Shaviyani Milandhoo MP alleges Dr Waheed carried PPM’s agenda to islands

MP for Shaviyani atoll Milandhoo constituency, Ali Riza, has alleged that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s recent trip to eight islands of Shaviyani Atoll was a trip not to meet the people but merely carried the “agenda” of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s party Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) for the next presidential elections.

“Waheed, knowingly or unknowingly, is carrying out PPM’s mandate for the next presidential elections,” alleged Riza.

Riza stated that around 200 to 300 hundred police had been deployed in the islands during Waheed’s tour.

“For instance, Feevah in Shaviyani Atoll has a population of around 960 people and were 200 police officers deployed there. Some of them came with Waheed while others had been already sent prior to the visit,” Riza said.

Riza said that police had blocked the protesters while the president was on the islands, claiming they had “caged the protesters” during Waheed’s visit.

Riza also claimed that police had entered one of the houses in Feevah without a court warrant where the protesters had been protesting, and tried to “tape” a protester.

He also said that one of the protesters was hand cuffed when the protests began to heat up, however Dr Waheed’s Press Secretary Massood Imad denied the allegation.

MP Riza questioned why the president during his visit to the atoll did not visit the island of Milandhoo, which is the island with the highest population in the atoll and a stronghold support base of former president Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

“Waheed roamed throughout the atoll but why didn’t he visit Milandhoo, the largest populated island?” questioned Riza.

“It is clear that because he did not visited Milandhoo that this was a political trip to see how much support he has. I think this trip is to get better pictures of him. The pictures that went out to the media during his visit to Addu were not very pleasant so this might be an attempt to show off his popularity,” suggested Riza.

Riza also alleged that Waheed was not actually running the government, and was acting “like a puppet” of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.

“Waheed is just the face of this government. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is running the government the way he wishes,” Riza alleged.

Riza also denied Waheed’s claims that former president Nasheed had done little to fulfil his presidential pledges in the atoll.

“Nasheed during his tenure provided the island of Funadhoo with a 250 KW generator to resolve the electricity failures that the island was facing. The renovation of Funadhoo harbour was started during his term. The sewerage system had been completed.”

“Harbour developments in Noomaraa, Narudhoo and Komandoo have been initiated and some of them were handed over to Works Corporation while the others have been contracted,” Riza said

However, Press Secretary Imad brushed off the allegations saying that President Waheed’s visit was solely to observe the development projects going on in the islands.

Imad admitted there were protesters but said the government welcomed their protests.

“There were protesters, and we do welcome peaceful protests. There was no issue about it,” he said.

“I think they were the same people going to all the islands to protests. I saw the similar faces in different islands,” he claimed.

Imad also gave the justification for not visiting the island of Milandhoo, stating that the government had time constraints. “We were on a very busy and tight schedule. We couldn’t visit Milandhoo because of that and not for a political reason.”

However, Imad reiterated that president Waheed would visit Milandhoo “very soo”n.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President Waheed concludes trip to eight islands of Shavyani Atoll

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has concluded a trip to visit the islands of Shavyani Atoll today. Waheed visited eight islands of the atoll, including Feevah, Foakaidoo, Funadhoo, Narudhoo, Maroshi, Lhaimagu, Maa’ungoodhoo and the island of Kommandoo.

Minivan News understands that groups of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protesters met Dr Waheed at all islands apart Foakaidhoo.

During his visits to the islands, the new president checked on the ongoing development projects in the islands and met with the people. President Waheed began his tour from the island Feevah, last Thursday.

During his visit to Feevah, Waheed reaffirmed to the islanders his commitment to take all necessary measures “to protect and safeguard the people”.

Speaking to the people of Foakaidoo, Waheed said that he would work to restore calm and peace in the country. Waheed also said that he assumed office to bring the much needed political stability and progress to the country.

He also announced that his government would establish a new ministry addressing issues related to women, children and human rights, and acknowledged that a number of women were unpaid for their work in cleaning or the general upkeep of their islands. He promised his government would pay all the wages owed to such women.

Waheed in during his visit to the island of Funadhoo inaugurated the Funadhoo Powerhouse Development Project by laying the foundation for the extension of the powerhouse.

On Narudhoo, he urged school principals, supervisors and teachers to refrain from politicising the education system, and appealed to them stay away from getting caught up in politics.

In his address to the people of Maroshi, Waheed called on the people of the Maldives,to have faith and respect for the state institutions, in order for the country to maintain its nationhood.

