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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Maldives
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Group of 1,196 islands in the N Indian Ocean,
about 640 km/400 mi SW of Sri Lanka, only 203
of which are inhabited. government The 1968
constitution provides for a single-chamber
citizens' council (Majilis) of 48 members,
and a president, nominated by the Majilis and
elected by referendum. They all serve a
five-year term. 40 of the Majilis's members
are elected by universal suffrage and eight
are appointed by the president, who appoints
and leads a cabinet which is responsible to
the Majilis. There are no political parties
and women are precluded from holding office.
history The islands, under Muslim control
from the 12th century, came under Portuguese
rule in 1518. A dependency of Ceylon
1645-1948, they were under British protection
1887-1965 as the Maldive Islands, and became
a republic in 1953. The sultan was restored
in 1954 and then, three years after achieving
full independence as Maldives, the islands
returned to republican status in 1968.
Maldives became fully independent as a
sultanate outside the Commonwealth in 1965,
with Ibrahim Nasir as prime minister. Nasir
became president when the sultan was deposed
for the second time, in 1968, and the country
became a republic. It rejoined the
Commonwealth in 1982. Britain had an
air-force staging post on the southern island
of Gan 1956-75, and its closure meant a
substantial loss of income. The president
nevertheless refused a Soviet offer in 1977
to lease the former base, saying that he did
not want it used for military purposes again,
nor leased to a superpower. In 1978 Nasir
announced that he would not stand for
re-election and the Majilis nominated Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom, a member of Nasir's cabinet, as
his successor. Nasir went to Singapore but
was called back to answer charges of misusing
government funds. He denied the charges and
attempts to extradite him failed. Despite
rumours of a plot to overthrow him, Gayoom
was re-elected for a further five years in
1983. Under Gayoom economic growth
accelerated, helped by an expansion in
tourism. Overseas, Gayoom broadly adhered to
his predecessor's policy of nonalignment, but
also began to develop closer links with the
Arab nations of the Middle East, and in 1985
rejoined the Commonwealth and was a founder
member of the SAARC. In Nov 1988, soon after
being re-elected for a third term, Gayoom was
briefly ousted in an attempted coup led by
Abdullah Luthufi, an exiled businessman from
the pro-secessional atoll of Adu, who had
recruited a force of 200 Tamil mercenaries in
Sri Lanka.