Good Evening Ladies and Gentleman:
Thank you ever so much for coming here tonight. We, of course, are celebrating the 44th year of our independence. You would all know that we do this, at this moment, at a time when this country faces a number of challenges.
Recently we have been able to amend our constitution, have our first multiparty elections, we have also been able to go though a smooth transfer of power. We now govern very differently from what this country has been used to in the past. And therefore, it throws a number of challenges; especially the economic downturn, and the dividends of democracy is not paid. We are stressed in delivering our pledges.
Democracy has to be stable we have to be able find means and ways to be able to consolidate our new found freedoms, to do that, we do need all your help. We are also very thankful for all the assistance the international community has rendered to this country, especially in the past 4 years during the run up to our first multiparty elections. The democratic process has to still go on. We need to strengthen it, we need to build institutions fitting for a democracy. Given all the challenges, the odds, we are still very confident we will come out of this intact.
I don’t think I should go on with the bad news. It is a happy night. We have never had Independence Day marked in this fashion. We have also, I think, after so many long years of marking independence, grown out of very many ultra nationalistic vision and ideas of independence. I don’t think we do have a hang up in colonialism either - I think we have been able to grow out of that as well.
You would all know that this country, on top of this sudden change in form of governance, have a number of other challenges, including, more specifically, to its own existence.
Climate change is a reality, the science is sorted. We really do need to find solution, ways and means of how we maybe able to mitigate as well as adapt to climate change. Again we do understand that this is very small nation. But still we feel this is a very important issue for the entire world. We also feel that we are a frontline nation in this challenge. We have been quoting that if it was important to defend Poland in the 30s and Vietnam in the 60s, it is important to defend Maldives now against climate change. If you cannot save the Maldives today, we feel that you won’t be able to save yourself tomorrow. Anyway it is still bad news.
But I hope that you have a good time, good weekend here in Maldives. The weather have been good, compared to other Julys, we were going to have this evening in a more pleasant environment, on one of the islands. But then we were told it is going to rain, but of course it did not. So we are lumped here. but anyway please have a pleasant evening here.
I hope that all the foreign visitors, guests would be able to seek out members of our new government, the Parliament, the judiciary. I would very much like to introduce and also thank the speaker of the Parliament and Chief Justice, both who are here. I am sure you would be able get into detailed conversations and find the intricacies of how we are dealing with transition.
Thank you very much and have beautiful evening.