He also claimed that there was “a small minority” who did not accept the judiciary, the armed forces, the police, or the leaders of the country, and that they were “only trying to create division and disorder among the people.”

Waheed in his meetings with the islanders on Lhaimagu, assured that his administration would treat all citizens equally, as opposed to the policy of the previous government.

He said that his government includes all major political parties and that this government was a national unity government. He also expressed regret that former president Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chose not to be part of the unity government which had the backing of majority of the people. Instead of joining the government, he said, former President Nasheed was trying to “come back to power through force”

While addressing the people of Kommandoo, Waheed said that he would “remain steadfast in fulfilling the responsibilities under the Constitution and under the mandate given by people’s votes”.

President Waheed concluded his trip after visiting the island of Maaun’goodhoo. Speaking to the people of Maaun’goodhoo, he said that today we are all under the shade of our dignified red, green and white flag, putting forth a front of unity for the future of our country, regardless of the political parties we belong to.

During this visits, supporters of former president Mohamed Nasheed had protested against Waheed and claimed that his government came to power and called for an early elections. However, speaking to Minivan News, Press Secretary of the President’s Office, Masood Imad said that there were “very few” protesters, who were “not an issue” for President Waheed.

President Mohamed Waheen Hassan arrives on Komandoo:

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President Waheed appoints seven state ministers, including Gayoom’s son

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has appointed seven state ministers for various ministries in a ceremony held in the President’s office yesterday.

The newly appointed state ministers were Imad Solih as the Minister of State for Education, Fuad Gasim as the Minister of State for Fisheries and Agriculture, Ahmed Shameem and Mariyam Mizna Shareef as Ministers of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Abdulla Ameen as the Minister of State for Economic Development, Gassan Maumoon as the Minister of State for Human Resources, Youth and Sports and Sheikh Mohamed Didi as the Minister of State for Islamic Affairs.

Gassan Maumoon, appointed Minister of State for Human Resources, Youth and Sport, is the son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Gassan also contested in the last parliamentary elections under a DRP ticket against the recently unseated MDP MP Musthafa. Gassan lost the election twice, after the Elections Commission held the election for a second time after the first election was declared invalid.

The Criminal Court in October 2011 ruled that the arrest of Gassan was unlawful, after he was summoned for questioning in connection with an injury sustained by an MDP protester outside his residence Endherimaage.

During the incident, a 17-year-old boy was struck on the head with a wooden plank allegedly thrown from Endherimaage, while protesters led by MDP MPs, councillors and senior members were marching by the former President’s residence. Police submitted documents containing early evidence for the judge’s considering, including a medical report of the injuries sustained by the 17-year-old, photos, witness statements and “evidence we collected from the scene.”

Gassan’s legal team, including current Attorney General Azima Shukoor, argued that witness statements were invalid as they would have come from “people participating in an unlawful assembly.”

Police argued at the time that if Gassan’s arrest was unlawful, “everyone police have ever arrested and brought before the court [for extension of detention] have been arrested in violation of the constitution”, and suggested that Gassan’s legal team was “concerned that we might present evidence” and that the legal argument bore “no weight.”

Imad Solih, appointed as the state minister of education, is currently the deputy leader of Dr Hassan Saeed’s Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and was a former presidential appointee to the People’s Special Majlis during the time when the constitution was drafted.

Gasim, appointed as the state minister for fisheries and agriculture, is the current secretary general and a council member of business tycoon and politician Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP).

Shameem, the newly appointed State Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, is a senior member and a council member of Dr Munavvar’s political party, the Maldives Reform Movement. Shameem is also the brother of the Human Rights Commission member Dr Ali Shameem.

Ameen, appointed as the Minister of State for Economic Development, is the current Secretary General of Dr Hassan Saeed’s DQP.

Mariyam Mizna Shareef, who was made state minister for tourism, arts and culture, is the daughter of DRP deputy leader Ahmed Shareef.

Sheikh Mohamed Didi, appointed as the State Minister for Islamic Affairs, is the President of the Civil Alliance, an umbrella coalition of NGOs behind the December 23 movement in defence of Islam. Didi also played a pivotal role in organising the 23 December Islamic rally and has been working with the opposition during the tenure of President Nasheed.

President Waheed, speaking to the newly appointed state ministers, expressed confidence in the new appointees and that he had no doubt in that they would serve the nation with best of their capacities.

