The elected President was deposed in a coup just weeks ago. Maldivian protests are now in what I think is their sixth day of organized protests. They’ve also set up a pretty good site to collect info on the ongoing struggle, which looks damn difficult to be honest. Remnants of the dictatorship used police forces, military and violence to depose the elected President. They look loath to give power back.
For background, here’s a report from CNN-IBN to the planning and execution of the coup.
Anni, the deposed President, has called for elections to restore democratic government to the Dives, something they’ve struggled for already. The Commonwealth has called for elections within this calendar year, which is good, but I dunno of what import. I heard that the coupers are angling for votes by increasing civil service pay and returning government office hours to 7:30 to 2:30 (seriously, what?). But at least they’d be up to a vote.
It’s become increasingly clear that it was a coup, enabled by violence, sustained by it, and in defiance of Maldivian democracy, and the right of the people to choose for themselves. The way out is fresh elections, whereby the coupers can win by voting, if they can. That needs to happen soon, and while international bodies seem to be coming round, what really matters is the people on the street. I hope they keep their will and keep going. For now I mainly just follow them at mvdemocracy.com.