Black Friday (Dhivehi: ކަޅު ހުކުރު), August 13, 2004, was the crackdown by the Maldivian National Security Service (NSS)— later Maldivian National Defence Force— on a peaceful protest[1] in the capital city of Maldives, Malé. This unplanned and unorganized demonstration was the largest such protest in the country's history. Beginning on the evening of August 12, 2004, the demonstration grew and continued until it was forcefully ended on the afternoon of August 13, 2004. Protesters initially demanding the freeing of the pro-reformists arrested on the afternoon of August 12, 2004. As the protest continued to grow, people demanded the resignation of president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had been in power since 1978. What started as a peaceful demonstration ended after 22 hours, as the country's darkest day in recent history. Several people were severely injured as NSS personnel used riot batons and teargas on unarmed civilians.
A protest is an expression of bearing witness on behalf of an express cause by words or actions with regard to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or they may undertake direct action in an attempt to directly enact desired changes themselves. Where protests are part of a systematic and peaceful nonviolent campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as cases of civil resistance or nonviolent resistance.
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Asian country, located in the Indian Ocean, situated in the Arabian Sea. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from the Asian continent. The chain of 26 atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to the Addu City in the south. Comprising a territory spanning roughly 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), the Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states as well as the smallest Asian country by land area and population, with around 427,756 inhabitants. Malé is the capital and a populated city, traditionally called the "King's Island" for its central location.
Malé is the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives. With a population of 133,412 and an area of 9.27 square kilometres (3.58 sq mi), it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll. Administratively, the city consists of a central island, an airport island, and two other islands governed by the Malé City Council.
Pursuant to the powers vested in him by Section 144 of the Constitution— and for only the second time in Maldives history — president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom declared a State of Emergency in Malé and the nearby islands a few minutes after the crackdown. Several members of the Majlis, former cabinet ministers, and many reformists were arrested. As a symbol of unity, President Gayoom pardoned all arrested following the December 26th tsunami.
The Constitution of the Maldives is the supreme law of the country of Maldives. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Republic of Maldives, sets out the rights and duties of the citizens of Maldives, and defines the structure of the Government of the Maldives. The current Constitution of Maldives was ratified by President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom on 7 August 2008, and came into effect immediately, replacing and repealing the Constitution of 1998.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, is a Maldivian politician and an Islamic scholar who ruled the country as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Transport, he was nominated as President by the Majlis (Parliament) of the Maldives and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir in 1978. He was defeated in the October 2008 presidential election. In opposition, he continued to serve as leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party until January 2010, when he retired from active politics.
Majlis is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting", used in the context of "council", to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries. It shares its root with the verb meaning 'to sit,' جلس julush. The Majlis can refer to a legislature as well and is used in the name of legislative councils or assemblies in some of the states where Islamic culture dominates. The term Majlis is used to refer to a private place where guests are received and entertained. Majilis is a place of gathering
Demonstration
Map indicating the crowd gathering
When police summoned Mr. Mohamed Yusuf, a few reform activists decided to gather near Republican Square to inquire about Yoosuf's detention. What started as a vigil at Republican Square in Malé at dusk on August 12, 2004, turned into a mass gathering of people demanding democratic reform.
As the crowd grew larger and the demands to free Mr. Yoosuf became louder, he was released that afternoon. However, the protesters demanded four other reformists detained in Dhoonidhoo detention centre be transferred to Malé. They also called for the release of Naushad Waheed, Ahmed Didi, Mohamed Zaki and Fathimath Nisreen; all of whom were, according to the Opposition movement, detained without a fair trial. By early morning August 13, 2004, a large crowd had gathered near Republican Square, the NSS building and Shaheed Hussain Adam Building. Initially the NSS and government minister Ilyas Ibrahim unsuccessfully tried to win the trust of the crowd by addressing the crowd over a megaphone. When they failed, they asked the pro-reformist MP Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) to address the crowd in front of the NSS building. He convinced the crowd to move into nearby Republican Square. Senior MDP activist Muad Mohamed Zaki who was in the front row of the protest blocking the NSS building tried to discourage protestors from moving their position.
Dato Mohamed Zaki, also known as Nazaki Zaki or Sandhaanu Zaki, is a businessman and politician in the Maldives.
[Ilyas Ibrahim] is the brother-in-law of the former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. He was a minister in Maumoon's cabinet for a long time and served as the MP for Malé from 1980 to 1995. He also served as the MP for Laamu Atoll from 2003 to 2008.
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person’s voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into the narrow end of the megaphone, by holding it up to the face and speaking into it, and the sound waves radiate out the wide end. A megaphone increases the volume of sound by increasing the acoustic impedance seen by the vocal cords, matching the impedance of the vocal cords to the air, so that more sound power is radiated. It also serves to direct the sound waves in the direction the horn is pointing. It somewhat distorts the sound of the voice because the frequency response of the megaphone is greater at higher sound frequencies.
After moving the crowd into Republican Square, Ibrahim Ismail addressed the crowd and assured them he would take their demands to the NSS authorities for their consideration. The crowd then gave its demands to Ibrahim Ismail, which were:
Release of the detained reformists
Release of Sandhaanu prisoners (Writers of an Internet magazine)
Resignation of Yameen Abdul Gayoom (Minister of Trade and brother of Gayoom)
Resignation of Abdullah Hameed (Minister of Atolls and brother of Gayoom)
Sandhaanu was an online political news magazine in the Maldives. Its main editor Ahmed Didi together with his main contributors Ibrahim Lutfy and Mohamed Zaki were sentenced to life in prison while another editor to 10 years in prison in 2003 for their criticism of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his government. One of their contributors managed to escape from prison and went under the protection of the Swiss government. The others remained in prison and suffered torture and isolation constantly before being released due to the threat of economical sanctions by the European Union against the Maldivian Government. Hence, as a show of cooperation to the EU, the Maldives Government released the remaining editors one by one erasing all criminal charges brought against them.