MDP Spokesperson Imthiyas Fahumy said: ” Gassan is not at all experienced in working in such a position. What is happening right now is exactly what happened during Gayoom’s regime.”

“We are day-by-day seeing that Waheed does not have full power over this government. Someone else from Maumoon’s end is controlling this. Those who were involved in this coup are getting the positions,” Fahumy said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police will become “feared by the most dreaded criminals”: Commissioner Riyaz

Commissioner of Police Abdullah Riyaz has outlined the Maldives Police Service (MPS)’s new operational priorities for 2012, and introduced newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed.

At a press conference yesterday, Riyaz said the new priorities of the police included prevention of drug trafficking, prevention of organised and violent crimes, road safety monitoring and counter-terrorism.

Riyaz said he would try to make the police into an institution “feared by the most dreaded criminals”.

“We will try our best to identify the criminals and ensure they are being tried for their charges with proper evidence,” he said.

Riyaz also said that political parties were accusing the police of “baseless accusations” and advised them to refrain from doing so.

“We would welcome peaceful protests. We will cooperate as well but when protesters resort to violence, damaging private and public property, the police will have to disperse the crowds. We are here to maintain the peace and order of the country,” he said.

“The police are the authorities that have to control demonstrations and questions are always asked about the way protests and demonstrations are controlled, especially by those on the receiving end,” he said.

He called upon parliament to make a law on protesting so that it would be a lot easier for the police to perform their duties under such a law.

Riyaz also highlighted the importance of passing of laws that were vital for the police work: “We ask parliament to pass the bills concerning the duties of the police such as an Evidence Act, Criminal Procedure Act and the Penal Code,” he said. Those bills have stalled at committee stage, in some cases for over a year.

Riyaz said that police were given the full operational independence and insisted that “none of the political figures or the government are trying to influence the police institution.”

He also said that he was trying to assign police officers to the islands after the February 8 arson attacks on police buildings, following a violent police crackdown on demonstrators in Male’.

Riyaz also said it was better if the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) and Police Intergrity Commission (PIC) investigated the events that unfolded on February 8.

Riyaz brushed off all the allegations that some police had come out to control the protests after consuming alchohol as “baseless nonsense”, and said that police were being linked to alcohol because they had been investigating a lot of alcohol cases.

Riyaz was Assistant Commissioner under Nasheed’s government prior to his dismissal in 2010. Asked about the legality of the appointment of a civilian to the post of Commissioner of Police – position usually given to ranked officers – Riyaz said that he had been appointed according to the rules under the police act.

“I was discharged from my duties while I was an assistant commissioner. After the change of government, I was asked to join the police force as they said the government required my services and had requested me to join,” he said Riyaz.

“I was reinstated to the same position I was before, and I was appointed to the Commissioner of Police afterwards,” continued Riyaz.

He praised newly appointed deputy police commissioner Waheed, stating that the Waheed was a “very experienced serviceman” and had done police training abroad. Riyaz assured that he would get full support from Waheed and that under their leadership, the police would “win the people’s trust.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Waheed, said that he will give full support to the commissioner and assured that he would remain committed and loyal.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Political party regulation is too vague: EC President

President of the Elections Commission (EC), Fuad Thaufeeq has said regulation under which political parties operate in the Maldives is too vague, when it comes to their requirements of party activity and membership.

Thaufeeq told Minivan News that the commission has drafted and submitted a bill dictating the operation of political parties in the Maldives.

Thaufeeq highlighted loopholes in the existing regulation on political parties, originally introduced by presidential decree by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in 2005.

The largest party in the Maldives is the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of former President Mohamed Nasheed, following an acrimonious split of the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) in late 2010 and the formation of an offshoot party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), by Gayoom the following year.

DRP remains the second largest party in the country, and has competed for members with the PPM. The remaining parties in the Maldives are relatively small, have little representation in parliament, and relatively small based around usually one particular political figure. An exception is the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party, which has no MPs and few island councillors, but has a strong voice through the Islamic scholars who make up its membership.

Parties require 3000 members to be created, but this number does not need to be maintained: “There is no stipulation in the regulation highlighting the requirement of 3000 members,” said Thaufeeq.

“The regulations are very vague, because you require 3000 members to form a political party but after formation what happens with smaller parties is that the membership drops tremendously,” he explained. “There are parties which have less than a thousand members, and some with less those than 2000.”

