Maldives

Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, (and also referred to as the "Maldive Islands"), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean consisting of a double chain of twenty-six atolls, oriented north-south, that lie between Minicoy Island (the southernmost part of Lakshadweep, India) and the Chagos Archipelago. The chains stand in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. The current president of the Maldives is Abdulla Yameen.

Quotes

A

...deeply concerned at the Maldives government's continued repression of protestors, including beatings, pepper-spraying, and arrests. Those attacked include peaceful demonstrators, members of parliament, journalists and bystanders.
- Amnesty International accusing the Maldives governments for using excessive cruel force against supporters of Mohamed Nasheed, quoted on Travel Mole.com, "Tweets go wrong for Maldives: Maldives tourism campaign backfires as Twitter shows darker side of island life", January 31, 2014.

B

Reliable men among the inhabitants of the islands, like the jurist (faqîh) and teacher (mu'allim) 'Alî, the judge 'Abdullãh - and others besides them - told me that the inhabitants of these islands were infidels. Subsequently a westerner named Abul Barakãt the Berbar who knew the great Qur'ãn came to them. He stayed amongst them and God opened the heart of the king to Islãm and he accepted it before the end of the month; and his wives, children and courtiers followed suit. They broke to pieces the idols and razed the idol-house to the ground. On this the islanders embraced Islãm and sent missionaries to the rest of the islands, the inhabitants of which also became Muslims. The westerner stood in high regard with them, and they accepted his cult which was that of Imãm Mãlik. May God be pleased with him! And on account of him they honour the westerners up to this time. He built a mosque which is known after his name.
- The Rehalã of Ibn Battûta translated into English by Mahdi Hussain, Baroda, 1967.

D

History shows that it takes at least few generations to bring and sustain democratic change in a society. To achieve that we need support and encouragement, to light up the road ahead. But we definitely do not wish to be bullied as we climb uphill on this journey. All we are asking is to give the people of the Maldives the chance, the space, and to give us the privilege to work at our own pace, in our own way, facing our challenges, and learning from them.
- Dunya Maumoon, minister of foreign affairs for the Maldives, was referring to politically motivated trials and Nasheed's jailing (the Maldives have been criticized for it), quoted on HaveeruOnline, "Won't apologise for upholding law, Maldives tells UN council", March 2, 2016.

E

Set like shining jewels in a turquoise blue sea are the islands of dreamers, romantics and beach lovers. The Maldives are a destination synonymous with sun worship, tranquility, lazy days, good living, snorkeling in turquoise lagoons and diving to discover fascinating reefs. They epitomize all that one could imagine as paradise; a group of treasure islands ringed by glorious beaches, translucent warm waters and swaying coconut palms. As the tourism promotional headline declares, 'The Maldives are the sunny side of life.' But is this all?
- Royston Ellis, Bradt Maldives

F

No better place to watch the sunset... this is actually paradise
- Georgia May Foote, on the Maldives when she was on a trip, quoted on Daily Mail, "Georgia May Foote shows off toned abs in a rainbow stripe bikini as she shares snaps from Maldives holiday with beau Giovanni Pernice", March 25, 2016.

G

The people are confused. Nobody knows what is going on, except that there are these benchmarks we can see for ourselves. Now we are in limbo. Some people think voting should go on at 11 a.m., as scheduled.
- Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, an official in Mr. Nasheed’s party, quoted on New York Times, "Maldives Court Orders Another Delay After Presidential Vote Sets Up Runoff", November 9, 2013.

I

According to the government’s statistics, the Maldives has a 100% Muslim population, although in fact small Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian groups do exist and face serious problems of religious liberty.
- Massimo Introvigne, "China, ISIS, and Pakistan: Unholy Alliance Eyes Maldives", Bitter Winter (January 19, 2024)

The Maldives offers tremendous investment opportunities, especially in the hospitality sector as it has rapidly emerged as a destination of choice for international tourists. Our aim is to develop Vadinolhu Island as a high-end resort with world-class facilities to promote it as a complete family destination. We have already designed a business proposal targeting potential investors to collaborate with us in the operation and management of the resort. We are confident of achieving an operating profit in the second year with the cash payback period at six years.
- Mohamad Rabih Itani, CEO of Best Choice Real Estate Investment Company, quoted on The Saudi Gazatte, "Saudi firm develops Vadinolhu Island as next tourist destination in Maldives", April 2, 2014.

