Sunday
22nd Dec 2024
Dhivehi Edition
A police officer confiscating materials used by Sri Lankan protestors.
Maldives Police Service (MPS) has cracked down hard on Sri Lankans living in the Maldives, who took to protest the Maldivian government’s decision to offer safe haven to disgraced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The protest began at 1530hrs local time, near the carnival area in the capital.
The protesters have called on the government to send Rajapaksa back to Sri Lanka and to hold the clan accountable for their actions. Officers of MPS had disrupted the protest, confiscating Sri Lankan flags and placards emblazoned with protest slogans.
Sri Lankans have carried out intense protest across the globe over the crisis. Maldives, however, was the only country to break up the protests.
Rajapaksa was granted safe haven in the early hours of Wednesday. Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed was in the airport to personally escort them to safety.
The amnesty has thrown a wrench in the relationship between the two countries. Many Maldivians and Sri Lankans took to social media to express their anger over the safe passage.