Five retired Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers who served during the failed coup attempt of 3 November 1988 have been awarded Victory Day medals at an official ceremony held tonight to mark the 38th anniversary of Maldives Victory Day.
The medals were presented by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Maldives Armed Forces.
The President and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed arrived at Republic Square for the ceremony, where they were welcomed by Minister of Defence and National Service Hassan Rasheed and Chief of Defence Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy. The ceremony formally commenced with the raising of the presidential flag.
The five recipients are among the surviving personnel who were on patrol aboard a reconnaissance vessel when the attempted coup took place on 3 November 1988. They are Sergeant First Class (Retired) Ibrahim Shareef, Staff Sergeant (Retired) Hussain Ali, Sergeant (Retired) Hussain Manik, Corporal (Retired) Abdullah Naseem and Lance Corporal (Retired) Abdullah Mufeed.
The ceremony also featured a military presentation by the Maldives National Defence Force titled “Blood Jihad”, commemorating the events of 3 November 1988.
During the event, President Muizzu officially launched the MNDF’s national song album and delivered an address to the Maldivian people.
The ceremony was attended by Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla, Chief Justice Abdul Ghani Mohamed, Cabinet ministers, senior government officials and other dignitaries.