L

Good morning! Beautiful sunny day here in Maldives! Food is Disgusting too! Breakfast time with the husby!
- Pauleen Luna on her honeymoon to the Maldives, Inquirer (February 4, 2016), "Vic Sotto, Pauleen Luna in Maldives for honeymoon"

M

Interviewer: The Maldives are currently at the head of the Alliance of Small Island States, which are directly impacted by the effects of climate change. What difficulties do these states face?
Abdullahi Majeed, the Maldives’ Minister of State for Environment & Energy: The Alliance of Small Island States has 44 members. Our main problem is that we are very small countries at very low altitudes. The average height of the Maldives is only 1.2 metres above sea level, so of course we are seriously threatened by rising sea levels! The Maldives are made up of 1200 islands, of which 200 are inhabited. Our geography is our main challenge. We are also often exposed to natural disasters, like the cyclone that recently hit Vanuatu. A tsunami, like the one that occurred in 2004, takes a few minutes to destroy everything; we spent ten years rebuilding. What is more, ten years ago the dry season lasted three months in the Maldives. Now it lasts for five months and causes water shortages, because drinking water on many of the small islands comes from rain water and wells. Right now, 53 islands are asking for water to be delivered from the capital. We have had to rent a cargo ship, fill it with water and send it out to supply the islands, some of which take two days to reach by boat. This is a costly exercise that we have been doing for almost ten years.
- Interview with Abdullahi Majeed, euractiv.com (March 26, 2015)

N

Even the figure of 40 is quite big for a country the size of the Maldives which has a population of just 3,50,000. Even one Maldivian becoming a terrorist and killing people is enough to shake our society.
- Mohamed Nasheed on the threat of ISIS in the Maldives, quoted on TheHindu, "India, Maldives to finalise pact to fight Islamic State", March 15, 2016.
Diving in the turquoise blue waters of Maldives this morning, so beautiful under the water
- Akkineni Nagarjuna on a trip to the Maldives, quoted on The Indian Express, "Akkineni Nagarjuna goes scuba diving with sons in Maldives", March 13, 2016.
Sanctions imposed can easily be rolled back. But unless they are imposed, President (Abdullah) Yameen will have no incentive to take further action. It is only a question of time before the Maldives witnesses an incident comparable to the tragedy that occurred on the beaches of Tunisia last year. I will definitely go to the Maldives. But only the question is how and when.
- Mohamed Nasheed, quoted on Reuters (January 25, 2016), "Former Maldives' president calls for sanctions against government figures"
We believe that the only prudent way forward and the solution is for Waheed to resign and the speaker of parliament to take over the government until elections are over.
- Mohamed Nasheed, fourth (former) president of the Maldives, on Crisis in the Maldives, "Maldives crisis: Nasheed urges President Waheed to quit", quoted on BBC News, October 21, 2013.
Our democracy is being destroyed; the rule of law is almost non-existent
- Mohamed Nasheed on the Maldives, quoted on DW, "Maldives: Sandy beaches and repression", March 17, 2016.

P

I can assure all Indians that Maldives will always be India's friend and we believe that we cannot find a better friend than India. India has always assisted us in times of stress and even in the future India will assist us in times of stress.
- India's president during 2011, Pratibha Patil, quoted on HaveeruOnline, "Maldives ensures no security threat to India", October 29, 2011.

R

We are pleased with the state of predictions and we touched on matters of increasing bilateral trade in both countries [Malaysia and Maldives], as well as, looked at opportunities for Malaysian companies to continue participating in the development of Maldives.
- Najib Razak added that both countries held fruitful and in depth discussions on all aspects of Malaysia-Maldives relations, and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern, quoted on HaveeruOnline, "Maldives seeks petroleum from Malaysia's Petronas", March 29, 2016.

S

While acknowledging that democracy and democratic institutions in the country need further strengthening, the administration remains committed to open engagement with the international community to further develop the young democracy in the Maldives.
- Ibrahim Hussain Shihab, international spokesperson at the office of President of Maldives, quoted on The Hindu, ‘Democracy at stake in Maldives’, February 26, 2016.

U

The Republic of Maldives is well known not just for its beautiful coral atolls, but also for the rapid progress it has made in recent times, securing a position among middle-income nations in the developing world. Such development is reflected in its favourable human development indices. Despite the strides made by this island nation, it faces several challenges, including geo-physical vulnerabilities, problems of unbalanced population and resource distribution and such sociocultural issues as high divorce rates, rising juvenile delinquency and lifestyle related problems, including smoking and drug abuse.
- United Nations. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Rapid Situation Assessment of Drug Abuse in Maldives.