On August 12, 2005, to mark the first anniversary of the Black Friday, members of the Maldivian Democratic Party and pro-reformists started gathering near Republican Square. Despite heavy police and NSS presence, at around 4:30pm local time Mohamed Nasheed - Chairman of the MDP - along with other several leading members of the party, decided to gather at Republican square. Security was tight around Malé due to the obvious perceptibility of such a demonstration to mark this anniversary. Two days before, on August 10, 2005, NSS announced that they will be conducting a huge training exercise in Malé for four days, starting from August 11, 2005.