A former political prisoner who unseated Asia’s longest-serving leader as president of the Maldives was sworn into office yesterday, taking charge of a nation he fears could soon disappear.
Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, took his oath of office at a ceremony televised live from a convention center in the capital island Male where he began his pro-democracy campaign in 1990 as a journalist for an underground magazine.
He was in and out of jail for a period of six years under former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had led the nation for 30 years before he allowed democratic reforms and was beaten in an Oct. 28 run-off election.
PHOTO: AFP
Nasheed has already hit the headlines with his idea to take out insurance in case the Indian Ocean atoll nation, a top luxury tourism getaway, is swamped by rising sea levels.
A 1m rise would almost totally submerge the country’s 1,192 coral islands scattered off the southern tip of India. Experts predict a rise of at least 18cm is likely by the end of the century.
“I don’t want Maldivians to end up as environmental refugees in some camp,” Nasheed told reporters at his first press conference after winning the election.
“We are talking about taking insurance — if the islands are sinking we must find highland some place close by. We should do that before we sink,” he said.
Nasheed told Britain’s Guardian newspaper that he had already broached the subject of finding a new homeland for Maldivians with several countries and found them to be “receptive.”
India and Sri Lanka are targets because they had similar cultures and climates, while vast Australia was also an option.
Aside from global warming, Nasheed faces a host of other challenges as he begins his five-year term.
There is a danger of civil unrest after decades of one-party rule under ousted president Gayoom, a need to release political prisoners and push through a series of promised reforms in the new democracy.
“There should be no political prisoners in the Maldives,” Nasheed said. “That is clear and we will very quickly look into the cases of those who are being held.”
The new president will also have to steer the economy through some difficulties, with crucial tourism earnings — driven by well-heeled visitors to island resorts offering white-sand beaches and crystal clear water — set to dip because of the global financial crisis.
Nasheed said that he was seeking about US$300 million in emergency international aid to restore economic stability in the nation of 300,000 Sunni Muslims.
Although the islands are best known as a luxury holiday destination, about 40 percent of the population earn less than a dollar a day and are clamoring for a greater share of tourist revenues.
The country also faces a serious drug problem, with one out of three youngsters in the country affected.
Nasheed has promised to improve healthcare and links between remote islands, to privatize state enterprises and to turn the presidential palace into the country’s first university.
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