Month: December 2011

Rf900,000 stolen from Damas Company

Police are investigating the theft of two safes holding over Rf 900,000 (US$58,365) from Damas Company’s head office, located on the fifth floor of the company’s building.

General Manager of Damas Ahmed Shakeeb said on Sunday that the two safes were noticed missing when the office was opened on Saturday.

He claimed the “theft was well planned” as the safes were stolen from the office without any damage to the office or locks.

“Thieves must have used the keys to open the doors. They had only entered the room where the safes were locked in,” Shakeeb said.

However he noted that it is too soon to say whether any employee was involved, adding that the theft has now been reported to the police.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that police are investigating the theft.

No arrests have yet been made.

Meanwhile police are also investigating the theft of Rf 400,000 (US$26,000) from a safe in the office of the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) earlier this month.

According to police, a group of people entered the MTCC office in the Hulhumale Ferry terminal in Male’ by forcing open the door and cutting a hole through the ceiling to the first floor where the safe was located.

The thieves then forced open the safe and took the money.

Police observed the thieves “most probably” had information as to where the safe was located and that there was a significant sum of money inside.

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Comment: Open Letter to the President

Open letter for his Excellency Mohamed Nasheed, The President of The Republic of Maldives.

Excellency, Honourable Mr. President: May I start this open letter by wishing you and your family to be blessed by God alike your Government and all Honourable Maldivians, people that I have in great esteem and very close to my heart.

The first time I was in your lovely country was long ago and naturally like most, I have
repeatedly come back. I did it as a tourist and as well as a business man with interests as I am (or… was until GMR destroyed my business) a small business man with economical activities in your country. At a certain moment I even created projects like the Sea University, that should develop studies and produce medicines using the elements exiting in the sea, as the sea is one of the greatest Maldivian assets. IT is not to be forgotten Excellency, that the day tourists will be gone, the sea will still be there.

The duty free island, a place where tourists could by all sorts of goods duty free, different from the airport, was another project that never saw the light but was design by me with all the love I have for Maldives.

The first time I landed in the Maldives, I was coming from Sri Lanka, and the contrast was so high that I really felt I was on paradise. The country was clean, peaceful, the water blue, the people nice. It was sunny and very organised. I was thrilled.

True that at that time, freedom of expression did not exist, and talking too much or too loud could mean something terrible. I understand that today under your presidency, the situation changed and Maldives is now part of a big international club where freedom and respect for life is a core subject. Being myself an European, I admire you Sir and I admire your government as the path to development and growth always goes via the respect and creativity of people, that naturally cannot exist without freedom.

Sir, I am not an important person. I’m a humble European, that dedicates his life to coach Presidents of corporations in management, as well other institutions like the Catalan High management of the police or the High management of the European Patent or Brand office. I am not a guru, certainly do not pretend to be, but I’m proud of being a humble person, hard worker and a thorough professional that enjoys working in life. I am not into politics and would never pretend to talk about something I don’t know.

I am writing you this open letter Excellency, because I really love your country and feel sad when I see that people taking advantage of it.

A country, Your Excellency, needs above all her people and needs to invest in developing her citizens. If there is not a critical mass of national brain power being the driving force of the economy and culture, the country will fall very easily into the hands of abusers, the same ones that in the international scene move the economy with the only goal of making money without values or respect for the people regardless where their operations take place. For them, the geography is not important. Once the cows are milked, they are ready to move to another pasture with no guilty feelings of what is left behind.

You and your government are making huge efforts to develop the economy and growth. That is perceived from the outside. You work hard under a climate of respect and social peace, thus increasing the well being of Maldivian citizens, and sometimes that takes time to be seen. Results don’t come quick, we know. In this sense it is clear that Maldives needed a bigger up-to-date airport, a modern gate to the country and to get it you had to do work with international corporations with expertise in the field. It is therefore normal that in return those corporations request to have for them the business cake represented by the flow of currency expressed in millions coming from the tourists, a cake that is very attractive. So far, so good, but what about Maldivians?