The regulation did not explicitly mention that parties needed to maintain this membership in order to continue to receive political party funding from the EC, Thaufeeq explained.

In an audit report on the elections commission, the Auditor General recently advised the commission not to grant funds to inactive political parties. However, “As a principle, we usually give funds to any parties which are active and follow our requirements, such as producing an annual audit report of the party every year.”

“Whenever we hold the funds, the parties take the issue to the court. When the court orders us to pay the money, we don’t have any option but to release the funds,” Thaufeeq explained.

Asked on what basis the court is making the decision, he said “The court in its order states that the elections commission does not have the authority to withhold the funds of political parties.

“But I believe the commission has the authority to hold funds when we are not certain of how the funds are being used. This is the money from the people that we are giving out to the parties, and it shouldn’t be misappropriated,” Thaufeeq said.

According to Thaufeeq, funds for six politicial parties in the 2012 budget were withheld initially, but were released after proper monitoring. Thaufeeq said funds for the remaining two political parties cannot be released because the parties had not adhered to the commission’s requirements.

The Maldives National Congress (MNC), a political party with a current membership of 1536, has sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid regarding the matter, asking parliament to look into it.

However, Thaufeeq said that he and the commission had high hopes for the proposed political parties’ bill which was drafted by the Attorney General’s office and the commission.

“I believe the political parties’ bill currently in parliament will be the solution. We have included a stipulation in the bill requiring the maintaining of party membership at 3000, but the figure might change,” He said.

“We were hoping the bill would pass by the end of last year but there came in other bills of higher priority. Many MPs have assured us that when the parliament starts this year, the bill will be given high priority,” he said.

The ousted MDP currently has the largest membership of all political parties with a membership of 47,614 members. The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) is the second largest political party in terms of membership with 29,143 members, followed by the newly formed Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) which has 14,271 members. President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s party has approximately

Current political party membership:

Party membership as of February 27:

MDP 47,614 (Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s party)
DRP 29,143 (Gayoom’s former party, now headed by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. Speaker Abdulla Shahid is also a member)
AP 6070 (Adhaalath Party, headed by Sheikh Imran. Spokesperson is Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed)
IDP 3597 (Umar Naseer’s former party, prior to his move to the DRP and later PPM)
MSDP 1976
SLP 683
PP 1803
MNC 1536
JP 5177 (Party of Gasim Ibrahim, resort tycoon, VTV television station owner and member of the Judicial Services Commission).
PA 2608 (Party of Gayoom’s haf brother, Abdulla Yameen, and Deputy Speaker Mohamed Nazim)
GI 2625 (President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s party)
MLP 938
DQP 2299 (President’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed’s party, also the party of Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel)
MRM 2606
PPM 14271 (Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s party, split from the DRP. Vice President of the party is Umar Naseer)

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Criminal Court extends detention of 61 arrested protesters

The criminal court has extended the detention period of 61 protesters arrested on Thursday, in opposition to President Mohamed Waheed Hassan giving the presidential address to open the first session of parliament.

Police had arrested 67 protesters on the day, but released six of them later. Minivan News understands that those detained include former President Mohamed Nasheed’s brother, Nazim Sattar.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) called on police to immediately release of the detainees last night. MDP in a press statement stated: “The families of the detained are extremely concerned and some of the families have suffered psychologically following the arrests of the detainees.”

MDP also called on the courts to make their judgements freely and impartially to ensure the people’s trust in the judiciary was not tarnished any further.

“The detention extension issued by the courts regarding the protesters who had been arrested was against legal principles,” said member of MDP’s legal team and Chairman of the MDP Legal Affairs Committee, Ahmed Abdullah Afeef, in a press conference held by MDP on Friday night.

Afeef also stated that the detention extension had been carried out “unfairly”, and alleged that the whole process had been “pre-planned” before the protesters were even taken into the court.

“Police had no evidence to prove to the court that there was a legitimate reason to extended the detention periods. The actions of the criminal court imply more of a personal vendetta rather than an impartial decision,” said Afeef.

Afeef observed that during protests that took place during December 2011 under Nasheed’s government, police had sought the detention of several protesters, providing photo and video evidence proving attacks on police, but the criminal court had rejected it and released those detained.

Afeef said that the party would appeal the decisions of the Criminal Court and said the case would be filed in High Court today. Afeef also added that High Court has said that they will hold a hearing today.

Speaking to Minivan News today at the High Court building, Afeef said: “What we are trying to say is that there maybe people amongst the protesters who should be arrested, but it has to be done based on evidence.”

