Timeline Maldives
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History: http://www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_romero_history.shtml
 A republic of a 500-mile chain of islands
about 400 miles south of India and about 300 miles southwest of Sri
Lanka. It has a population of 278,000. The people are Sunni Muslims.
Only 200 of the republic’s 1,192 coral islands are inhabited.
   (SFEC,11/2/97, p.T14)(AP, 11/11/03)
Male, the capital of the Maldives, lies 3 feet above sea level.
   (SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A10)
1153Â Â Â Â Â Â A
wandering Arab holy man converted the king of the Buddhist Maldive
islanders.
   (WSJ, 7/22/96, p.A12)
1552Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Maldive King Siri
Dhrikusa Loka (Hassan IX) was baptized in Cochin, India.
  Â
(www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_romero_history.shtml)
1600-1700Â Â Â Grass mats called kunai were made on the
island of Gadu and sent by the Maldivian sultan as part of an annual
tribute to the kingdom of Sri Lanka. The “Fine Mat Industry of the
Suvadiva Atoll” by Andrew Forbes was publ. by the British Museum.
   (WSJ, 7/22/96, p.A12)
1887Â Â Â Â Â Â The Maldives became a
protectorate of Great Britain.
  Â
(www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/Maldives(article).htm)
1932Â Â Â Â Â Â The Maldives adopted its
1st constitution.
  Â
(www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/Maldives(article).htm)
1947Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, The People’s
Majlis passed Bill No. 2/66 on the Maldivian monetary system. The
committee consisted of Government Ministers and Members of the
People’s Majlis.
   (www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/index.html)
1952Â Â Â Â Â Â The Maldives' National
Museum opened. In 2012 some of its most valuable exhibits from the
pre-Islamic era were smashed by religious extremists.
   (AP, 2/14/12)
1953Â Â Â Â Â Â The Maldives, formerly a
Sultanate, was declared a republic. The Sultanate was restored after
15 months.
  Â
(www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/Maldives(article).htm)
1957Â Â Â Â Â Â Ibrahim Nasir (31) became
prime minister of the Maldives, a British protectorate.
   (AP, 11/23/08)
1959-1962Â Â Â The government of Maldives was
challenged by a local secessionist movement in the southern atolls
that benefited economically from the British presence on Gan. This
group cut ties with the Maldives government and formed an
independent state with Abdulla Afif Didi as president. The
short-lived state, called the United Suvadivan Republic, had a
combined population of 20,000 inhabitants scattered in the atolls
then named Suvadiva.
   (www.findmaldives.com/Maldives-Independence.html)
1965Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Republic of
Maldives gained independence from Britain.
   (www.findmaldives.com/Maldives-Independence.html)
1968Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, The Maldives
became a republic for a 2nd time with Ibrahim Naseer (Nasir) as
President.
  Â
(www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/Maldives(article).htm)(Econ, 12/23/06,
p.54)(AP, 11/11/08)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Ibrahim Nasir
Rannabandeyri Kilegefan (1926-2008) relinquished the position of the
President of the Maldives Republic. He was accused of ruling the
country as a dictator and fled amid public resentment and unproven
allegations of corruption in handling public funds. For the first
time in recorded Maldive history, the head of state of the Maldives
ceased to be either a King-sultan (Queen-sultana) or a descendant of
a King-sultan.
  Â
(www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_commonwealth.shtml)(AP,
11/23/08)
1978Â Â Â Â Â Â Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
became president of the Maldives.
   (WSJ, 1/3/05, p.A7)
1982Â Â Â Â Â Â The Maldives applied for
and was granted membership in the British Commonwealth of Nations.
  Â
(www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_commonwealth.shtml)
1985Â Â Â Â Â Â The South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, with the aim of promoting economic cooperation and
alleviating poverty in South Asia. Members included Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
   (AP, 11/13/05)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, Maldives Pres.
Abdul Gayoom said that the survival of the island nation was
dependent on halting the process of global warming.
   (SFC, 6/25/97, p.A2)
1997Â Â Â Â Â Â The Maldives adopted a new
constitution, which enshrined Pres. Gayoom as head of state,
government, judiciary and the security forces.
   (Econ, 12/23/06, p.54)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, In the Maldives a
helicopter crashed enroute to Male and killed all 10 people onboard.
   (SFC, 12/4/99, p.A14)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, In the Maldives
unrest erupted at the Maafushi prison after a young man named Evan
Naseem was tortured to death. Police opened fire and 3 people were
killed. Violent riots followed as did a state of emergency.
   (Econ, 12/23/06, p.54)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, The leader of the
Maldives appealed for calm after two days of rioting killed 3 people
and sent shock waves through this tiny Indian Ocean island nation.
   (AP, 9/21/03)
2003Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Maldives Pres.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (65) was sworn in for a record sixth term,
becoming the longest-serving head of state in Asia.
   (AP, 11/11/03)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, The Maldives ferry
Enamaa was carrying far more than its capacity of up to 100 when a
wave overturned it. At least 18 people were killed. More than 50
others were missing.
