Opposition leader and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has likened the country’s current political direction to that of 21 years ago, calling on citizens to draw courage from the “Black Friday” movement and work to safeguard the present and future.
In a post on X, Fayyaz said the rights and constitutional freedoms enjoyed today were the result of uprisings and protests held on 12 and 13 August 2004.
“Twenty-one years later, the direction of the country is again the same as it was then. We must take courage from the movement of that day,” he wrote.
Fayyaz said 12 and 13 August are commemorated to honour all those who participated in the movement despite the dangers they faced, and to celebrate their bravery.
The “Black Friday” protest of 2004 erupted after the arrest of individuals holding banners calling for the resignation of then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, following his announcement of a limited reform agenda. Protesters began gathering at Malé’s Jumhooree Maidhaan (Republic Square) on the night of 12 August, and the protest continued into the afternoon of the following day.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed, who at the time was a key opposition figure in exile, delivered a speech during the protest. The demonstration was later violently dispersed by the army, and several people were arrested. They were pardoned in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami.
Many figures involved in the reform movement regard “Black Friday” as the starting point of the country’s democratic era, and as the moment when the final years of Maumoon’s rule began to be counted down.