Naushad Waheed is a cartoonist and painter in the Maldives. He was detained by the government for four months following the publication of one of his cartoons in the magazine Hukuru in 1999. In 2001 he was arrested for participating in debates critical of the government, tried for treason, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released on February 22, 2006. Naushad Waheed is also the brother of Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan, a former Member of Parliament, a leading political figure in the Maldives. And the 5th president of Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013. He was appointed as Deputy High Commissioner of Maldives to the UK in 2008 after the new government settled into place.
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only. The term is often used in the entertainment business, especially in a business context, for musicians and other performers. "Artiste" is a variant used in English only in this context. Use of the term to describe writers, for example, is valid, but less common, and mostly restricted to contexts like criticism.
In the early morning, the reformists were released. They came directly from the Dhoonidhoo detention centre to Republican Square. There they addressed the crowd, criticized Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and called for his resignation. They also demanded the demonstration be reported live on state run television and radio. However, no news of the protest was transmitted yet. The crowd continued to grow and "took (on) a life of its own", as later described by Ibrahim Ismail in his interview on the BBC.[citation needed]
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London, and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.
At around 0700 hrs Maafushi Prison was broken, thinking the government was overthrown, as the detainees got the news of the unusual protest in Malé. They headed to Malé in two Dhonis. However they were intercepted by the NSS coastguard. One of the Dhonis was sunk and the other gassed with tear gas.
As the calling for Gayoom's resignation got louder and stronger, a few pro-government people gathered to Republican Square. Some of them were sent there, according to reformists, to create violence so that use of force to disperse the crowd could be justified. Since international media was reporting the event, NSS needed a valid and justifiable reason to use force to disperse the crowd. In several occasions the pro-government crowd tried to instigate violence. However reformists ignored them and continued the demonstration, calling for the resignation.
At around 0830hrs, a person named Hussain Yoosuf stabbed two police officers. He is one of the many people who testified before the commission established to investigate the death of Evan Naseem. After this incident there was a report of fire in the nearby Huravee Building, a government office building. NSS blamed the crowd for starting the fire. In addition to this, there came a group of people who threw bottles and other objects towards the Police Headquarters. The protesters tried to stop them without any success. Police blamed reformists for these activities and portrayed them as a violent mob.
After Friday prayers, at around 1430hrs NSS issued final warning to the crowd. However they refuse to leave the Republican square. Using the previously described commotion as an excuse, the riot police pounced on the protesters, beat them brutally with truncheons and arrested a number of protesters. Women were also beaten with truncheons and they sustained severe injuries. Ambulances were rushed to the hospital with casualties. Tear gas was used on the crowd at around 1500hrs. Senior MDP member Muad Mohamed Zaki was violently beaten by seven NSS officers with wooden planks in broad daylight as he was dragged to the NSS Headquarters. This alerted the British Parliament and European Union officials that Muad was communicating closely with while he staying in the UK representing Maldivian Democratic Party and working to free Sandhaanu political prisoners in Maldives. Thousands of protestors were blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten on that day as law and order seemed to have temporarily disappeared.
State of Emergency
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom declared a State of Emergency in Malé and nearby islands, pursuant to powers vested in him by Section 144 of the Constitution, for the second time in the Maldives history. A curfew was imposed in Malé with heavy security. There were several roadblocks and check posts.
After nearly two months, the State of Emergency was lifted due to International pressure.
Internet and SMS service taken offline
Dhiraagu and Focus Infocom was forced to shut down Internet and SMS services to prevent the images, video and news of the event leaking to international media. However the events were covered and the images did leak to media despite these preventive measurements.
Local media reporting
Both Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VOM), controlled by the government, initially did not report the event as a major event. At 1400hrs news, while the protest was still going, TVM reported that "only a small crowd had gathered and caused disharmony at the Republican Square, the people who caused this had been noted and that action will be taken against them". At 2000hrs news, after declaring the State of Emergency, TVM downplayed the size of the protesters, and called the gathering "illegal in every possible sense".[citation needed]
Special programs were aired on Radio and Television to cover-up the real reason behind the protest. It was portrayed by the local media to be a violent mob that attacked police building, government properties and attack police officers. One sided, biased reporting was aired for weeks on the local media.
On August 12, 2005, to mark the first anniversary of the Black Friday, members of the Maldivian Democratic Party and pro-reformists started gathering near Republican Square. Despite heavy police and NSS presence, at around 4:30pm local time Mohamed Nasheed - Chairman of the MDP - 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 exercise 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. 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, Nasheed responded by saying. "You will give us five minutes, after that, what? You will beat us to death?"[citation needed] At one time Nasheed asked the police to join them, since he is not incitingviolence but peacefully sitting there. Since he refused to leave the spot, the police team moved towards the flag pole few meters away.
At around 4:23pm, riot police moved into Republican Square. Soon they surrounded Mohamed Nasheed along with other members of the party, present with him. Nasheed and his colleagues still refused to stand up. Members of riot police then forcefully removed them and had them taken into the nearby NSS headquarters. This led to civil unrest in Malé and some other atolls, that lasted for three nights. The unrest was controlled and several people were arrested.
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