   (AP, 3/18/04)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, The world's most
powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that
slammed into villages and seaside resorts across southern and
southeast Asia. The initial estimated death toll of 9,000 soon rose
to some 230,000 people in 14 countries. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake
was the world's fifth-largest since 1900 and the largest since a 9.2
temblor hit Prince William Sound Alaska in 1964. The epicenter was
located 155 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh
province on Sumatra, and six miles under the seabed of the Indian
Ocean. In Indonesia at least 166,320 people were killed.
   Bangladesh reported 2 killed; India: at least
9,691 deaths: thousands were missing and possibly dead in India's
remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia: At least 101,318
people were killed on Sumatra island and small islands off its
coast. Kenya reported 1 killed. Malaysia: At least 68 people,
including an unknown number of foreign tourists, were dead. Myanmar:
At least 90 people were killed. Sri Lanka: At least 30,680 were
killed in government and rebel controlled areas. The Maldives, an
archipelago of 1,190 low-lying coral islands and a tiny population
of 280,000, at least 82 people were killed and missing. At least 42
islands were flattened in the low-lying atoll nation. Somalia: At
least 298 were killed. Tanzania: At least 10 killed. Thailand: The
confirmed death toll for Thailand reached 5,322, but many suspected
Myanmar migrants were not counted. Some 230,000 people were killed
in a dozen countries.
   (SFC, 12/28/04, p.A1)(AP, 12/30/04)(SSFC, 1/2/05,
p.A12)(AP, 1/7/05)(Econ, 1/22/05, p.41)(AP, 12/25/09)(AP, 11/12/13)
2004Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, In the Maldives at
least 117 people were killed and missing, among them two British
tourists. At least 42 islands were flattened in the low-lying atoll
nation.
   (SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Some 1,500 people
inhabited the artificial Maldive island of Hulhumale. Some $60
million had already been spent on its creation and completion was
expected in 2040.
   (SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A10)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Maldivians cast
votes to elect a parliament, three weeks after the election was
postponed because of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Police arrested 20
opposition backers.
   (AP, 1/22/05)(WSJ, 1/24/05, p.A1)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, The Maldives
ushered in a new political era when parliament voted to allow
parties to form for the first time in the remote Indian Ocean
archipelago, a move that ended centuries of autocratic rule. The law
passed in July.
   (Reuters, 6/2/05)(Econ, 12/23/06, p.55)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, In Dhaka,
Bangladesh, a 2-day summit aimed to alleviate poverty and boost
trade and cooperation among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Leaders called for greater
cooperation within the region to deal with the aftermath of
disasters like the Kashmir earthquake and last year's devastating
tsunami.
   (AFP, 11/12/05)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Â An estimated 80,000
people lived in the Maldives on less than 1.2 square miles.
   (SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A10)
2006Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of the
Maldives numbered about 300,000. Some 100,000 were packed into the 2
square kilometers of the capital, Male, the most densely populated
town in the world.
   (Econ, 12/23/06, p.53)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, President Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom won an overwhelming victory in a referendum on the
Maldives' future form of government, a poll seen as an informal vote
of confidence in his three-decade rule of the tiny Indian Ocean
nation.
   (AP, 8/19/07)
2007Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 29, A bomb exploded at
the entrance to a recreation park in the Maldives, wounding at least
12 foreign tourists.
   (AP, 9/29/07)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom (70), the Maldives president, survived an assassination
attempt when boy scout Mohammed Jaisham Ibrahim (15) grabbed the
knife of an attacker who jumped out of a crowd of people greeting
the president.
   (AP, 1/9/08)(AP, 1/10/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, In Sri Lanka a
two-day summit of leaders of the 15th South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC), opened amid extraordinary security.
Leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended the summit. Government troops
captured rebel-held Vellankulam village in Mannar, the last rebel
stronghold in the area. Fresh fighting between Sri Lankan troops and
Tamil Tiger separatists killed 14 rebels and two soldiers across the
embattled northern region.
   (AP, 8/2/08)(AP, 8/3/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Maldives Pres.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom signed and adopted a new constitution that
allows multiparty elections and other democratic reforms after
decades of authoritarian rule. Under the constitution Islam is the
only religion its people can legally practice.
   (AP, 8/7/08)(AFP, 6/5/12)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, Maldives islanders
in the cramped city of Male and scores of far-flung atolls began
voting in the first democratic presidential election in their tiny
nation's history.
   (AP, 10/8/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Poll results in the
Maldives indicated President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to be headed for a
runoff against Mohamed Nasheed, a former political prisoner who
leads the main opposition.
   (AP, 10/9/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Voters turned out
in strength to choose the Maldives' first democratically-elected
president in a run-off between Asia's longest serving leader and a
former political prisoner. Nasheed won 54% of the vote to Gayoom's
46%, according to provisional results from the nation's elections
commission.