At this point I apologise as I don’t want to step into the internal affairs of your country, but Excellency I live in a country that has 17 autonomous regions, with 17 governments and with 17 Presidents with their cabinets and a central government, so I think I know something about nationalism and protecting the citizens when it comes to putting the economy into international hands. These days the world is as as small as a handkerchief, so international cooperation is inevitable, but what about the protection
and development of the local business people? Shouldn’t the airport structure consider this? Shouldn’t Maldivian citizens’ business be allowed to profit from their country’s development? Shouldn’t the airport have a place for all, Dhivehi people and international business people? Airports for a country like Maldives are a strategic subject.

Once more I apologise as I am no one to give lessons on the subject but being involved with the Maldives for so long, my love for the country cannot keep me silent. A country is made by it’s people and its people make the country. If that is not to be considered why should people vote for any government? The airport could and can have a place for everybody. The airport belongs to the Maldives, is it so difficult for international corporations to understand it?

With my greatest respect and admiration for you and your government, that is getting more and more respect in the international scene, I remain yours faithfully.

God bless the Dhivehi people.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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MDP to hold rally at Haruge as government considers demands

Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has cancelled its protest, announced during last night’s MDP rally, because no opposition parties have announced plans to hold similar demonstrations.

MDP will instead hold a rally at 8:30 at Haruge this evening.

The MDP protest was announced as party members rallied last night in response to the demands made by leaders of the protest to “Defend Islam”, held yesterday by a coalition of opposition parties and religious NGOs at the Tsunami Monument area.

Demands of the government included removing SAARC monuments in Addu, four of which have been vandalised or stolen; condemning UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay for her comments about flogging as a penal response to extra-marital sex; denying Israeli airlines permission to operate flights to the Maldives; closing down Male’ brothels and reversing the decision to declare of inhabited islands uninhabited in order to permit alcohol sales.

As the night drew to a close, MDP party members issued statements claiming that they would march against the “Defend Islam” protest if it did not end by midnight.

The statement was respected, and aside from one protestor who was hassled as he passed MDP headquarters at Haruge on his way home, no confrontations occurred.

President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair has said that although the government is unclear on which legal grounds and by which exact group the demands were made, the large public demonstration in support for these demands has prompted to government to give them due consideration, reports Haveeru.

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The burden of ‘budhu’-a new age for Dhivehi

“Does language follow a democratic movement, or does a movement follow the language?” queried a source educated in rhetoric and journalism.

Many changes have come to the Maldives in the last twenty years, but some wonder whether Dhivehi is opening the door for political maneuvering.

“In the past, everything in the king’s palace had a word,” said Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid. Listing wooden nails and coil ropes named for their specific purposes, he explains “it was a king-centered, palace-centered community. The people lived for King. But it has changed very little over hundreds of years.”

Today, Dhivehi leaves gaps of understanding which politicians have been using as public pressure points, Shahid claimed. Those gaps are sometimes filled with superstition, running deep in time.

A Superstitious Past

According to folklore and historical research, the Maldives is the only island group in the Central Indian Ocean to have supported indigenous culture since ancient times. As such, its people have a fairly isolated and protective heritage.

Certain sayings and practices exemplify the fear that isolation engendered.

“Traditionally Maldivians didn’t think that it was good for a person to look too much at the sea, because one’s ‘heart would turn to stone’”, wrote Xavier Romero-Frias in The Maldivian Islanders. He advises that the Dhivehi meaning conveys a loss of memory and focus, rather than a loss of mercy.

Romero-Frias also explains that the winding streets on islands were not only attractive– they also prevented kaddovi, malevolent spirits of dead ancestors, from walking about. Replacing them with straight paths at the king’s order in the 1900s was unpleasant, to say the least.

The advent of Islam in 1100 AD tried to dispel indigenous superstition. The Sunni tradition in particular strongly discourages aniconism, or the depiction of religious and living beings. Signs of the Buddhist culture as well as “all type of Dhivehi cultural expressions deemed un-Islamic”, were destroyed, including budhu, or any carven image of a living being.

Some say the new regulations had a positive effect on Maldivian culture. “Wahhabism removed suspicions and freed the psyche,” said one source familiar with the issue. With numerous demons and windowless architecture, he said, Buddhist culture leaned heavily on superstition and deterred progress. “There were ill-omen days, and on those days people might not go fishing, for example,” he said.

While physical evidence of a Buddhist past has more or less vanished, words and their superstitious connotations linger.

