressed the hope that democracy, human rights and the rule of law would prevail.
He also condemned the use of violence against civilians during the protests, and the human rights abuses that were occurring in the country.
The government in Tunisia, previously regarded as one of the Middle East’s most stable democracies and a popular tourist destination, was overthrown after widespread protests and growing street violence eventually forced Ben Ali to flee the country on January 14 after 23 years in power.
In a surreal side note, Ben Ali’s wife reportedly retrieved US$60 million worth of gold in person from the country’s central bank before fleeing to the airport with her husband. The bank has denied the reports, leaked by French security officials.
The protests were sparked after Mohamed Bouazizi, a local fruitseller, set himself on fire when police confiscated his cart. That incident sparked a national uprising that led to almost 100 deaths in clashes with security forces, and the hasty departure of the President. The government has since issued an arrest warrant for Ben Ali in absentia.
The violence triggered a wave of regional instability, particularly in Egypt, where tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Tuesday in opposition to 29 years of strict rule by President Hosni Mubarak.
Three people were reported killed, including a policeman, while three more self-immolated in imitation of Bouazizi. Protests also erupted in Yemen, Jordan and Algeria.
Regional analysts such as Robert Fisk have observed that Tunsia was widely feted by the West for the stability of its autocracy: “If it can happen in the holiday destination Tunisia, it can happen anywhere, can’t it? The French and the Germans and the Brits, dare we mention this, always praised the dictator for being a ‘friend’ of civilised Europe, keeping a firm hand on all those Islamists,” Fisk wrote in UK newspaper The Independent.
Meanwhile, further revelations from al-Jazeera’s publication of controversial documents detailing 10 years of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process include details of a secret crackdown on Hamas, orchestrated by British Intelligence and executed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The 2004 plans also reveal a high degree of security cooperation between Israel and Palestinian security forces, further heightening public anger in Palestine against the PA.
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we must thank President Nasheed for leading us away from a similar fate.
Anni is poking his nose where he does not belong again, since Anni came to power he has continously derailed and fought against establishing a just democracy in the country, for what? Greed, corrupt practices, power, from today onwards I suugest that Anni shall be reffered to as Ben Anni, whatd you say?
Anni is poking his nose where he does not belong again, since Anni came to power he has continously derailed and fought against establishing a just democracy in the country, for what? Greed, corrupt practices, power, from today onwards I suugest that Anni shall be reffered to as Ben Anni, whatd you say?
Anni is poking his nose where he does not belong again, since Anni came to power he has continously derailed and fought against establishing a just democracy in the country, for what? Greed, corrupt practices, power, from today onwards I suugest that Anni shall be reffered to as Ben Anni, whatd you say?
Human Rights situation in Arab countries is pathetic. I am glad about what happened in Tunisia recently, and what is happening now in Egypt.
Muslims must re-discover the glory of their past. They had a glorious past, but their human condition as nation-states is pathetic now.
Centuries and even thousands of years of crude dictatorship has kept even our own Maldivian people down-trodden.
Such a long period of oppression cannot be undone in a matter of weeks, months or even years.
It will take a long time for Maldives to become a democratic state fully.
Mohamed Nasheed and the MDP can just make a beginning. If they can set a good example to the country in their first 5 years in political power, it will help a great deal.
I would like to see better writing skills from people who comment on Minivannews pages.
I would like to see people writing under their own names rather than hiding behind pseudonyms.
There is a lot in common between what happened in Tunisia recently and the great French Revolution of the late 18th century.
Democracy does not automatically follow a Revolution however radical the Revolution is.
It took years for the French to learn democracy.
So will it be for Tunisians and we Maldivians too.
Hey Ahmed. Is a DRP propaganda machine stuck in your mind?. You should surgically remove it and look at the real reasons why the MDP is - and will be unable to deliver peace, liberty and freedom to Maldives.
@Ahmed
Oh how right you are.
Look at all the journalists and critics of the government Anni has locked up, tortured and put into solitary confinement since Anni has come to power. Look at all the newspapers he has banned - and all the websites he has blocked through the use of the national telcoms service.
As for Greed - I take it you have the plans of how he is going to build Theemuge II - so that his family can have a swimming pool in the middle of Male' (as well as the worst most gaudy furniture that money can buy).
Or have you been shown the multi-million dollar boat he has bought for his personal travel - and customized it in such a manner that it can no longer be sold in the market.
Or the private houses and apartments he has in countries like Singapore or Malaysia for him and his family for him to live on - when "true democrats" such as yourself - who enjoy the freedom to express yourself today because Anni spent so many years in prison on your behalf - go on the streets and throw him out....
actually anni has every right to inquire, as fellow democratic countries as well, and it is good that Maldives is engaging in international politics, actually much credit to both Anni and Gayoom, Maldives actually can be an example of how long standing leaders can step down peacefully. Show me one other country other than Maldives this has happened? we should be quite proud of ourselves !!
As for the $60 million in gold, oh come on , she couldn't have carried that much gold even if she wanted to , not even 6 million worth. This is not the day and age to believe in jinni erun so you can sacrifice a virgin girl for the king:S , if she took money then she might have taken it years and years ago after all they would have had over 2 decades :S , I hope the general population of any country would find the logic in this .
I do not agree with you aliased and democrat,you see the way I look at it is, I actually voted for change ie the anni coalition, yet all thats happened is is things have reverted to the way things were,where the power is in the hands of a few, we have all seen the show, instead of one autocrat we have another one, instead of a swimming pool in theemuge we have another somewhere else, maybe two, three who knows? As for the media, TVMaumoon is now Mohamed Nasheed Broadcasting Corporation, list goes on so please forgive me if im disillusioned,it might be you aliased who might be suffering from some sort of a propoganda issue.