   (AP, 10/28/08)(AP, 10/29/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Mohamed Nasheed
took the oath of office as the Maldives' first democratically
elected president. He now leads the flattest nation on Earth, with
an average height of 2.3 meters (7 feet) above sea level, and one
considered particularly vulnerable to the perils of global climate
change and rising sea levels.
   (AP, 11/11/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, Ibrahim Nasir
(b.1926), who led the Maldives' independence movement from the
British and became the island nation's first president, died in
Singapore.
   (AP, 11/23/08)
2008Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of the
Maldives stood at about 370,000 people.
   (Econ, 11/1/08, p.52)
2009Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Members of the
Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals at an
underwater meeting staged to highlight the threat of global warming
to the lowest-lying nation on earth.
   (AP, 10/17/09)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, In the Maldives 15
representatives of the Afghan government met with 7 Taliban members
for talks, which would continue over the weekend. A Taliban
statement the next day said those at the talks claiming to be from
the Taliban are no longer active members and have "surrendered" to
President Hamid Karzai's government.
   (SFC, 5/21/10, p.A2)(AP, 5/21/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Maldivian
cabinet resigned en masse after a threat by the opposition to bring
a vote of no confidence in parliament against every minister. Pres.
Mohammed Nasheed remained in office.
   (AFP, 6/29/10)
2010Â Â Â Â Â Â The 42-member Alliance of
Small Island States called on the industrial nations in 1997 to cut
emissions 20% from 1990 levels by this time.
   (SFC, 6/25/97, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Maldives police
used tear gas and batons to break up a protest demanding that
President Mohamad Nasheed step down. Dozens of people were injured
and many were arrested.
   (AP, 5/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, The UN human
rights chief urged the Maldives to end the "degrading" practice of
flogging women found to have had sex outside marriage. The country
of 300,000 people forbids practicing religions other than Islam.
   (AP, 11/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, The Maldives
government said it has decided to close massage parlors and spas,
following an opposition-led religious protest last week calling for
their closure. Sunni Islam is the official religion in the Maldives
and practicing any other faith is forbidden.
   (AP, 12/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â In the Maldives Abdullah
Yameen Abdul Gayoom founded the Progressive Party of the Maldives
(PPM).
   (Econ, 10/29/16, p.34)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, The Maldives'
military arrested the chief justice of the country's criminal court
after he released an opposition leader who had been detained without
a warrant for allegedly defaming the government. A day later the
arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed prompted all courts to boycott
sessions.
   (AP, 1/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, The Maldives
Journalists' Association said the government is threatening and
harassing the media over their reporting of a political crisis and
the military's arrest of the nation's top criminal court judge.
   (AP, 1/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, In the Maldives
dozens of anti-government activists were arrested in the capital
Male, as the government accused them of whipping up religious
extremism.
   (AFP, 1/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, The Maldives' first
democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed (44), resigned
after a police mutiny described by his office as an attempted coup,
capping weeks of political upheaval in the holiday paradise. Nasheed
has faced three weeks of street protests stemming from the arrest of
a senior judge. Vice President Mohamed Waheed, who had clashed with
Nasheed over the chief justice's detention, was sworn in as the new
head of state and he urged the population of 300,000 Sunni Muslims
to remain calm.
   (AFP, 2/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Supporters of the
Maldives former president rioted through the streets and seized some
police stations to demand his reinstatement as the country's new
leader appealed for an end to the political turmoil roiling this
Indian Ocean nation. Former leader Mohamed Nasheed and other top
party officials were beaten by police in the street chaos.
   (AP, 2/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, A Maldives court
issued an arrest warrant for former President Mohamed Nasheed, one
day after his supporters rampaged in the capital and his claim of
being ousted by a coup left unclear the stability of the fledging
Indian Ocean democracy.
   (AP, 2/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Ousted Maldives
president Mohamed Nasheed rejected a US call for compromise and
rejected a unity government to end political unrest as fresh clashes
erupted in the Indian Ocean nation.
   (AFP, 2/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, The United Nations
backed the Maldives' new leader's proposal for a national unity
government though the ousted leader called for a snap poll to
resolve a political crisis.
   (AP, 2/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Maldivian
President Mohamed Waheed agreed to demands for early elections,
after taking power last week in what his ousted predecessor
described as a coup d'etat.
   (AFP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Somali pirates
seized an Iranian-owned cargo ship and its 23-strong crew in the
first hijacking within Maldivian territory. The MV. Eglantine was
seized off the north-western Hoarafush island in the Indian Ocean
atoll nation. The Bolivian-flagged vessel was freed on April 2, and
continued on to Iran with its sugar shipment.
   (AFP, 3/27/12)(AFP, 4/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Maldives President
Mohamed Waheed, accused of seizing power in a military-backed coup,
faced his first popularity test when voting was held in two key
by-elections.
   (AFP, 4/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Maldivian police
said Ismail Rasheed (37), a blogger known for his liberal views on
religion, is in intensive care after being stabbed by an attacker
outside his home in the capital Male.