Budhu is one example. Lacking words for ‘doll’ or ‘monument’, Dhivehi speakers generally refer to such objects as budhu–a habit that can lead to confusion.

In one story from Gan Laam Atoll, a statue is remembered as a human being.

Naseema Mohamed, a history consultant at Dhivehi Academy, told the tale of a big man who always stood near the island’s stuppa, no matter the weather. He never sat down. Mohamed said the story was about a standing man, but infers that the “man” was a Buddha statue.

“To some, even a photograph is considered a budhu,” Shahid said. Shahid was in prison for the first 16 years of his daughter’s life, and saw her only 12 days a year. To remind their daughter of him, his wife kept a picture at eye-level in the house. The gesture was reportedly disdained by Shahid’s sister, a pious woman who only took photographs for her passport.

The burden of budhu

Given the many meanings and uses of the word budhu, it seems reasonable that statues and monuments would be considered a public, cultural threat in the Maldives. However, as the recent vandalism and theft of monuments in Addu illustrates, gaps in language could be “one of the most serious problems, especially at this time,” as Shahid claims.

Officials have suggested that the attacks on the SAARC monuments have a political base. Shahid believes they were engineered because the public was pre-disposed to accept the destruction of images. Without separate, secular terminology for ‘monument’, people fell back on the religious argument.

“This is just one of the factors of how the religious and political groups were able to blow things out of proportion,” said Shahid. “Nobody wants to argue about budhu, they don’t want to be labelled a non-Muslim, so it’s better to stay quiet.”

The SAARC monuments were first criticised by the Islamic Ministry on religious grounds. Soon after, opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) hailed the vandals as “national heroes” and filed a case against Customs for allowing the statues into the country. When Nepal’s statue was stolen on December 7, Addu City Mayor Abdullah Sodig asserted that the theft had a political base.

Recalling acquaintances who asked whether people would start worshiping new idols in Addu, Shahid concluded, “my opinion is this whole thing has gone out of proportion because of the language problem.”

When asked about Shahid’s assessment, Mohamed pointed out that Pakistan’s monument was a historical illustration. “There was nothing for anyone to be angry or annoyed about, although I could understand how some people would have that reaction,” she said.

Editor of MaldivesCulture.com Michael O’Shea said most Maldivians harbor suspicions, but many make distinctions. “Because budhu has a wide range of meanings, getting upset about some forms of it and not others is a personal choice,” he observed.

However, politics prevail. “You can’t have a cultural discussion without it turning into a political swinging match,” said O’Shea.

Recent events support his claim.

On the day before the nation-wide protest to “Defend Islam”, a religious rally at which key speakers pledged to defeat President Mohamed Nasheed in the 2013 presidential election, Afghanistan’s monument was broken from its mount and sunk in the sea. Addu Councilor Hussein Hilmee said the monument was an image of Afghanistan’s Jam minaret, which features Qur’anic phrases and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As printed slogans at the “Defend Islam” protest reminded the public, statues–even of the Jam Minaret–offend the national religion.

The destruction of the Addu-based monuments was one of several demands made by the protestors, who came close to clashing to with MDP protestors late Friday night.

De-politicising Dhivehi in a democratic era

Politics govern most conversations in both manner and practice, said one source familiar with linguistics and media. He said the evolution of journalism illustrates the pressures of a democratic revolution on Dhivehi language.

“The language of journalism is now less formal than it was before. But, as it becomes less formal it also becomes less neutral,” he observed.

The democratic revolution of the previous decade pushed Dhivehi to its limits. “Under Gayoom, we didn’t have a word for ‘protest’. Instead, we said ‘express displeasure’. Previously, there was no word for ‘detainee,’ only ‘convict’. You were either a political offender or a convict,” he said.

Dhivehi evolved quickly “because the movement was happening very quickly,” but the source said it could learn from Arabic media, notably Al Jazeera, which developed new words instead of adopting English terms.

Pointing out that ‘freeze’ in Dhivehi only refers to objects, the source queried, “When the western press talks about unfreezing assets, we haven’t even got a word for freeze. How do we keep up with that?”

However, the source claimed, journalists are falling short of their duty.