“As a principle, the judge would not know what happened at the protests. Decisions from a judge should come based on evidence. Here in this case, the police could not provide any evidence, but yet still the judge issued the detention extensions,” he said.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News today that 61 people arrested during the protests are in police custody, “all of them had arrested attempting to break through police lines, or attacking police officers. We have evidence and the investigation process is going on currently. We will submit that evidence to the authorities as well,” Shiyam said.

Fourteen police officers were injured on Thursday in skirmishes with demonstrators, some of whom threw rocks at officers. Four were seriously injured, and one officer was flown to Sri Lanka for further treatment.

Minivan News also observed police in riot gear cracking down protesters near the Reefside Shop in Chaandhanee Magu, without advance notice. Three protesters were taken into custody at the scene.

Questioned about the incident, Shiyam said that the people who are currently arrested were those who had “attacked the police officers”, that the others had been released.

The High Court was yet to announce the appeal hearings at the time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“Dark day in constitutional and parliamentary history”: Dr Jameel

The government has responded to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs’ preventing President Mohamed Waheed Hassan from giving the annual presidential address on March 1, in a press conference on Thursday.

Special Advisor to the President Dr Hassan Saeed, Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel and Attorney General Azima Shukoor, criticised the acts of the MPs, labeling them “uncivilised” and “unethical”.

“President Waheed went to the Majlis at 10:00am and had waited until 6:30pm to execute his constitutional duty,” said Dr Saeed. “He faced enormous challenges and obstruction [from MDP MPs] during this time but tried his best to resolve the situation peacefully until the last minute.”

Dr Saeed said that although he could not deliver his speech in the parliament, he had shared a written copy of his speech with the speaker and members of parliament would have received a copy of it by now.

“After requests from MDP MPs, the President met with them and they did make some proposals. The President, as the head of the state, even acknowledged those proposals but it all went astray at the end of the day,” Dr Saeed said.

“One proposal the MPs made was that instead of political parties negotiating on early elections, they wanted parliament to decide on the matter,” he added.

“The events that happened [in the Majlis] were uncivilised and unethical given the developed era we live in today.”

Home Minister Dr Jameel described Thursday as a “dark day in constitutional and parliamentary history” of the Maldives and acknowledged the patience and determination of the security forces in handling the situation.

“Security forces [police and MNDF] handled the situation with great patience and determination. Many officers sustained various degrees of injuries while controlling the protesters,” Dr Jameel said.

“14 officers sustained injuries, four of which were serious. One officer is still in a critical condition and is being prepared to be flown to Sri Lanka for additional care,” he continued.

He emphasised that the government would take action within the boundaries of the law against everybody who had obstructed the duties of the police, including those currently in police custody.

Dr Jameel noted that after investigation of those arrested, police had found that some of the suspects had tested positive for drugs after urine tests.

“We are now getting evidence that there are unlawful activities going on in the demonstrations held by the MDP,” he claimed.

Attorney General Azima Shukoor stated that she did not believe Dr Waheed had failed in executing his constitutional duties since as per the article 84 of the constitution, the first session of the parliament had not convened.

“According to the article 84 of the constitution, as long as the first session of the parliament has not convened, I do not believe that the president has failed in executing his constitutional duty,” she said.

Article 84 states: “At the beginning of the first session of each year at the first sitting, the President shall address the People’s Majlis [Parliament] on the state of the country, and may present proposals for improving the state of the country to the People’s Majlis.”

Shukoor offered assurances that President Waheed would remain determined to execute his constitutional duties and that he remained willing go to parliament and deliver the presidential address if the speaker and the parliament invited him to do so.

Asked how the government could proceed in passing bills and approving the appointment of ministers, if MDP MPs continued to challenge the government’s legitimacy and obstruct government proposals, Dr Saeed responded that “No one should try to take advantage of the President’s approach of negotiating for a peaceful solution, and no one will succeed. The President will do whatever he can in his capacity to deliver peace and order in the country.

“Those who obstructed the President from delivering the speech were not the majority of the parliament. There were 44 other MPs whose rights were deprived by them,” continued Dr Saeed.

“Whether [the MDP] believe it or not, this government is legitimate. It came to power constitutionally.

“Even if there are questions of legitimacy, this is not the way things have to be done. The international community, including the Commonwealth, have recognised the Commission that the government formed to investigate questions regarding that arose regarding recent events,” continued Saeed.

