Opposition MPs met with Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muiz today to request criminal charges be pressed against MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for bolting the chamber doors and “hijacking parliament” on July 13.
Speaking to press outside the Prosecutor General’s Office, MP Ahmed Mahlouf said that the opposition MPs considered the incident an “act of terrorism” and “a serious criminal offence.”
“In addition, because neither the army nor police took any action against MDP members protesting outside the parliament building, where gatherings are illegal, we also submitted that complaint,” he said.
He added that the MPs requested an investigation into MDP activists locking parliament gates with chains “as a serious issue.”
Speaking to Minivan News today, MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the ruling party, said that the opposition MPs’ decision to take matters up with the PG was “regrettable.”
“There are internal arrangements [within parliament] to deal with such matters,” he explained. “If there was an issue of privileges or ethics, we have a privileges committee and an ethics committee that can investigate [complaints].”
Ibu Solih insisted that there was no criminal element to the disturbances in parliament last week.
Z-DRP MPs Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed, Ali Arif and Ahmed Nihan were joined at the meeting this afternoon by MPs of the minority opposition Jumhooree Party, People’s Alliance and Dhivehi Qaumee Party.
Mahlouf told reporters that “rocks and water bottles” hurled into the building caused harm to both MPs and officers of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
He claimed that PA MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla was hit by a rock while an MNDF officer’s eyes were “seriously hurt” by a projectile.
The DRP MP for Galolhu South noted that neither the MNDF nor police moved to offer protection to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim “an hour and a half after the hijacking.”
“After the sitting finished, for the security forces to stand by and do nothing while the Deputy Speaker and MPs were hijacked in there is a very serious problem,” he said.
Asked if any MP was directly prevented from leaving the chamber that day, Mahlouf said that he “tried to get out [of the chamber] but couldn’t do it.”
“My grandmother was at the ICU at the time and I couldn’t go there,” he said. “We couldn’t even go to the toilet. We have videos of all of this and we have even shared some with the media.”
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I wonder if a Committee to investigate ethical propriety would be able to do so in an unbiased manner when everyone in the Majlis is so biased to begin with.
A foolish lunatic and his way of thinking; I really think no one with sound mind will vote for this lunatic to represent them in the parliament.
Muttalib was terrorized alright! LMAO
Muthalib is a ZOMBIE; he does not know what he is talking. What the heck god to with taxation bills in the parliament.
Sadly, it is true that the act of holding someone inside a locked room against their will does amount to assault, kidnapping and terrorism.
Legally speaking the opposition does have a good case. Not to say that the ruling clan was not provoked.
However, the reaction to the provocation was extreme, infantile and open to litigation. If we wish to consolidate democracy in this country we cannot obstruct justice regardless of the injured party and our support for the assailant.
So, whether you are from MDP or DRP or the Bharatiya Janata Party, every citizen should stand against the unlawful confinement of a person against their will. The protests conducted by the Z faction actually seem mild in comparison.
Gayyoom is still upto his old tricks, intimidation of Majlis Members! Mahuloof is just his pawn.
wtf. reminds me of my majeediyya class. the kids that grew up disrupting my classes are now my mp's.
They obviously cannot and will not work together, time we threw them all out along with their toys and started again.
Can there actually be any sensible person in our society that has confidence in this cage of fools? Put it to the general public and let's see.
I seriously don't understand how MPs are representatives of the people. I know. We voted them in. But is this system really fair? Do we just stay put and accept whatever they do until the next election? Let the same people or some new others fool us again at the next election with their campaigns specifically designed to change our perceptions? Is it right? Isn't it betrayal, for instance, to the DRP voters when the DRP members later join MDP ?
Here we see the grown ups of the country...
I will tell you a better place I had seen..its a more happening place, where pple tok n shout and say whatever they want but leave smiling...any guess??
FISH MARKET. cant make out what they are saying...maumoon ayyankurey or hayyarukurey.... reeko still at his dramas.
This, what ur seeing in above clips is unity. the will to do good for our society..glorious...i hope each of the bastards in that room have kids who wud see these videos and learn how un-educated their parents are. as of now, we know how un-educated and and an a$$ they can be
@system failure: let alone the mp's, the deputy representatives of Maldives to UN Thilmeeza Hussain was a drop out from my class. She failed successive two years in university and hence university chucked her out. Today she is a Maldivian diplomat, coz her dad is a close friend of Annie. Look at this, how powers are used. I'm sure she doesn't qualify for that post as she has never studied anything related to foreign relations from any university, but today she is enjoying a post which could have been filled by any of the more deserving Maldivian. what a shame.