Yearbook 2010
During the year, the Maldives was in a drawn-out
political tug of war between the government and the
opposition, which almost paralyzed both the work of
Parliament and the government. In June, the entire
government collectively resigned, citing the opposition,
which has a majority in parliament, blocking all legislative
proposals. President Mohamed Nashid reinstalled all 13
ministers after a week, but the crisis persisted. The United
States sent Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Blake on
mediation missions to Male.
In August, in practice, the Maldives was without a
Supreme Court for four days, after the mandate of the
Provisional Court had expired without the paralyzed
Parliament being able to agree on an extension. The
establishment of a politically independent Supreme Court is
part of the reforms initiated by President Nashid since he
took office in 2008 after decades of dictatorship. Through a
presidential decree, judicial work was kept in motion until
Parliament could agree on a new law that permanently permits
the Supreme Court's activities. Disagreement over the
appointment of judges remained.
According to
COUNTRYAAH, President Nashid made a personal apology to a European
married couple who had been grossly violated at a ceremony
to renew their marriage vows during the Maldives holiday. In
a speech, filled with religious rhetoric and sexual
allusions in the local language divehi, the hotel's master
of ceremonies condemned the couple as "unfaithful pigs". A
film from the ceremony was posted on the Internet, where it
aroused resurrection. The authorities intervened quickly to
reduce the damage to the country's vital tourism industry.
Two persons responsible for the violation were arrested and
a swiftly adopted new law stipulated a fine of approximately
half a million SEK for hotels holding similar ceremonies in
a language that guests do not understand.
|
