The 2005 Maldivian civil unrest refers to the civil unrest that broke out in

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Gaafu Dhaalu (also known as Southern Huvadhu Atoll or Huvadhu Atholhu Dhekunuburi, ހުވަދުއަތޮޅު ދެކުނުބުރި) is an administrative district of the Maldives formed by the southwestern section of Huvadhu Atoll. It was created o ...

and Addu Atoll of the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

on August 12, 2005 which led to events that supported the democratic reform of the country. This unrest was provoked by the arrest of Mohamed Nasheed - an open critic of the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom - and the subsequent demolition of the ''Dhunfini tent'', used by the members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for their gatherings. Supporters of MDP were quick to demonstrate. They started calling for the resignation of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, soon after Nasheed's arrest. Several arrests were made on the first night followed by the demolition of the Dhunfini tent. The demolition complicated the situation further provoking the unrest. The unrest grew violent on the third night, on August 14, 2005, due to the methods used in the attempts by the authority to stop the demonstration. The unrest continued intermittently for three nights, from August 12 to August 14, 2005. By August 15, 2005, the uprising was controlled with the presence of heavy security around

. Almost a fourth of the city had to be cordoned off during the unrest.

Mohamed Nasheed's arrest

On August 12, 2005, to mark the first anniversary of the Black Friday, members of the Maldivian Democratic Party and pro

reformists Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can e ...

started gathering near Republican Square. Despite heavy police and National Security Service (NSS) presence, at around 4:30pm local time Mohamed Nasheed along with other several leading members of the party, decided to gather at Republican square. Security was tight around Malé due to the obvious perceptibility of such a demonstration to mark this anniversary. Two days before, on August 10, 2005, NSS announced that they will be conducting a huge training in Malé for four days, starting from August 11, 2005. Despite heavy police presence, Mohamed Nasheed decided to sit right in the center of the Republican square with his colleagues. Minutes later he was approached by a team of

Maldives Police Service The Maldives Police Service is the civilian national police force of the Republic of Maldives. It is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout Maldives. The o ...

. They approached him and asked him to simply "go away" from there. Nasheed demanded to know why he was asked to leave while he is not committing anything illegal. The leader of this team responded by saying such gatherings are illegal and they will have to remove him by force if not obeyed within five minutes. To this

ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...

, Nasheed responded by saying. "You will give us five minutes, after that what? You will beat us to death?" At one time Nasheed asked the police to join them, since he is not inciting violence but peacefully sitting there. Since he refused to leave the spot, the police team moved towards the flag pole few meters away. At around 4:23 p.m.,

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

moved into Republican Square. Soon they surrounded Mohamed Nasheed and other members of the party present with him. Nasheed and his colleagues still refused to leave the area. Members of riot then forcefully removed them and taken into nearby NSS headquarters. Footage of this event was obtained by ''Minivan News'', run from outside the country. Along with Nasheed and shortly after that, several others were arrested. * Jennifer Latheef * Latheefa Umar * Aminath Shareef * Ahmed Abbas * Aminath Shareef

Demolition of the Dhunfini tent

Before Nasheed's arrest several members of the MDP went to ''Dhunfini Haruge'' (a large tent where MDP conducts most of its activities) for Black Friday remembrance as previously planned. The arrest of Nasheed was instantly learnt by the people present at Dhunfini tent. They started calling for the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

and the immediate unconditional release of Nasheed in addition to their speeches to mark the Black Friday. When Nasheed was arrested his supporters near Republican Square expressed their discontent over the matter. Within two hours of his arrest his supporters were on the roads near the Republican Square shouting anti-government chants. By 9:30 p.m., they gathered behind the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

building with banners calling for the release of people detained earlier. After sometime rallied towards the Dhunfini Haruge. The crowd at Dhunfini vowed not to leave the tent until the government released the members of MDP. On the early morning of August 13, 2005, police raided Dhunfini Haruge (MDP meeting point) and demolished the stage, podium and destroyed the speaking facilities, claiming that they had found weapons (sharpened iron rods) on the premises. Police cordoned off several areas in the capital of Malé, around the National Security Services, Shaheed Ali Building (Police Headquarters), Republic Square, People's Majlis and Maldivian Democratic Party Headquarters.