   (AFP, 6/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Maldives police
arrested at least 55 anti-government protesters following violent
clashes with security forces in the capital Male.
   (AFP, 7/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, The Maldives
Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI), consisting of four nationals
named by political parties and a Singaporean judge nominated by the
Commonwealth, found the February change of president was "legal and
constitutional." The judgment promptly rejected by Mohamed Nasheed’s
party, which vowed to keep up protests to press for early elections.
   (AFP, 8/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, In the Maldives the
trial of former Pres. Mohamed Nasheed was postponed after he defied
a court order and left the capital by boat.
  Â
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19797538)(Economist, 10/6/12,
p.48)
Â
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, In the Maldives Dr.
Afrasheen Ali, a member of parliament, was murdered in a frenzied
stabbing attack.
   (Economist, 10/6/12,
p.48)(www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19797538)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of the
Maldives archipelago was about 330,000.
   (Economist, 10/6/12, p.46)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, In the Maldives
former Pres. Mohamed Nasheed took refuge at the Indian Embassy after
a court ordered his arrest for not attending a hearing on charges
that he illegally ordered the detention of a senior judge, a move
that led to his ouster last year.
   (SFC, 2/15/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, The Maldives held
elections. Mohamed Nasheed, ousted from power last year, emerged as
the clear leader with 45% of the vote, short of the 50% needed to
avoid a Sep 28 runoff against Yaamin Abdul Qayyoom.
   (SFC, 9/9/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, The Maldives
Supreme Court annulled the results of the September 7 presidential
election and scheduled a fresh vote for October 20 after a candidate
challenged the outcome, citing irregularities. Earlier in the day
masked men burst into the Raajje TV studio in Male, stabbed a
security guard and set the place ablaze. Raajje was alligned with
the oppposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
   (Reuters, 10/7/13)(Econ, 10/12/13, p.52)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, The Maldives
government urged all parties to support fresh elections after the
Supreme Court annulled last month's results, even though
international observers had said those polls were free and fair.
   (AFP, 10/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 19, The Maldives sank
further into political disarray when police blocked officials from
conducting a presidential revote, saying that holding the election
would violate a Supreme Court order.
   (AP, 10/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Mohamed Nasheed,
the leading candidate in the Maldives' troubled presidential
election, demanded that Pres. Mohamed Waheed Hassan resign and allow
the parliamentary speaker to take over the government and oversee a
fresh poll.
   (AP, 10/20/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, The Maldives voted
to elect a new leader for their budding democracy. Mohamed Nasheed,
the country's first democratically elected leader who first came to
power in 2008 after 30 years of one-man rule, won the first round of
voting but failed to win a clear majority.
   (AP, 11/9/13)(Reuters, 11/10/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, The Maldives' top
court again delayed holding the second round of the country's
presidential poll. The Supreme Court delayed it until Nov 16, in
line with demands from Mohamed Nasheed's two biggest rivals.
   (Reuters, 11/10/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, The Maldives held
runoff elections. Abdulla Yameen, the half brother of former
strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, defeated former presidentÂ
Mohamed Nasheed, securing 51.3% of the popular vote.
   (AFP, 11/16/13)(Econ, 11/23/13, p.41)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â The population of the
Maldives archipelago was about 400,000.
   (Econ, 2/23/13, p.38)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr, The Maldives
introduced new regulations for the implementation of the death
penalty by lethal injection.
   (AP, 4/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Transparency
International said South Asia is the most corrupt region of the
world and governments must strengthen their anti-graft agencies to
prevent political interference and protect whistleblowers. The
watchdog group found serious problems with anti-corruption efforts
in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
   (AP, 5/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, The US Secret
Service arrested Roman Valerevich Seleznev (30), a Russian national,
in an airport in the Maldives for hacking into US retailers'
computer systems to steal credit card data from 2009 to 2011.
Federal agents found 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers on his
laptop computer.
   (Reuters, 7/8/14)(AP, 8/16/16)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Maldives former
president Mohamed Nasheed told Britain's Independent on Sunday paper
that up to 200 Maldivians were fighting for Islamic State (IS) in
Iraq and Syria. The entire population of the Maldives is only around
330,000 Sunni Muslims.
   (AFP, 9/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, China's President
Xi Jinping enlisted the Maldives' backing for a "21st century
maritime silk road" as he began a tour of South Asia in the
strategically located Indian Ocean island chain.
   (AFP, 9/15/14)
2014 Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 5, The government of
Maldives declared a state of emergency and has appealed for aid from
India, Sri Lanka, the United States and China. Mohamed Shareef, a
government minister, said: "We have declared a state of crisis and
also informed the shopkeepers to issue bottle water free of
charge."Â Â Â
   (Reuters, 12/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, A Maldives
government official said water supply in the capital, cut by a fire
last week in its only treatment plant, won't be fully restored until
next week.
   (AP, 12/10/14)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Maldives’ police
arrested former president Mohamed Nasheed after a court said he
might flee the country to avoid hearings on terrorism charges,
leading to clashes between his supporters and authorities.
