State of emergency declared in sweet little island nation…
If you like soft, pretty waves, you’ve probably thrown yourself into a trip to the Maldives. You know it as a peaceful sorta joint, brimful of honeymooners in their over-the-water bungalows, and surf tourists, jamming wide boards over the turquoise waves.
But underneath the glamorous facade of this Indian island archipelago of 400,000 people, is a country where its radicalised youth are flying off to fight for ISIS in Syria and its government, a feisty opposition and the Supreme Court are all locked in a battle for power.
Yesterday, the country’s president Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency after claiming a Supreme Court ruling that overturned terrorism convictions against nine of his opponents was illegal.
According to Al-Jazerra, “Soldiers and police in riot gear set up barricades and cordoned off the streets leading to the court building, according to witnesses, as police used pepper spray to disperse protesters outside the court.”
Security forces then swooped on two Supreme Court judges and an opposition leader
“President Yameen, who critics accuse of corruption, misrule and rights abuses, has also suspended the country’s parliament, where the opposition have a majority.
“Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s exiled former president, called the state of emergency ‘tantamount to a declaration of martial law in the Maldives’.”
Of course, if you’re like me, correction, like Chas, you might dig a little fireworks on your annual vacay. Better than sitting in that cube pecking at keys, no?
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