The SAARC Secretariat has said it has yet to formally receive the resignation of Secretary General Dhiyana Saeed, both the youngest individual and first woman to be appointed to the position.
The Secretariat is headquartered in Nepal. In the country’s Himalayan newspaper, Secretariat Spokesperson Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat noted Saeed’s resignation was the first untimely resignation by a Secretary General in SAARC’s 26-year history.
“It will be clear only after the office opens on Monday,” Basnyat told the Nepalese newspaper.
Saeed has confirmed her resignation following her appearance on private broadcaster VTV, owned by opposition-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Gasim Ibrahim, during which she accused the government of ignoring the law in its detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.
If the government contended that Abdulla Mohamed had violated the constitution, “he has to be dealt with within the confines of the law,” Saeed insisted. “The government should not take the law into its own hands.”
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News last week that Saeed’s public statements “clearly contravened the SAARC Charter” which “forbids interference in the matters of any state, including the state she represents”.
Resigning before making her public statement against the government would have been the “honourable” approach, Zuhair said. “Now, even should she resign, [her behavior] is still dishonourable and indecent.”
Secretary Generals of the regional body are appointed for three year terms. The Maldives is required to appoint a replacement for Saeed to serve out the rest of her term, which expires on February 28, 2014. The nomination must be endorsed the SAARC Council of Ministers, currently headed by Foreign Minister of the Maldives, Ahmed Naseem.
The ongoing detention of Abdulla Mohamed has caused divisions even among senior members of the government. Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan said over the weekend that he was “ ashamed and totally devastated by the fact that this is happening in a government in which I am the elected the Vice President.”
For its part, the government contends that its detention of the Judge is justifiable under the President’s obligation to protect the letter and spirit of the constitution, given the failure of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to pursue the many allegations of corruption and political favouritism pending against the judge.
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Diana is not capable enough to full fill such a responsible post, she is good for modeling.
Good! It is not a womans place, and furthermore, I condemn Minivannews for displaying such a lascivious picture.
Shame on that woman! What if my imbecile daughter wanted to emulate her?
Dhiyana is a highly qualified lawyer of integrity and moral authority. She will not hesitate to speak up when necessary to do so.
She has a strong conscience of right and wrong. She is a champion for basic human rights and a relentless advocate for the Rule of Law.
Anyone who has observed the rise of her career from the time she was in the Attorney General through her vocal contributions during the debates of the Special Majlis to her active role in the over throw of Maumoon and her recent service to the nation during Nasheed's government will know this.
She has guts. She has a moral back bone of steel. No amount of threats, intimidation, cajoling, or offers of bribery and position can silence this lady.
As a citizen of this country, I am so proud of her!
It shows.She is beautiful, but....he he.
@Dhivehi Hanguraama on Sun, 22nd Jan 2012 6:27 PM
"... furthermore, I condemn Minivannews for displaying such a lascivious picture."
What? Are you having trouble controlling yourself? Where's your faith dude? I'd recommend a visit to a "health spa" for you!
@Ahmed bin Addu bin Suvadheeb
That's not really the point. I suppose any decent man could 'control' himsef even if he saw a woman whose entire body was naked - and yet nakedness is not allowed within a civilized society.
That womans head is stark naked, and I find this innapropriate.
She should be covered up and sent home, because only modest wombs beget modest children.
Too much for you to handle eh Dhiyana.It seems Abbas Adil Riza has also quit from Mira. I think its better than staying there making the institutions a mess with your incompetence.
Very soon Diyana will beat bodufenvalhu ge Mujthaba in resigning.
Isn't there a relative of the Second Lady Mariya Didi to replace Dhiyana?
@ Dhivehi Hanguraaaa....
The best place for you is Nigeria. You can live in stone ages there.
I think she was waiting for an opportunity to resign. She was simply not very qualified for such a post which requires immense knowledge and experience. She is not a natural orator too. It must have been a terrible experience to chair SAARC meetings where she would have been surrounded by very experienced and highly educated people from other SAARC member countries. Dhiyana talks as if she is in school reciting a lesson from memory.
@ Ali
When Dhiyana spoke up, suddenly "she is not qualified blah blah blah" !
When the President appointed her earlier on, wow! "first woman for the post making history and making us all proud blah blah" !
Typical low down meaningless rubbish!
No appointees in Maldives have received the appointment on merit whatsoever. When this is extended to international posts this outcome should not be surprising. We thought this stupid ways of managing things my stupid people can be done overseas... no...
@Ilyas Ahmed
If Dhiyana has the guts, integrity, and moral authority as you claim she has, why have not heard from her as the judiciary of the Maldives hijacked justice in this country? Where was her voice when sexual predators of children, rapists, murderers, and people charged with armed aggression against our citizens were set free by the corrupt judges? And don't give me the rubbish that she cannot speak up because of her position as SAARC Secretary general. She did speak when it pleased her.
If it is indeed the constitution she wants to uphold, then why did we not hear her voice as our judges violated the rights of our citizens?
I don't agree with you Ilyaas, Dhiyana never takes actions that do not forward her ambitions. Methinks this was a clever calculated move to leave her job. Perhaps she intends to run for President?
Dhiyana come and dhiyana go, dhiyana come and katnaijo!!!!!
Dhiyana had never been fit for the role of SAARC's Secretary General which had been held by learned distinguished persons in the past. This Diyana is merely an opportunist who was looking for a rich spouse like Jabir who had married numerous times with so much excess baggage. I think this young lady was a dhon maama when she got married to this Jabir man. She thinks she is highly educated but the moment she opens her mouth one would realize she is so shallow a person. Simply an opportunist from down south who was cunning enough to take an uneducated person for a ride with the little knowledge she had on law. If this Diyana lady so much in for human rights, why can't she fight for the people who have not been paid their wages for over six months!!! Diyana if you can't do anything meaningful, just keep your mouth shut!
@Ahmed
Your incitement of racial hatred is so vivid in your statement above that in pretense ,claiming yourself a distinguished person, is severely damaged. Aluzthaaza Dhiyana Saeed as the Secretary General of SAARC is independent that like any other citizen of Maldives has the right to express her own view and that is exactly what she did. She is not a politician to be held back, and that her integrity and morale authority was well displayed by her unwavering stand.I support her efforts to change the world for the better.
Vile woman! How dare she shows off her aura to modest men, who would then be led astray! How dare she not follow the commands of Allah SWT, and dresses like how a Jew would, showing off her figure and her hair!
This is simply madness! Such women should be imprisoned, or properly disciplined by their fathers or husbands! Lolly Jabir has failed in this world, and I fear him and his Jew wife have also failed in the hereafter, for they sell the Jewish beverage of alcohol, and the Jewish meat pork, to Jewish tourists on this 100% Muslim land!
Shame on everybody who spoke in favour of this Jewish woman!
She is actually well qualifiied as well as fit for the post. She is shocked to witness what has happened after the SAARC summit in the country. All the SAARC contries were badly humiliated by the justers of the some of the people in the country and she is well aware of the indirect effect of the same.Now she is accountable for all the vandalism that followed the SAARC summit. So she cannot face her counterparts and give an answer. So she quits.