   (Reuters, 2/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, In the Maldives a
three-judge panel ruled that Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first
democratically elected president, issued an illegal order to detain
a senior judge in 2012 while in office.
   (AP, 3/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, The Maldives'
Parliament passed a law that strips people serving prison sentences
of their political party memberships, a rule critics say is designed
to oust jailed former President Mohamed Nasheed from politics.
   (AP, 3/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, A court in the
Maldives sentenced former defense minister Tholath Ibrahim to 10
years in prison on charges of detaining a senior judge. The
sentencing came nearly a month after former President Mohamed
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison for ordering the arrest
and detention of Judge Abdulla Mohamed.
   (AP, 4/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Maldives police
used tear gas against opposition protesters who broke into a
restricted military zone demanding President Yameen Abdul Gayoom
resign and a jailed ex-president be freed. Police baton-charged a
night protest on the main island of Male and arrested 193 people
including three opposition leaders.
   (AP, 5/1/15)(AFP, 5/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Maldives’
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom appointed Ahmed Adeeb, his trusted
tourism minister, as vice president. Parliament ousted his former
deputy on negligence charges a day earlier.
   (AP, 7/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Authorities in the
Maldives intercepted a boat carrying seven foreign tourists and a
local crew that was apparently heading to the Indian Ocean island of
Diego Garcia, where the United States maintains a military base.
   (AP, 8/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Maldives police
took former President Mohamed Nasheed back to jail even though his
13-year sentence was commuted to house arrest last month.
   (AP, 8/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, In the Maldives an
explosion took place aboard the president's boat. Authorities called
it an assassination attempt. President Yameen Abdul Gayoom's wife,
an aide and a bodyguard were injured in the blast.
   (AP, 10/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, India said that
the Maldives leader has committed to an "India first" policy in
talks with its external affairs minister.
   (AP, 10/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Maldives Pres.
Abdulla Yameen fired his defense minister with immediate effect, the
latest move in a defense shake-up following an explosion targeting
the leader.
   (Reuters, 10/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Maldives VP Ahmed
Adeeb was arrested in connection with the Sep 28 explosion aboard
the president's boat that authorities have called an assassination
attempt. Adeeb will be charged with high treason. Three soldiers,
including a former member of Adeeb's security detail and a member of
the army's bomb squad, were also arrested in connection with the
blast. Authorities also arrested a Sri Lankan man believed to be a
sniper who was targeting President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
   (AP, 10/24/15)(AP, 11/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, The Maldives
adopted new anti-terror legislation. Opposition politicians claimed
one purpose of it was to intimidate government critics.
   (Econ, 10/31/15, p.40)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Hamid Ismail,
suspected of involvement in the Sep 28 attempted assassination of
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, was arrested in Kuala Lumpur with
four other Maldives residents.
   (Reuters, 10/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, The Maldives
declared a state of emergency for 30 days citing a threat to
national security.
   (Reuters, 11/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, Maldives'
Parliament voted overwhelmingly to impeach VP Ahmed Adeeb and said
he will be charged with terrorism for plotting to kill the
president.
   (AP, 11/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, Police in the
Maldives dispersed opposition protesters for a second straight day,
using tear gas and pepper spray and arresting more than a dozen
demonstrators demanding the release of a former president and other
jailed political leaders.
   (AP, 11/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â J.J. Robinson authored
“The Maldives: Islamic Republic, Tropical Autocracy.”
   (Econ, 11/28/15, p.76)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, British PM David
Cameron urged the Maldives to open up its politics and release all
remaining political prisoners after meeting former president Mohamed
Nasheed.
   (AFP, 1/23/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Maldives police
arrested a judge and a former prosecutor general for issuing an
arrest warrant for the country's president without the police
requesting one.
   (AP, 2/8/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, In the Maldives
Imran Abdullah, head of an Islamist party, was sentenced to 12 years
in prison. He was charged with terrorism for a speech last May in
support of Mohamed Nasheed.
   (Econ, 2/20/15, p.33)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Police in the
Maldives used pepper spray to break up a protest by journalists and
activists accusing the government of stifling press freedom,
arresting 11 of the demonstrators.
   (AP, 4/3/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, Mohamed Nasheed, a
former president of the Maldives now in exile in Britain after being
ousted from office and jailed in his country, formed an opposition
group aimed at toppling the government of President Abdulla Yameen.
   (Reuters, 6/1/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 10, A Maldives court
convicted the country's former vice president of masterminding a
plot to kill the president by exploding a bomb on his speedboat last
year and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Ahmed Adeeb must serve
a total of 25 years after the same criminal court sentenced him
earlier this week to 10 years for possessing firearms.
   (AP, 6/10/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, A court in the
Maldives barred a group of journalists from working for their newly
formed media organization for two years, threatening its closure in
a move they criticized as an assault on media freedom in the
archipelago nation. The journalists had launched Mihaaru news two
months ago after the country's oldest and most reputed news
organization, Haveeru Media Group, was shut down as a result of
court arbitration of an ownership dispute.