Ahmed my boy, you should read more, talk to people, stay sober and get real! Or you could seek the Secretary Generalship of the UN...that might suit you.
Misrule of 24-years in Tunisia, 29 years in Egypt. Fortunately for Maldives, misrule of 30-years was timely changed and we got democratic govt who has taken some good steps. Thanks to Anni, foreign investments are also coming our way. A climate change "champion campainger" who has made Maldives famous.
Lets hope he is able to built much needed University in Maldives so that our young people need not go to other countries - by which we will also be able to save our cash.
@Ahmed
Well said. Past two years has showed that Anni will be a more brutal dictator than Gayoom.
We (a fair majority of us) did not have much free agency with respect to the roles we played in the downfall of Abdul Gayoom's regime.
It was orchestrated by the merchant classes and political aspirants of the country over the course of many years. The average "citizen" of Maldives suddenly woke up to cries of activists protesting against the death of some little-known individual (Evan Naseem) in custody. This was the turning point from which youth involvement strengthened an opposition to come out in the open.
What the MDP, or rather the clans with power in the party, really did was organize an effective revolution which gave the freedom for middle-class businessmen and those wishing to climb higher up the socioeconomic ladder to vent their frustrations at the former regime's clique-ish behavior.
The involvement of foreign parties are undeniable such as the government in UK and most likely powerful figures in India, however, an average Joe like myself has very little information to back such a claim.
What we have now is a new regime which I believe IS a much more sophisticated player than Gayyoom's was but still not as democratic as they declare themselves to be. What is democracy after all? I don't want to wax philosophical here but if it is in effect the power of the people, the Maldivian people are not yet free and powerful enough to be the agents of their own future - not even close.
@blorg enjoyed reading your insightful thoughts on the matter, I agree with you almost all the way except when you mentioned that Anni is a more sophistached player than Gayoom, I think he has made a number of elementary mistakes, things that make me cringe sometimes and makes me realise that he has little foresight or insight for that matter, I would not bet on Anni.
here's an interesting read on this:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22963
i hope freedom, liberty and progress to people prevail
@Ahmed
Its right to be disillusioned, but wherein does this disillusionment lie? I still fail to see the analogy between Maumoon and Anni?
You say
yet all thats happened is is things have reverted to the way things were,where the power is in the hands of a few,
But Anni clearly does not have the power to do all he wants - if so the Public Finance Act would not be amended the way it was by a Parliament that he does not control. He knew it would make it difficult for him to lead the country - but ultimately he had to give in to the words of the court and sign the bill into act. That is not the way an autocrat would act. Imagine if it was 1990 and a judge ruled against Maumoon - not only the judge but also his family and his friends would be persecuted out of existence. I'm not saying Anni is a saint - he's a politician - but he is a politician that plays (somewhat) by the fluid rules of politics that a transitional country such as ours have.
You say
"instead of a swimming pool in theemuge we have another somewhere else, maybe two, three who knows?As for the media, TVMaumoon is now Mohamed Nasheed Broadcasting Corporation, list goes on so please forgive me if im disillusioned"
Again - the key difference is that while MNBC may be biased towards the government - there are 2 other stations that are clearly biased towards the opposition and so if there were "two-three swimming pools" somewhere - in a country like the MAldives - we WILL find out. And if you still think they are not doing a good enough job - you (as a Maldivian citizen) can write to the Anti-Corruption Commission and they HAVE to look into it.
That again is the difference between Gayyoom and Anni - Anni does not clamp down on their activities - even though these private stations are quite liberal with the truth.
It is sad that you have become disillusioned - and as a democratic citizen - you have every right to feel angry at Anni for not delivering on his 5 promises. However, please do not let your disillusionment with Anni be a disillusion with the young democracy that exists in the Maldives - or that it is the same as Gayyoom. I don't know how old you are, but we remember the 1980s and the 1990s when the country had a real terrifying autocrat. Anni may be failing you as a President, but that doesn't make him an autocrat! There is simply no evidence of that.
Last speaker please accept my thanks for his writing ;Democrat on Friday 6.16 pm.
I agree with what he has said.
By the way, there is a fiction novel called 'Animal Farm' that all Maldivians must read.
The book was banned in the Communist Soviet Union.
Politics is a nasty game at best. But Mohamed Nasheed is not among the worst. He may even be one of the best.
I applaude the Middle Eastern Countries who are Uprising and I pray for more Middle Eastern to do the same. A few years ago President Bush said that, Democracy will spread like wildfire, When we liberated Iraq from the dictator Saddam Hussein,,,,,it sowed the seed that President Bush (G.W.) spoke of. The uprising and revolution will succeed only if the Countries uprising, replace their dictators with Democratic Minded leaders. Just imagine how many international tourists would flood and pour capital in these countries. The key is proper replacement, Democratic, replacement.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
this article cracks me up the only true answer to all the fighting is more fighting i say the US should just bomb the crap out of the entire middle east area. it would put qa stop to all the religious bull sh**
Really yo mama? One of the only Americans to leave a comment, and that's what you say? How can we ever expect the new regimes to be friendly to us if people like you want to "bomb the crap out if the entire middle east?"
Ps @Michael fahmey, all the comments I have read seem to be written by quite literate people, and besides that, the politeness is better than I've seen on almost any American comment board. The worst I've heard here is "I disagree," besides yo mamma's comment.