“Journalists are passing the buck. They are saying it is not their job to change Dhivehi, but this is a responsibility of journalism. You can’t just copy the politicians” because it narrows the discussion and alienates the people, he said. “There should be some strong face of journalism. At the moment it seems like the entire discussion is in the language of politicians.”

What are the consequences?

“It is not just a constitution that will bring democracy and human rights and civil society. In Maldives, it’s everything. From language, to religion, to the population size. The language issue is a problem here. It has to be overcome.”

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Afghanistan’s monument sunk “for political reasons”: Addu councilor

Afghanistan’s monument, given to the Maldives in memorium of the 17th SAARC Summit held in Addu City this November, was broken from its mount and sunk in the sea on Thursday, December 22.

The vandalism was done a day before protests in defense of Islam and in support of moderate Islam were carried out in Male’ and other islands.

The statue has been retrieved, however it “has been broken and it cannot be repaired,” said Addu City Councilor Hussein Hilmee.

The statue was an image of Afghistan’s Jam minaret, which features Qur’anic phrases and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Hilmee was “100% positive” that the act had been done for political reasons tied to the December 23 rallies. “MDP wouldn’t do it,” he claimed.

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Protests proceed peacefully as a majority defends Islam

Two much-anticipated protests, one to defend Islam in the Maldives and another to exhibit support for a “moderate Islam” drew crowds of thousands along Male’s eastern coast this afternoon, and thousands more on islands across the country.

Contrary to  speculation, no violent outbreaks or confrontations took place on a grand scale. However, three individuals were injured during a protest against the government’s religious policies in Haa Dhaal atoll Vaikaradhoo. They have been taken to the island’s health clinic, Haveeru reports.

Meanwhile, police and national defence forces (MNDF) are maintaining close operations on Male’.

“There is no violence, so the police are continuing to survey the situation but they will not interrupt the ongoing demonstrations unless there is a confrontation,” said Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam.

A coalition of NGOs and six political parties began organising a protest “to defend Islam” several weeks ago. Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) coordinated a counter-protest after threatening messages were posted on the coalition’s promotional website. Over the past week government, religious and security officials attempted to negotiate the situation, with rumors of members of the Taliban joining the protest raising concerns over public order.

Both protests began at 4 pm today. MDP’s protest concluded at 5:30, however the “Defend Islam” protest leaders have announced they will remain in action so long as the public demands it.

Defend Islam

Banners bearing slogans including “We stand united for Islam and the nation”, “No idols in this holy land”, “No to the Zionist Murderers”, “No to El Al Airlines” and “We stand for peace” lead participants to gender segregated areas across from the Tsunami Memorial area, where approximately 20 protest leaders spoke from a mounted podium.

Speakers from various religious and political opposition parties addressed an estimated 5,000 men, women and children of varying ages and attire. Protestors were handed t-shirts and banners reading “Maldivians in defense of Islam” along with Maldivian flags.

“We don’t know there is a moderate, higher or lower Islam. We only know Islam, which is above all the religion. The only road we must follow is based of Allah’s callings,” said Jumhoree Party Leader  and tourism tycoon Gasim Ibrahim.

Gasim urged the people gathered to continue the rally peacefully, assuring his party will “stand with the people to protect Islam”.

Former State Islamic Minister and current spokesperson for Adhaalath party Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said the party does not support terrorism, adding that the security forces would know the actual people provoking terrorism.

He also vowed to defeat President Nasheed in 2013 elections.

The crowd raised cries of “Allahakbar” between speeches, and Shaheem led an oath to defend Islam in the Maldives.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader and MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said that he was there on behalf of DRP to assure Maldivian citizens that the party will stand with the religion of Islam.

”We are gathered here to uphold Islam for the future of the next generations,” Thasmeen said, accusing the current government of trying to establish anti-Islamic policies.

Increased diplomatic relations with Israel, including possible service of El Al airlines, and recent debates over Shariah law were among examples given.

”We are here to show that will not support those policies yet we are not extremist,” he said. ”We will stay forever as an Islamic nation.”

El Al Airlines was expected to begin service to the Maldives on December 13, but has been postponed indefinitely. The National Security Committee is currently reviewing the situation.

Half-brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Yamin argued that President Nasheed would have stood in the front line of this gathering if he wanted to uphold Islam.