Dr Jameel said: “The actual answer to the question [you] asked is, we are seeing the behavioral differences between two political groups of the country. That is, since the beginning if anything that goes the way the MDP does not want, they always blame the institutions and the heads of those institutions.

“For instance, look at the example when the court issues a verdict in the case of MP Ismail Abdul Hameed or MP Musthafa, [two MPs who lost the seats recently]. [They claimed] the courts were at fault and they did not recognise the courts. MP Reeko Moosa Manik created his own court and issued verdicts. Where in the world does that happen? I am surprised because journalists don’t notice that,” Jameel said.

Jameel went on to state that “They [former government] arrested people the way they want and did not get their custodial period extended, for example the way they arrested me, I think they made a world record by summoning a politician six times in one week to the police station and keeping me very brutally in isolation at Dhoonidhoo island on three occasions just because of an opinion I expressed.”

Jameel continued “Minivan news is a newpaper which advocates freedom of expression as I heard, but even in Minivan News I highlight with regret that I don’t think they had reported this case, also I heard there was a group who advocated for detainees rights but they chose to remain silent when we were arrested, also they went to the court and said that we got orders from above to arrest Jameel. This is what the court said. Because it failed the courts were at fault [for MDP]”

Jameel also said that the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Attorney General’s office had all been portrayed as at fault because they had issued statements that were against what MDP had wanted.

The police and the Maldives National Defence force had been painted as at fault by the MDP, Dr Jameel claimed, “because they had only asked then government not to issue unlawful orders. So [the MDP portrayed] them as the worst people that ever created. These are examples that can be seen.”

Jameel reiterated that when DRP was in opposition they had “never had hijacked the parliament when the President arrived to deliver the speech.”

Minivan News asked whether the government would continue to seek to negotiate a political solution for the situation, to which Dr Saeed responded: “This government is not a government that will declare war against parliament. If a bill or a policy that the government proposes is rejected by the parliament, we will not arrest MPs for charges of acting against the state. We will not keep MPs on Aarah for 10 days.”

“I assure that even if the most important policy of President Waheed does not pass, he will not take any action against the parliament. Cabinet Ministers won’t resign. He won’t protest in front of the parliament building. We assure you that from President Waheed.”

Dr Saeed also said that the policies Dr Waheed would propose would not be his own policies, or those of the coalition he represents, but would rather be in the best interest of the people. He also stated that Waheed’s policies would “not contradict the oath of the MPs as well.”

Shukoor responding, stating that “In the question of legitimacy, the opposition during Nasheed’s presidency questioned his legitimacy as well. But during that term, the legitimacy was not a problem because the constitution states that for any reason if the president resigns, the vice president would take his place. That’s what is in the constitution.”

“We are speaking of an early election not because we have a legal issue here, nor there is a question of legitimacy of the current government, but to find a political solution. We are calling to amend the constitution for an early election because there are no stipulations that allow an early election to be called.”

“It is very clear. The vice president can remain till the end of the term [after assuming presidency]. It is stated in the constitution so there are no issues of legitimacy here,” she claimed.

“The current president who is in power is the person people voted for in case the serving president was unable to continue his term in any circumstance, so even looking at the political purpose here, there is no question of legitimacy here.”

“When you say a sizable amount of MPs are questioning the president’s legitimacy, I believe the national flag was torn off [in the parliament chamber] not because there was a question of legitimacy of the president, thiswas is very clear. That the speaker was unable to get into the parliament chamber was not an issue concerning the legitimacy of the president.”

Shukoor said that even if the legitimacy question was there, no one should dishonor the national flag as the national flag was legitimate.

During the scuffles in parliament, Minivan News observed from the press gallery that the national flag was knocked over while MDP MPs sought to remove the Speaker’s chair, but was quickly returned to its original position.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“Some dis-satisfactions” expressed over India’s participation in All Party talks: Mujuthaba

Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Ranjan Mathai has visited the Maldives for the second time in just a few weeks since ousting of former President Mohamed Nasheed, to observe the progress of the cross-party peace talks.

Mathai was a key proponent of  a ‘roadmap’ document proposing early presidential elections, with necessary amendments to the constitution and  laws to be completed within a month’s time. Minivan News understands that Mathai participated in last night’s round of talks.

The Indian High Commission has released a press statement stating that Mathai had “extensive consultations” with all parties individually.

