"US reevaluates Maldives power change" Associated Press, February 11, 2012
MALE, Maldives - The United States yesterday backtracked from its swift recognition of the new Maldives government, which the nation’s former leader claims came to power in a coup.
Related: Maldives Mutiny
The Maldives has faced one day of rioting and two days more of a political standoff since Mohamed Nasheed announced Tuesday that he was resigning as president, following months of protests against his rule and fading support from the security forces. But the next day Nasheed, who now faces an arrest warrant, announced that he had been pushed from power at gunpoint. The reality remains unclear.
And my newspaper never helps to clear it up.
Nasheed criticized Washington after the State Department said Thursday it recognized the new government as legitimate.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the circumstances in the Maldives are murky and contested.
That's newspeak for us being in it up to our elbows, 'murkn!
She said the United States does not yet have a clear view of the facts but would expect to have a clearer idea after Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake visits the capital, Male, arriving today.
--more--"
"New leader of Maldives agrees to investigation" by Krishan Francis | Associated Press, February 12, 2012
MALE, Maldives - A visiting US official said yesterday that the Maldives wasn’t ready for early elections as a way out of its political crisis as the Indian Ocean nation’s new president agreed to an independent investigation into his takeover of power.
President Mohammed Waheed Hassan said he had given an assurance to Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake that he was willing to submit to an inquiry by an independent body as questions had arisen about the transfer of power.
His predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, resigned Tuesday after police joined months of street protests against his rule and soldiers defected. He was replaced by Hassan, his vice president.
The new government denies the coup claims and insists Nasheed stepped down voluntarily. It has made no move to arrest Nasheed.
Hassan says he intends to form a coalition to help restore stability ahead of presidential elections due next year. He said yesterday that there wasn’t a need for “a snap election,’’ saying that “the country is deeply divided and the political landscape has many potholes.’’
Blake endorsed Hassan’s position not to hold early elections and urged Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party to join the proposed coalition.
“Members of the civil society told me that the country is not ready for early elections now because the police, election commission, and judiciary are not sufficiently prepared to ensure free and fair elections,’’ Blake said, urging the formation of a broad coalition to enable those institutions to be reformed.
“We hope the MDP will now work productively with the other parties. Everyone has to compromise,’’ Blake told journalists.
--more--"
And then the U.N gets in on the act!
"UN backs call for unity government for Maldives" February 13, 2012|Hussain Sinan, Associated Press
The United Nations on Monday backed Maldives’ new leader’s proposal for a national unity government though the ousted leader is calling for a snap poll to resolve a political crisis....
Yes, dear reader, the U.N. is now in the business of regime change.
Nasheed later claimed he was forced out at gunpoint in a coup and demanded an early election.
It's what happened to Aristide in Haiti -- twice.
His claim sparked angry demonstrations in capital, Male, which the police put down in a violent crackdown. In far-off atolls in this archipelago, Nasheed’s supporters captured and burnt down police stations, vehicles and court houses....
Nasheed’s supporters have since held nonviolent nightly protests. Speaking to his supporters at Monday’s demonstration, Nasheed called Maldivians to civil disobedience if the new President Mohammed Waheed Hassan does not resign for an early election....
THOSE are the GOOD GUYS!
--more--"
"Maldives police seek to question ex-leader" February 14, 2012|Associated Press
Authorities in the Maldives on Tuesday asked former President Mohamed Nasheed to make a police statement on his controversial order to the military to arrest a top judge, a move that ended in his ouster from power last week. They say Nasheed has refused.
The move could be a prelude to criminal charges against Nasheed, who has said he was forced to resign at gunpoint.
Nasheed’s party officials could not be contacted immediately for comment.
The Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that relies on high-end tourism for its economy, has been in political turmoil since Nasheed was replaced last week by former vice president Mohammed Waheed Hassan after losing support of the police and military over his order to fire the judge....
--more--"
"Maldives vandals’ toll called high; Museum damage raises specter of extremist fervor" by Vikas Bajaj | New York Times February 14, 2012
MALE, Maldives — Nearly a week after vandals stormed into the National Museum here and destroyed almost 30 Buddhist statues - some dating to the sixth century - the broken glass has been swept away and the remnants have been locked up.
But officials say the loss to this island nation’s archeological legacy can never be made up.
Amid the recent political turmoil that has racked this tiny Indian Ocean nation of 1,200 islands, a half-dozen men stormed into the museum last week and ransacked a collection of coral and lime figures, including a six-faced coral statue and a 1 1/2-foot-wide representation of the Buddha’s head.
Officials said the men attacked the figures because they believed they were idols and illegal under Islamic and national laws.
There were contradictory reports about whether suspects had been arrested. Ali Waheed, director of the National Museum, said five men were caught at the museum, but a spokesman for the police, Ahmed Shiyam, said yesterday that investigators were still collecting evidence and had not made arrests.
The Feb. 7 attack is reminiscent of the Taliban’s demolition of the great Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in early 2001 and has raised fears here that extremists are gaining ground in the Maldives, a Sunni Muslim country that is believed to have converted to Islam in the 12th century from Buddhism.
This coup starting to stink even more.
Btw, the one thing the college was good for was the eastern religions class. I mentioned the Taliban action to the professor as an act of intolerance and he told me there were two sides to it. Taliban also did it to send message to U.N., which wanted to spend millions to restore the rock statues as Afghan children were starving.
Anyhow, back to your regularly scheduled propaganda:
The country has long incorporated elements of Islamic laws in its jurisprudence. Alcohol, pork products, and idols cannot be brought into the country....
Nasheed’s resignation came after nearly a monthlong protest by Islamic and other opposition political parties, some of whom criticized him for not cracking down on massage parlors that operated as brothels and for proposing that hotels on islands inhabited by Maldivians be allowed to serve alcohol.
Currently, only hotels on islands where no Maldivians live or at the airport are allowed to serve alcohol.
Ali Waheed said yesterday that officials might be able to restore two or three of the statues but the rest were beyond repair. “The whole pre-Islamic history is gone,’’ he said.
Naseema Mohamed, a historian who retired from the museum last year, said the loss was particularly devastating because many of the country’s ancient artifacts dispersed across the archipelago had been lost or destroyed over the years by locals and rulers.
--more--"
"Maldives leader agrees to early election" by Bharatha Mallawarachi Associated Press / February 16, 2012
MALE, Maldives—The new president in the Maldives has softened his stance and agreed to hold early elections to break a political impasse after his predecessor resigned, an Indian diplomat said.
India's Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters Thursday that President Mohammed Waheed Hassan agreed during talks with him to work on holding an election "as early as considered feasible by all concerned."
Waheed has said since taking office last week that the election should be held according to schedule in October 2013. But changing that stance means a moral victory for former President Mohamed Nasheed, who has been calling for early elections since he resigned last week.
Nasheed had faced weeks of public protests and was losing support from security forces when he stepped down. He has since claimed he was ousted in a coup at gunpoint. The claim sparked demonstrations that were put down by the police in a violent crackdown.
Waheed has insisted the country cannot hold an election amid political acrimony and he wanted time to heal, a stand endorsed by the United States....
It is unclear if Nasheed has accepted Waheed's invitation to join the unity government. The government announced earlier Thursday that it is giving Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party four days to participate. Waheed has been forming a Cabinet but has kept some ministerial posts open in case Nasheed's party accepts the invitation.
--more--"