   (AP, 7/4/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, In the Maldives
senior diplomat Mohamed Asim became foreign minister after his
predecessor resigned last week to protest the resumption of the
death penalty.
   (AP, 7/13/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, The Maldives'
parliament passed a law that criminalizes defamation and allows for
jail terms and steep fines for journalists, despite local and
international concern that it will be a setback for freedom of
speech in the country.
   (AP, 8/9/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, In the Maldives a
law that criminalizes defamation and allows for jail terms and steep
fines for journalists took effect.
   (AP, 8/11/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Police in the
Maldives raided the office of one of the country's leading news
websites shortly after the broadcast of a television documentary
that accused the country's president of corruption, money laundering
and misrule.
   (AP, 9/8/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, The Maldives
government said it has decided to leave the 53-member British
Commonwealth because the grouping of former British colonies has
treated it "unjustly and unfairly" and sought to interfere in its
politics.
   (AP, 10/13/16)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, In the Maldives
six ruling party lawmakers defected to work with the opposition in
the party's first open split and a major challenge to President
Yameen Abdul Gayoom's rule.
   (AP, 10/28/16)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Maldives’ former
President Mohamed Nasheed said that he has signed an agreement with
his one-time archrival and former strongman to try to restore
democracy in the archipelago state.
   (AP, 3/25/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, In the Maldives
Yameen Rasheed, prominent blogger and human rights advocate, was
found with multiple stab wounds in a house in the capital, Male. He
died at a hospital.
   (AP, 4/23/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, the Maldives and Egypt cut
ties with Qatar, the world's top seller of liquefied natural gas
(LNG), stoking concern over any supply disruptions to neighboring
countries spilling over into global gas markets. They accused Qatar
of supporting extremism.
   (Reuters, 6/5/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, The Maldivian
opposition said that the military has locked down parliament on the
orders of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom in a bid to prevent
lawmakers from taking part in a vote to impeach the parliamentary
speaker.
   (AP, 7/24/17)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, A Maldives court
jailed opposition politician Qasim Ibrahim for just over 38 months
on a charge of bribery in connection with a bid to undermine the
government. Opposition colleagues said the conviction was a
politically motivated bid to strip Ibrahim of his parliamentary
seat.
   (Reuters, 8/25/17)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, An opposition
alliance in the Maldives petitioned the Supreme Court to temporarily
remove the president and appoint investigators to look into
allegations of corruption and misrule.
   (AP, 1/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, In the Maldives a
Supreme Court decision to free nine political prisoners led to
unrest in the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
   (AP, 2/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Maldives police
arrested two opposition supporters as protesters clashed with police
for a second night. Mohammed Nasheed, the exiled former president of
the Maldives, said he will run again for office.
   (AP, 2/2/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, Maldives President
Abdulla Yameen fired his second police chief in three days and the
opposition said it feared violence, as the island nation was pitched
deeper into a crisis caused by Yameen's failure to obey a court
order to free jailed opponents. The president said he was open to
holding an election several months before his term ends next
November.
   (Reuters, 2/3/18)(AP, 2/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, The Maldives
Supreme Court said there should be "no legal barrier" preventing the
enforcement of its ruling earlier this week to release nine
opposition leaders and re-try them in court, in an indication it
expected its ruling to be enforced.
   (Reuters, 2/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Maldives declared a
state of emergency for 15 days after the government defied a Supreme
Court ruling to release nine jailed opposition leaders.
   (Reuters, 2/5/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, The Maldives' top
judge was arrested as security forces stormed the Supreme Court at
dawn, after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency
in the honeymoon islands. Three Supreme Court judges annulled their
own order to free a group of imprisoned opposition politicians after
two of the court’s judges were arrested.
   (AFP, 2/6/18)(SFC, 2/7/18, p.A2)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Embattled Maldives
Pres. Abdulla Yameen sent envoys to friendly nations such as China,
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them on a political crisis in the
Indian Ocean nation that spurred the imposition of a state of
emergency.
   (Reuters, 2/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, The United Nations
top human rights official called on the Maldives government to
immediately lift the state of emergency imposed two days ago,
calling it to "an all-out assault on democracy".
   (Reuters, 2/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, China dismissed
accusations from the former leader of the Maldives that it is
attempting to effectively buy up the Indian Ocean island state.
China is already the Maldives' primary source of tourists and is
investing hundreds of millions of dollars in an airport expansion,
housing development and other projects.
   (AP, 2/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, In the Maldives
privately owned television station Rajje TV, which highlights the
views of the political opposition, said it has gone off the air
because of threats during the country's current state of emergency.
   (AP, 2/9/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, In the Maldives
dozens of pro-opposition supporters were injured and many were
arrested after police broke up countrywide protests demanding the
resignation of Pres. Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the release of his
political opponents from prison.
   (AP, 2/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Maldives Pres.