“The objective of [Mathai’s] visit was to take forward the political process and continue India’s engagement with all parties concerned,” the statement read.

“In this connection, the foreign secretary had extensive consultations with all parties individually and collectively. All parties expressed the view that India had played a very useful role in taking the process forward as a facilitator and friend of the Maldivian people,” it said.

The statement also stated that there had been a “broad measure of agreement” during the talks between the parties, which had “identified key important principles”.

Those principles included continuing dialogue to find a possible agreement on the amendment of the constitution and enactment of legislation for institutional reform.

All the parties had recognised the need to undertake the necessary amendments and legislation within a short time period in parliament, and highlighted the importance of parties continuing consultations for a possible agreement for early elections within and out of the All Party Consultative Committee (APCC)

Local media had reported that the meeting was “heated” due to the participation of Mathai, with representatives of some parties expressing their “dismay” at the Indian government “interfering in the domestic affairs of the country and trying to rush towards an early election.”

Facilitator of the talks, Ahmed Mujuthaba, told Minivan News that he was too busy to speak about how the meetings went last night.

However, local newspaper Haveeru reported that Mujuthaba had admitted that there were some “dis-satisfactions” during the talks regarding Mathai’s intervention, but said the talks had gone well.

The roadmap document promoted by India was “not something proposed formally”, he told Haveeru, and that “the agenda of the talks has been decided by the participants of the talks.”

Former President Nasheed said this morning, amid ongoing protests calling for  early elections, that the parties in support of the current government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan had now showed hesitation towards early elections “despite agreeing on it earlier.”

MDP Parliamentary group leader and the party’s representative at the talks, MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, had not responded at time of press.

However Haveeru reported that the MDP was waiting for the outcome of the roadmap talks before deciding what stand the party would take on protests tomorrow.

President Waheed, who assumed power after the events unfolded on February 7, has called all political parties to join his ‘National Unity’ government and come to the negotiation table to discuss a peaceful political solution to the current political turbulence. MDP has refused to recognise the Waheed government’s legitimacy, and has been calling for early presidential elections.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former President Nasheed’s authorisation was not required to open the armory, says MNDF

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has released a statement dismissing the claims of former President Mohamed Nasheed that they could not access the armory because he did not grant them the permission to do so, during the events of February 7.

Former President Nasheed, in a rally held on the island of Dhidhdhoo in Haa Alif Atoll, claimed that a lot of senior MNDF officials repeatedly asked his permission to access of the armory but he had denied all such requests because he did not want to resort to bloodshed and violence, and had no desire to shoot his own people.

Nasheed during the rally questioned the armed forces: “Twelve days ago, people were not shot [by the military] because I did not let them open the armory. I wonder on what basis are the [MNDF] coming out with live arms now?”

MNDF officers were deployed with firearms to protect President Dr Mohamed Waheed during his recent visit to Addu City.

Nasheed continued, saying “Listen when I say this. Don’t come out with live arms in front of the people. What you are trying to do is something that could ruin generations to come.”

The MNDF said in its statement that they had decided that the situation of February 7 did not require the use of the armory, and that they had not seen the necessity to resort to the use of weapons to crack down on the anti-government protesters.

The MNDF statement also said that regulations regarding access to the armory did not require the approval or authorisation from the Commander in Chief (President) or the Chief of Defence.

The statement read: “In the situation that took place on 7 February 2012, MNDF decided that there wasn’t a circumstance where the requirement of live arms was a necessity.”

“As per the regulation of access to the armory, there is no requirement to obtain an authorisation from either the Commander in Chief of the armed forces or the Chief of Defence force when the need to access the armory arises. Also, there aren’t any stipulations in the regulation which requires informing the President every time the armory is accessed or opened.”

“Despite the full knowledge of these regulations, the remark made by former President Mohamed Nasheed regarding access to armory is a false and untrue statement,” the MNDF said.

The Maldives Defence Force Act (Act no.1/2008) states in Article 9, clause (d) that Commander in Chief has the power to exercise any legal power or authority vested in the Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence or any other Senior Defence Force official.

Speaking to Minivan News, former Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu said “According to the Maldives Defence Force Act, the President, as Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces, has the authority by law to exercise any power vested to any senior official of the Defence Force or the Minister.”

“Especially when peace and order of the society is in question, the president has the authority by law to authorise or reject any such request access to armory. I think the officers had not understood this when they released such a statement,” Tholhath said.

The MNDF’s spokesperson had not responded at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)