Monday, May 02, 2011

Dozens injured in Maldives anti-govt demo


Life is getting more challenging each day with never-ending news of mass demonstrations. Sometimes it is hard to say the reason for the protest—political or economic?
Hundreds of activists in Maldives were dispersed on Saturday night by security forces using batons and tear gas who were demanding to overthrow President Mohamed Nasheed because of worsening economy and the depreciation of Rufiyaa, Al Jazeera said.
The police break up injured dozens of demonstrators in the capital Malé.
Maldives police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam said, "After we received some complaints from residents, the police approached demonstrators to tell them to return home, and they began throwing stones and bricks at the policemen.
"We had to use tear gas and batons to break up the crowd as it began smashing shop windows. The incident ended early Sunday morning with the arrests of some vandals."
But the activists of this island nation in the Indian Ocean gave a different story.
Opposition spokesman Mohammed Shareef told the AP there were around 5,000 demonstrators. Dozens were "crushed brutally."
The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party accuses the administration of financial mismanagement and wasteful spending.
The economy of the smallest Asian country in terms of land area and population of approximately 400,000 was made unstable due to the depreciation of its currency thereby affecting the cost of imports and food.
Details of this report here.
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