Yameen Abdul Gayoom asked Parliament to extend the state of
emergency that has helped him reinforce his power. Yameen has had
two Supreme Court judges arrested, accusing them of corruption.
   (AP, 2/19/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 20, Maldives'
parliament approved a 30-day extension of a state of emergency
declared by the president to strengthen his power after the Supreme
Court ordered the release of his imprisoned political opponents.
   (AP, 2/20/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Maldives State
Health Minister Dunya Maumoon resigned, grieved by the arrest of her
father, the island nation's longest-serving leader. She called upon
the international community to support the Maldivian people to help
overcome the crisis.
   (Reuters, 2/27/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Maldives denied a
Japanese foreign ministry statement that said a Maldives-flagged
vessel was used to illegally transfer goods from a North
Korean-flagged tanker in defiance of UN Security Council
resolutions.
   (Reuters, 2/28/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Maldivian
authorities arrested more than 140 activists who defied a ban on
rallies and demonstrated against a state of emergency imposed by
Pres. Abdulla Yameen.
   (AFP, 3/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Maldives Pres.
Yameen Abdul Gayoom lifted a 45-day state of emergency he declared
during an unprecedented court-triggered challenge to his political
control in the archipelago nation.
   (AP, 3/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, A court in the
Maldives sentenced two Supreme Court justices to more than 19 months
in prison on charges of influencing lower court decisions.
   (AP, 5/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, A Maldives court
sentenced Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former president (1978-2008)
accused of plotting to overthrow the government, to 19 months in
prison for failing to cooperate with the police investigation.
   (AP, 6/13/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Mohamed Nasheed,
the exiled former president of the Maldives, said he has abandoned
plans to contest an upcoming presidential election because of legal
obstacles.
   (AP, 6/29/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, In the Maldives
the opposition alliance named Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, an opposition
law maker, as a backup candidate for the presidential election later
this year, in the event the exiled former president is unable to
contest due to legal obstacles.
   (AP, 7/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Speaking in
Thailand on the sidelines of a six-day climate conference Amjad
Abdulla, the head negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States
(AOSIS), warned that island nations like Fiji and the Maldives are
almost at the "point of no return" because of rising sea levels.
   (AFP, 9/7/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, President Donald
Trump's administration warned the Maldives of possible sanctions if
it doesn't reverse democratic backsliding and ensure free
presidential elections on Sept. 23.
   (AP, 9/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, The Maldives hit
out at the United States after the US warned of possible sanctions
against key officials of the island nation if upcoming elections are
not free and fair.
   (AP, 9/8/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Police in the
Maldives raided the main campaign office of the opposition
presidential candidate on the eve of an election viewed as a
referendum on whether democracy will survive in the country.
   (AP, 9/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, The Maldives held
its third multiparty presidential election. Strongman President
Yameen Abdul Gayoom lost the election to his challenger, longtime
lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (56).
   (AP, 9/23/18)(AP, 9/24/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, The Maldives
Elections Commission restored 12 lawmakers who were earlier deemed
to have lost their seats. The restoration of the lawmakers in line
with a Supreme Court order is a sign that president-elect Ibrahim
Mohamed Solih is consolidating his victory over outgoing strongman
Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
   (AP, 10/3/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 4, Qasim Ibrahim, a
Maldives opposition leader, returned home after being exiled in
Germany for months to escape a prison sentence on charges of
plotting to overthrow the government.
   (AP, 10/4/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, It was reported
that four of the five members of Maldives' Elections Commission have
fled the country because of threats from supporters of outgoing
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who accused them of rigging last
month's presidential election in favor of the opposition candidate.
   (AP, 10/10/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, The Maldives
Supreme Court said it would examine President Abdulla Yameen's
petition to annul his September election defeat despite
international pressure on the strongman leader to go quietly.
   (AFP, 10/11/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, A high court in
the Maldives overturned a prison sentence for the country's
ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had been jailed for not
cooperating with a police investigation into allegations he was
trying to overthrow the government. Maumoon still faced a separate
case under the terrorism law over the same alleged plot to overthrow
his half-brother, outgoing President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
   (AP, 10/18/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, The Maldives' top
court dismissed the outgoing president's petition seeking an
annulment of last month's presidential election result. The
five-member Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the election was
conducted within the law.
   (AP, 10/21/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, A court in the
Maldives freed opposition leader Qasim Ibrahim, setting aside a
lower court's conviction for bribery.
   (AP, 10/22/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, The Maldives
Supreme Court suspended a 13-year jail sentence given to Mohamed
Nasheed, the country's exiled former president, until it reviews his
conviction as requested by the prosecutor general.
   (AP, 10/30/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, Mohamed Nasheed,
the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, returned
home after more than two years in exile to escape a long prison
term.
   (AP, 11/1/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, New Maldives Pres.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (54) took office, declaring the state coffers
to have been looted and warned that the country was in financial
difficulty after racking up debt with Chinese lenders in an
infrastructure boom.
