Senior members of several opposition parties got together Monday night and approached President Gayoom's residence. They said they wanted to have a meeting about the process of ratifying the new constitution, but they were turned away because they didn't have an appointment. A crowd gathered, estimated by police at 1,500 people. Things escalated to the point where several people were arrested. Here is the link to the story in the Haveeru newspaper.
The pictures and captions are from the Minivan news service, which is not accredited.
It wasn't a good night for TV Maldives. A TVM cameraman was roughed up and police detained a news vehicle that was attempting to rush the footage back to the station. The private station, DhiTV, was first with the video. When TVM did get on the air with live coverage, it was an interview with the president's official spokesmen. Other government officials also were interviewed about the constitutional process. However, the footage of the protest and the arrests was not shown until much later. I am told there was a technical problem with turning around the tape. No one likes to get beat on a story and the journalists at TVM are no exception. We are trying to do better job as the developments continue to unfold and we will try to be fearless -- and fair to all.
Update: the next day, the opposition alliance held a news conference to say it would continue to pressure the president, by all legal means possible, to sign the constitution and go forward with the election. TVM was first with the story, despite the fact that the rival station was next door to the news coference location and we had to ship the tape across town! while star reporters Ziayaa and Rilwan did an excellent job on deadline, a few people in the newsroom don't understand the importance of turning around tape and scripts quickly, because they never had competition before. We'll have to work on this.
Another accomplishment: the first "cold open" in the history of TVM news. We had some excellent natsound of protestors yelling "Maumoon resign!" so we opened the newscast with the natural sound to draw the viewer into the story. It's historic for another reason: protestors were never shown on TV before our training began, and certainly not anyone critical of the government. Now we strive to present a balance of views, both government AND opposition.
The Islamic fasting month of Ramazan is more than a month away, but there are already signs that the Maldives is in a festive mood. We hit the streets with Sophie and Heena for a story on the night market, a tradition for local merchants to clear out their inventories at bargain prices to make way for new merchandise to arrive. People also clean out their houses during Ramazan, so the most popular items at the night market seem to be mops and brooms. Mostly it was just a big street party, but it broke my heart to see the "pet" markets with fish, hamsters and birds trying to stay alive in cramped cages and plastic bags. 
The divemasters from Delphis Diving made the whole experience even more enjoyable. Andrew and I struggled with the European diving gear, so different from what we have back in the US. But we had no worries with these professionals looking out for us. Diving here can be a bit tricky because of the strong currents. The steel tanks made it unnecessary to wear a weight belt, but had a tendency to flip me over on my back, so I used a lot of air trying to stay upright against the current. After the dive, it's all very organized with a freshwater tank for rinsing. Then your gear is stowed in a bag and ready for you the next day!
Joan, the receptionist, greeted us with tea and a tour of all the available treatments, ranging from traditional Indian medicine to the best of Asian massage.
I came for a treatment in one of the open-air rooms. Rechie, the therapist, took extra time to work on my neck and upper back. There are fresh native flowers everywhere, arranged in bowls. Some of the rooms are designed for couples with hot tubs, waterfalls and flower baths. 
From the moment we arrived at Paradise Island we were treated as honored guests and the land sports manager, Blue, showed us around.
We stayed in spacious cabins with both indoor and outdoor private showers, only steps from the water and sand. Like most resorts in Maldives, this one is still bouncing back from the tsunami, with many of the buildings rebuilt or refurbished since 2004. The vegetation is still recovering as well because the saltwater destroyed many of the more mature trees. There are a few trees with fresh bananas but nearly everything consumed here has to be imported.
These ladies were preparing a meal in a communal kitchen.
The weather was very choppy, but this crew was willing to try anything to get a good shot. We confronted the people who were sitting in the reserved seats, including a police officer.
The problem, however, was getting any seniors, disabled people or pregnant women to talk to us. Everyone said no. In fact, disabled people are invisible in Male. It is so difficult for them to get around that most rarely go out.
Another problem is that the ferry does not have a ramp to allow the disabled to board. Koki did an excellent standup about that. It is so rewarding to see these students putting their training into practice. They have one more week here in Male before being assigned to bureaus where they will have to do it alone. 
I also had the opportunity to meet Kathleen Fox, the new press and cultural affairs officer based in the nearest US Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Clearly, public opinion does not favor any budget cutbacks where the nation's children are concerned. They like to say in Maldives that one third of the country wears a school uniform, meaning that one out of every three Maldivians is a school-age child. Parents here make a lot of sacrifices to ensure the quality of their kids' education. The honor of performing on Independence Day is rotated among all the schools in Male and the kids get their turn every four years. So if these kids missed their slot this year, the older ones wouldn't have another chance.
We take a tea break at mid morning with delicious Maldivian "short eats," little pastries that can be sweet or spicy and filled with tuna or chicken.
This was their first morning meeting with the assignment board. There's a lot of excitement about this group because they are the first to train as journalists under the new policy of editorial freedom that we established during the first phase of the Maldives Media Training Project. I could tell by the way that they introduced themselves that they have the confidence and courage to do a fantastic job. 
Rameez and Musthafa feel like these are their children and I think the "old batch" is a little worried about the competition. Notice the dress code for the first day on the job: turquoise tunics for the women and black business shirts for the men.
The uniform is worn with great pride. A "certificate in broadcast journalism" is offered to those who have completed their O level of high school, which is the US equivalent of 10th grade.