More arrests

Several arrests were made during the morning hours of August 13, 2005, to prevent further demonstrations. Some key people arrested included: * Shuaib Ali (Furahani)- Democracy campaigner and MDP National Council Member * Ali Shiyam - Director of AAA Resorts * Mohamed Ziyad - MDP Councillor

Unrest

By late afternoon, around 3:00 p.m. on August 13, 2005, MDP members started gathering outside MDP Headquarters - area that was held by the police. By 7:00 p.m. local time the crowd had turned into a large demonstration. This crowd was dispersed by the police using pepper spray. By about 7:45 p.m. the crowd, once again re-assembled on Majeedhee Magu (one of the main roads in the capital) demanding the immediate release of their Chairman Mohamed Nasheed. Riot police arrived on the scene to disperse the demonstrators, but they held off calling for the immediate resignation of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The police used various methods including

baton charge A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military in response to public disorder. In South Asia, a long bamboo stick, called ''lathi'' in Hindi, is used for crowd control, and the expres ...

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

, pepper spray and high pressure

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

s on the crowd throughout the night. Police arrested several demonstrators, whom by 11:00 p.m. had turned to throwing stones on the

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irratio ...

policemen. The mob grew violent as the police tried to stop them. There were reported casualties of both police and civilians. On August 14, 2005, a

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

was declared starting from midnight to 4:30 a.m. in Malé. Despite the curfew, people refused to go home. The police controlled the situation by 1:00 am with more arrests. In the morning of August 14, 2005 more people were arrested including CHSE chemistry teacher Imad Solih and Abdul Majid, MDP member and a businessman. The third night of the demonstration, second night of the unrest, started after Ishaa prayers on August 14, 2005. Street protest began in Malé at 7:30 p.m. near Athamaa Palace - a hotel. This turned to be the most violent of three nights. An

angry mob Mob rule or ochlocracy ( el, ὀχλοκρατία, translit=okhlokratía; la, ochlocratia) is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities. Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majorit ...

confronted the riot police with petrol-soaked burning tennis balls, bricks, stones and other objects. The unrest was controlled by 1:30 am of August 15, 2005. By the third night some 160 people were arrested and transferred, reportedly, to Feydhoo Finolhu - an uninhabited island of

Malé Atoll Kaafu Atoll is an administrative atoll in the Republic of Maldives. It consists of two separate atolls: North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll. Together with smaller geographic atolls of Kaashidhoo Island and Gaafaru, the group forms the admin ...

- and Girifushi (an island used by the military for training purposes). Both NSS and Police were accused of verbally abusing the crowd, throughout the unrest, which fueled the violence further. On one incident they were accused of storming into a mosque and verbally abusing the people praying. On the other incident it was reported a pregnant women, Aminath Massha, was beaten by NSS personnel. NSS denied these accusations on state owned television,

Television Maldives Television Maldives is the public service broadcasting TV channel of the Maldives. It was formed on March 29, 1978. In 2009, the management of Television Maldives (TVM) and national radio, Dhivehiraajjeyge Adu Voice_of_Maldives">nowiki/>Voice_o ...

, saying they had not beaten up any pregnant women nor had they stormed into the mosque. The opposition has criticized the government of provoking the public, and then using it as a means to arrest senior figures within the opposition to suppress the political activities.

Unrest in other atolls

Unrest also broke out in

and Addu Atoll following Mohamed Nasheed's arrest.

References

External links

* http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL253497.htm

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

news bulletin
Press statement by the MDP

Significant events in chronological order

Photos

More Photos

Report on unrest from pinr.com
* ''Blog posts (Content may not be neutral)'

{{DEFAULTSORT:2005 Maldives Civil Unrest Riots and civil disorder in the Maldives

Civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...