Maldives Victory day - 3rd November

The Maldives’ Victory Day is centered on the day that a terrorist group from Sri Lanka attacked the Maldives government on November 3, 1988. They attempted to overthrow the government, but failed and fled the country, hence the celebration.

The Maldives is an island in the Indian ocean consisting on 19 atolls made up of more than 2,000 coral islands southwest of Sri Lanka. The Maldives islands were colonized more the 800 years ago and became a self-governing British protectorate in 1887 and achieved independence in 1965. Maldives is one of the world’s poorest countries, but that is slowly changing because of the increasing number of tourists that make the Maldives their vacation destination. Maldives has a very small population of around 370,000.
History of the Maldives’ Victory Day

Since 1965, the Maldives have been independent and free from foreign rule. However, the coup attempt in the Maldives in November 1988 was one of the most perilous times in the country’s history. Many people were caught in the crossfire and many lives were lost. The act of treason was committed by a few treacherous Maldivians who threatened the country’s independence. Called on by the government of the Maldives, India provided swift and decisive aid to supress the coup. It is said that eight soldiers and eleven civilians died on that day.

Maldives holds world's first underwater Cabinet meeting

President of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed and 11 cabinet ministers donned scuba gear and submerged 4 meters below the surface of sea to hold the world's first underwater cabinet meeting, in a bid to push for a stronger climate change agreement in the upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen.

“We are trying to send our message to let the world know what is happening and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change isn't checked” said President Nasheed, speaking to the press as soon as he resurfaced from underwater.

“What we are trying to make people realize is that the Maldives is a frontline state. This is not merely an issue for the Maldives but for the world. If we can't save the Maldives today, you can't save the rest of the world tomorrow”, said President Nasheed further.

During the 30-minute meeting held in the turquoise lagoon off Girifushi Island, with a backdrop of corals, the President, the Vice President and eleven other Cabinet ministers signed a resolution calling for global cuts in carbon emissions.

President Nasheed and the ministers used a waterproof pencils to sign the declaration, 'SOS from the frontline', printed on a white plastic slate, to be presented before the landmark UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December.

“Climate change is happening and it threatens the rights and security of everyone on Earth” the SOS message said. The SOS, endorsed by the cabinet, further called for people to “unite in global effort to halt further temperature rises, by slashing carbon dioxide emissions to a safe level of 350 parts per million”.

The Maldives is calling for an agreement at Copenhagen that will help reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere to no more than 350 part per million. This would require a 40 per cent global reduction in green house gas emissions by 2020 from 1990 levels.

When asked what would happen if Copenhagen fails, the President said that “we are all going to die”. However, he said the Maldives would be the first country to adopt any amicable climate agreement that comes through Copenhagen.

In March this year President Nasheed announced that the Maldives would be the first country in the world to go carbon neutral, and the Maldives would achieve the target by 2020.

President Nasheed, who is an influential voice on climate change, is a certified open water diver, while other ministers took diving lessons recent weeks.

After the dive, signed wet suits of the President and the ministers will be auctioned on www.protectmaldives.com.mv to raise funds for coral reef protection in the Maldives.

Wushu at Maldives

Wushu Federation Maldives invites young boys & girls for WUSHU training - Classes will be started in 1st week of October at Male' social centre - for more information call 7787750 / 7894400 / 7501396
http://www.wushumaldives.org

WUSHU Introduced to Maldives

Wushu, Literally means Martial(Wu) Art (Shu) was sucessfully introduced to Republic of Maldives by Sri lanka Wushu Federation (www.wushu.lk). Initially "Sanshou" will be trained at "Maldives Wushu Federation" (www.wushumaldives.org) & later "Taolu" will be trained

Lions Vs Tigers

Lions Vs Tigers (Extracted from Thesara Jayawardena's article)

Sri Lankan Civil War is what we call the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka, since 23rd July 1983.The on-and-off civil war is between the Sri Lankan government and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers, is a separatist armed organization which fights for the creation of an independent state named Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of Sri Lanka.Named as world's deadliest group of guerrilla fighters, LTTE has caused significant danger to the population, environment and the economy of Sri Lanka.Nearly 100,000 people have been officially listed as killed in the war since 1983. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is an organization banned as a terrorist organization in 32 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada and the member nations of the European Union.

After almost 20 years of fighting and failing three times at peace talks, including the time when Indian Army operated a peacekeeping force from 1987 to 1990, another cease-fire agreement was declared in December 2001. This was followed by a ceasefire agreement signed with international intercession in 2002.

By the end of 2005 conflict between LTTE & the SL Government began to rise until the government launched a number of major military attacks against the LTTE beginning in July 2006. The Sri Lankan military forces were successful in driving the LTTE out of the entire Eastern province of the island.

In 2007, Sri Lanka Military forced extended their attacks to the north of the country. The withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement was formally announced on
2nd January 2008. The Sri Lankan Government pointed out that the LTTE violated the agreement over 10,000 times.

Since then, the Sri Lankan Government took control over almost the entire territory previously controlled by the Tamil Tigers, including their capital Kilinochchi, main military base Mullaitivu and the entire A9 highway.

The fate of civilians trapped in the 'no-fire zone' became a major concern for the international community at this stage of war. On 22nd April 2009, the UN Security Council has called on Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down their arms and let the UN help evacuate civilians from the war zone.

On 17th May 2009, the Sri Lankan Army reported that all civilians had escaped from the warzone, freeing up the military to finish off the rebel forces and leading the Honorable President Mahinda Rajapakshe to declare military victory.

Sri Lankan troops raced to clear the last LTTE pockets of resistance.As the last LTTE strong-points collapsed, Sri Lankan troops killed 70 rebels attempting to escape by boat. Several Important LTTE commanders committed suicide. Upon hearing news of the Sri Lankan victory, people celebrated all around the country. After 26 years of fighting the separatists, the war had been won by the Sri Lankan Government.

The LTTE finally admitted defeat on 17th May 2009, with the rebels' chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, stating on the website that "This battle has reached its bitter end ... We have decided to silence our guns. Our only regrets are for the lives lost and that we could not hold out for longer"

Today, 18th May 2009 The Sri Lanka Army forces confirmed, the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was shot dead in the morning.

Some nice sceneries

These are the scenes around the Maldives Airport sea area. You can see different colours in sea water. The Video shows a recording done in deep sea while I was in Submarine tour.