   (Reuters, 11/17/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, One week after
taking power, the new government of the Maldives says it has no idea
how much it owes China, which has led a construction spree in the
tiny Indian Ocean nation, but fears the debts run up in the past
five years could be unsustainable.
   (Reuters, 11/23/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, The Maldives
Supreme Court canceled former president Mohamed Nasheed’s 13-year
jail sentence after a review of the controversial terrorism
conviction.
   (Reuters, 11/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Maldives' new
finance minister said that China is executing infrastructure
projects at vastly higher prices than originally proposed but the
island nation cannot get out of its commitments now.
   (Reuters, 11/26/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, In Poland a group
of small islands and countries, particularly vulnerable to global
warming threatened to block agreement at UN climate talks unless
their demands are met. Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed,
head of the Alliance of Small Island States, said "we are deeply
unhappy with the way the talks are going".
   (AP, 12/14/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Police in the
Maldives questioned Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the country's defeated
former strongman president, over complaints of alleged illegal
financial transactions, a day after they froze bank accounts with
millions of dollars.
   (AP, 12/15/18)
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, PM Narendra Modi
said India will give financial assistance of $1.4 billion to the
Maldives, the biggest aid yet to the Indian Ocean island nation that
is grappling with debt from a Chinese building spree.
   (Reuters, 12/17/18)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, The Maldives' top
prosecutor charged former Pres. Yameen Abdul Gayoom with money
laundering. The charges are linked to $1 million allegedly found in
Yameen's bank account from a shady government deal to lease islands
for tourist development in the Maldives, which is famous for its
luxury resorts.
   (AP, 2/14/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Maldives
authorities detained former strongman president Abdulla Yameen after
he was accused of trying to bribe witnesses in his money laundering
trial.
   (AFP, 2/18/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, A court in the
Maldives ordered the release of former president Abdulla Yameen,
saying there was not enough reason to hold him beyond a month under
the law.
   (Reuters, 3/28/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, People in the
Maldives voted in a crucial parliamentary election that many hope
will help President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih overcome a coalition
split that has hampered his efforts to restore political freedoms
and tackle corruption.
   (AP, 4/6/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Maldives President
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's party declared a sweeping parliamentary
election victory that could give him a free hand in efforts to
restore political freedoms and tackle corruption.
   (AP, 4/7/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, A Maldives court
set aside the conviction and 15-year prison term given the former
vice president on allegations he conspired to assassinate former
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
   (AP, 5/20/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, Indian PM Narendra
Modi arrived in the Maldives on his first official overseas trip
since being elected to a second term.
   (AP, 6/8/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Indian authorities
questioning the former vice president of the Maldives, Ahmed Adeeb
(37), for illegally entering the country after he arrived on a
tugboat in the southern Indian port city of Thoothukudi.
   (AP, 8/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, A Maldives
commission of inquiry has concluded that journalist Ahmed Rilwan,
reported missing since 2014, has been killed possibly by those
linked to fighters in Syria at the time. Maldives, which hosts
hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists every year, was known to
have the most number of fighters per capita in Syria.
   (AP, 9/1/19)
2019Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, Former Maldives
president Abdulla Yameen was convicted and sentenced to five years
in prison for money laundering, as dozens of his supporters gathered
outside the courtroom saying his was innocent.
   (Reuters, 11/28/19)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, In the Maldives
three foreigners were stabbed in a suburb of Male. Muslim militants
claimed responsibility.
   (Econ, 3/21/20, p.36)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, The Maldives
reported its first case of coronavirus.
   (Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, The Maldives
locked down its capital due to the coronavirus pandemic.
   (Reuters, 4/17/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, The Maldives has
reported 34 coronavirus cases and no deaths.
   (Reuters, 4/18/20)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, It was reported
that the Maldives has seen a rapid rise in coronavirus cases over
the past few weeks. Three deaths have been reported so far.
   (SSFC, 5/10/20, p.A6)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, The Maldives
reported 1,513 coronavirus cases and five deaths as it began
relaxing of restrictions imposed since mid-April.
   (SFC, 5/30/20, p.A5)
2020Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, The WHO said Sri
Lanka and Maldives have become the first two countries in the World
Health Organization's South-East Asia region to eliminate both
measles and rubella ahead of a 2023 target.
   (AP, 7/8/20)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, In the Maldives an
explosion critically wounded former Pres. Mohamed Nasheed (53) and
wounded four others. Islamic extremists were blamed. Nasheed was
soon flown to Germany for care. Over the next two weeks four
suspects were arrested.
   (SSFC, 5/9/21, p.A9)(SFC, 5/22/21, p.A4)
2021Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, Foreign Minister
Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives won election as the next president of
the UN General Assembly.
   (AP, 6/8/21)
2040Â Â Â Â Â Â The artificial Maldives
island of Hulhumale was expected to be completed with a population
of around 150,000. The total population of the Maldives in 2020 was
350,000.
   (SSFC, 1/2/05, p.A10)(Econ, 3/21/20, p.36)
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