We've all been observing stark criticisms of the institutions of our Army and police for a while. As we spend about 6-8 Laari out of every Rufiyaa we get on these, it is definitely bound to be a cause of concern for a lot of us. But then these are very important institutions for a country. So, how can you do away with them? After all they are there to defend our nation and safeguard our public safety. How can we even think of going on as a nation without an army?
How many states in the world are able to maintain their nationhood and sovereignty without an army? Liechtenstein, (a principality – well, is it very different from a sovereign country?) the richest country in Europe with a per capita income of US 54 thousand doesn’t have one. Mauritius, located not very far from us, with a population of 1.2 million people and per capita income of USD 3,700 doesn’t have one either. Iceland, (which incidentally has a population the size of Maldives) the fifth richest country in the world in terms of per capita income also does not have an army. Some other countries that do not have armies are Andorra, Costa Rica, Dominica, Kiribati, Marshall islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Panama, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Solomon islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vatican city.
Now, I’m asking myself this question. Could the Maldives continue to be a nation if we were to do away with the institution we call our army? This is perhaps an issue we should open for a public discussion.
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In her history, Maldives and it's war-mongering dwellers, Maldivians, have had to fight Sea-demons (Rannamaari), the Portuguese, and now Democracy and human rights. The need for a well-dressed army has never been greater in our history. Protect and serve our soil and our children, O faithful soldiers borne from salty-moist Maldivian wombs.
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