Posted
on November 3, 2016
There
were no casualties.
The
winners were Indian paratroopers and the Indian navy.
Does
this sound like a set up for Victory Day in the Maldives? Unlikely as
it sounds, it's true:
The
Maldives are a bunch of coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. It's very
small, and the population is more dispersed than those of most
countries – since the atolls are flung far-and-wide. The islands
seem to be a tropical paradise – so much so that the economy
depends heavily on tourism.
Still,
people who want power sometimes struggle and fight for it, even on a
tropical paradise with little economic clout and a sparse population!
Apparently
supporters of a former president, Ibrahim Nasir, attempted several
coups against the then-current President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The
1988 coup attempt included, not just Nasir supporters in the
Maldives, but also a group of Tamil terrorists / militants – I
assume “guns for hire.” (In other words, I assume the Tamil
fighters were taking part because they were being paid to do so.)
The
Tamil fighters gained control of several buildings and the airport in
the capital city of Malé
but did not capture President Gayoom. He fled and asked for help from
several other nations. India quickly responded with – as I
mentioned above – a parachute battalion and the navy. And in just a
few hours, the Indian forces were able to recapture the airport and
buildings. They sent the mercenaries on their way and restored order
by the lawful government (including Gayoom).
The
people of the Maldives have celebrated November 3 as Victory Day ever
since.
The
Maldives is an Islamic country. And yet its economy depends on
tourism. I wondered how the two things worked together in practice,
given the interest in alcohol and skimpy swimwear in a lot of tourist
resorts.
What
I found out was that most tourists are whisked straight from the
airport to their resort, and there is almost no mixing between
tourists and Maldivians. Each resort seems to be on its own island –
but there is a choice from 106 different resort islands to choose
from! Maldivians do not live on the resort islands.
I
also read that the Maldives has become more and more repressive with
its citizens, with a reactivated death penalty, public floggings, and
punishment for crimes that aren't crimes in most nations, such as
publicly taking part in a religion other than Islam or carrying a can
of Spam or other pork product. Some people wonder if it is ethical to
support such a nation with tourist dollars – even if the Maldivians
do leave the tourist resorts completely out of their Islamic law
enforcement.
I
personally think it best to choose another tropical paradise. The
Maldives seem to be unstable at best...at least right now.
Also
on this date:
Plan ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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