|
Black Friday (Dhivehi: ކަޅު ހުކުރު), Friday, August 13, 2004, was the crackdown by the Maldivian National Security Service (NSS) — later Maldivian National Defence Force — on a peaceful protest〔(http://news.amnesty.org ) Nature of demonstration as defined by Amnesty〕 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. 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. ==Demonstration== 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. 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) *Release of Naushad Waheed (Artist and reformist) *Resignation of the President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom *Resignation of Yameen Abdul Gayoom (Minister of Trade and brother of Gayoom) *Resignation of Abdullah Hameed (Minister of Atolls and brother of Gayoom) 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. 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Black Friday (Maldives)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|