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Anti-govt. demo held in Maldives

01 May 2011 03:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Several thousand people have taken to the streets in the Maldives capital Male to call on President Mohamed Nasheed to relinquish power, APA reports quoting Press TV.

About 5,000 people staged a demonstration on Saturday to protest against economic hardship, alleged mismanagement, and wasteful spending in the Asian state, AP reported.

"The main reasons are the recent devaluation of the currency and subsequent increase in the prices of essentials," opposition spokesman Mohammed Shareef said.

"The government is refusing to acknowledge there is a problem. Unemployment is rising along with inflation," he added.

Nasheed was elected president in the country’s first multiparty election in 2008. The voting was the first after three decades of single-party rule.

The Maldives is an Indian Ocean archipelago of 1,200 islets inhabited by around 300,000 people. The country’s economy is tourism-driven.