Six arrested over protests in Kudahuvadhoo

Maldives Police Service, on Thursday, revealed that six people have been arrested over the ongoing protests at Dh. Kudahuvadhoo.

A Police Spokesperson told Sun that six people were arrested over the protests last night. The Spokesperson added that the individual arrested on Tuesday morning during clashes amongst protestors and the police has not been released.

Protests at Kudahuvadhoo was sparked the delays in transporting a youth to Male’ City for further medical treatment after suffering a heart attack. Residents of the island have been protesting over the matter since Monday night.

Speaking to Sun regarding the matter – a member of Kudahuvadhoo Council, Abdulla Jameel said that the issue did not come to light neither yesterday nor today. He stressed that there had been no way to transport patients to Male’ City during emergencies since the inauguration of the airport until present.

“There is a huge airport here. It is in operation. Despite Manta Airline flights being scheduled – there is no other means to transport patients during emergencies to Male’ City. The residents have been talking about this since the start. Have complained as well. Approximately six years have passed since this is being talked about. Since the residents have had these concerns,” he had said.

On Tuesday, the protest was halted – after which it resumed on Wednesday.

A resident from Kudahuvadhoo who spoke to Sun said that they halted the protest as Manta Air’s senior management had promised to hold discussions with Kudahuvadhoo residents at the island at 4:00pm on Wednesday evening.

However, the failure to comply with the promise was the reason the protests resumed as per the resident.