”Today they are asking whether churches could be built and idols could be kept,” Yamin said. ”And, the police do not have to defend the idols.”

Yamin accused the government of trying to abolish Arabic and Islamic studies from the country.

”The current government does not care about Arabic and Islamic Studies and has in fact disrespected Arabic and Islamic studies,” he said, reiterating that this nation will forever be an Islamic nation.

Several speakers called on the government to condemn United Nations Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay for her suggestion that flogging be abolished as a punishment for extra-marital sex. Pillay’s comments fueled gathering tensions over the SAARC monuments erected in Addu and the agreement with El Al Airlines, which culminated in today’s protest.

At 6 pm protestors flocked to the sea and were given water bottles for ablutions before a group prayer on site.

MDP for Moderate Islam

Meanwhile at the MDP rally held at Artificial Beach, President Mohamed Nasheed said the government will continue to practice a tolerant form of Islam, reminding listeners that Islam in the Maldives has traditionally been tolerant.

“We can’t achieve development by going backwards to the Stone Age or being ignorant,” he said.

The President also called on leaders of political parties to explain their stance on religious issues to the public ahead of the 2013 presidential election.

“Should we ban music? Should we circumcise girls? Should we allow 9 year-olds to be married; is art and drawing forbidden? Should we be allowed to have concubines? We have to ask is this nation building? Because we won’t allow these things, we are being accused of moving away from religion,” he said.

Nasheed also urged MPs to discuss the inclusion of Sharia punishments in a revised penal code “without calling each other unbelievers.”

“At this moment we may not realise how important this gathering is, but years down the line we will look back and realise this was a crucial moment,” he said.

“I asked you to come here in support of the middle, tolerant path. And I believe that most citizens want to continue our traditional form of Islam,” the President said.

President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News today that “the opposition said 100,000 would attend their rally, but less than 5,000 showed up.”

“This is because their rallying call was based on a lie – that Islam is under threat in the Maldives,” he said. “It also proves most Maldivians want toleration and not the introduction of extreme punishments such as stoning, amputation and genital mutilation of girls.”

Public Responses

“The government today is breaching the Islamic values everyday. It is already too late to protest. But we need to stop President Nasheed from speaking against Islam. That’s why I am here,” said one 35 year old woman protesting at the Tsunami Memorial.

“I am not at the MDP rally because they are calling for moderate Islam. We don’t want that. We want 100 percent, full Islam in Maldives,” said another participant.

“Islam calls for flogging, stoning and hand amputation. But President Nasheed speaks against these Islamic penalties openly. That means he’s not following Islam. He wants music, he wants adultery and alcoholism to takeover us,” a woman alleged.

Minivan News asked why the people are not protesting outside the parliament or the judiciary, to change laws which currently exempt those Islamic penalties.

The women argued that these bodies are not the ones allowing Israeli flights to land in Maldives, or which approved the monuments in Addu, which they claim are religious idols.

“It is the government that is responsible for these things. Besides we are not allowed to protest outside the parliament and courts. So we are raising our concerns here.”

One observer of the MDP rally clarified that, “This protest is not related to Islam in any way, they are just doing it because they like to protest.”

Other onlookers were more circumspect.

A man who attended the MDP rally said he was happy that there was no violence. “This is how the protests should be. People have now expressed what they want. Let the public decide.”

“I am here to defend Islam. Not to take any sides. The government is doing things that are conflicting with the Islamic values we have been following,” claimed a man wearing a t-shirt reading “one religion”.

According to him, allowing Israeli flights to land in Maldives, closing down Arabiya (Islamic) School and keeping monuments in Addu is all part of the government’s conspiracy to eradicate Islam from the Maldives.

“I am just here to watch what is happening because it is my country,” a man said.

Ahmed Naish, Ahmed Nazeer, Hawwa Lubna and Eleanor Johnstone contributed to this article.

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MP Yameen requests police protection

Parliamentarians including Mulaku MP Abdulla Yameen have requested police protection before the protests to be held tomorrow by religious organisations and the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Police confirmed the requests but did not provide details, reports Haveeru.

Yameen was taken to the Presidential retreat of ‘Aarah’ “for his own protection” last July by Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) following a protest outside his house. Yameen had been released from house arrest after facing charges of corruption.

Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh today said security forces understood that “groups” – believed to be gangs – have been issuing threats to various people including MPs. These groups are expected to partake in tomorrow’s protest, Haveeru reports.

The police and armed forces have expressed concerns over the possibility of an outbreak of violence during tomorrow’s protest.

Police yesterday said they are monitoring the situation closely and will act accordingly.

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Extremist rhetoric will hurt Maldives’ international image: Foreign Minister

An increase in extremist rhetoric in the Maldives may affect the country’s international image and the ability of its citizens to freely travel abroad, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem warned on Thursday.

The Maldives had “a lot to lose” should such intolerance continue, Naseem said: “A large number of Maldivians travel outside the country and such rhetoric will have implications for the average Maldivian travelling abroad, and on those Maldivians already living abroad.”

The Maldives was a liberal democracy “with a Constitution based upon respect for the human rights of all,” Naseem claimed.

“As a democratic nation, each of us should be willing to listen to the views of others. It is our collective responsibility to promote equality and tolerance and to strengthen our democracy. A reversal of our democratic values could alienate the Maldives and tarnish its world renowned reputation for hospitality,” he said.

Islam was a religion of “dignity, peace and tolerance,” Naseem added. “Anyone who tries to use religion to incite hatred or violence is acting contrary to our national values and our Constitution.

“I call on all Maldivians to choose the path of peace and reconciliation, and to stay to the path of the traditional moderate Islam that has earned Maldives its place as a model Islamic country among the international community,” he said.

Asked about the ongoing detention of controversial blogger Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, who was today declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International after his participation in a ‘silent protest’ calling for religious freedom, Naseem acknowledged that the matter “was of concern to the international community.”

“We must protect our Constitution, but whatever needs to be investigated can surely be investigated without arresting anybody,” he said.

Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh was meanwhile today reported in newspaper Haveeru as expressing concern that the Maldives was heading towards becoming “Afghanistan” – except that unlike Afghanistan, it was not able to produce its own food.

Organisers of both the ‘Defend Islam’ and ‘Moderate Islam’ protests assured parliament’s national security committee that there would be no violence tomorrow. However Faseeh expressed concern over police intelligence suggesting the involvement of gangs.

“They are very versatile and we advise everyone to refrain from encouraging them. Even if they’re used for a good cause, it just encourages them,” Haveeru reported Faseeh as saying.

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Adhaalath Party calls on party members to conduct peaceful protest

Adhaalath Party has called on all its members and others joining the protest tomorrow to protest peacefully, uphold all laws and respect foreign missions.

In a statement issued by former State Minister and current Spokesperson of Adhaalath Party Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed called on protesters to cooperate with the armed forces and to put patience forward if someone initiates a confrontation.

‘’I advise all protesters that participate in this protest in all the islands to use decent language to express your opinions and to uphold Islamic policies,’’ Shaheem said in the statement. ‘’And, I also advise to not to refer any political party with fault language and to set an example for others.’’

Sheikh Shaheem also said there have been many challenges in recent days, and advised protesters to aim for unity and remain within Maldivian law.

“Adhaalath Party is a party that loves peace, respects the state institutions and respects diplomatic relations and international conventions,’’ the statement read.

Meanwhile, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa expressed concern that if MDP protested on the same day as the opposition parties-NGO Coalition protest, there was a risk that both protests would turn violent.

‘’I advised the President today to delay our protest supporting ‘moderation’ but it was a decision made by the party,’’ he said. ‘’We tried to stop the MDP protest by submitting a petition but we did not have the majority support so we cannot challenge the majority.’’

Musthafa said that he was not happy with the decision but was obliged to follow decisions made by the party majority.

Recently there have been unconfirmed reports of mercenaries from terrorist groups being recruited for the protest.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem said that there have been no confirmed reports of said recruits and referred Minivan News to the police.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said ‘’it is very difficult to say anything about it.’’

Today the Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh and Chief of Defence Force Major General Moosa Jaleel was summoned to the parliament’s National Security Committee meeting along with MDP Planning Committee officials, NGO Coalition President Abdulla Mohamed and Adhaalath Party president Imran Abdulla.

All the parties assured the parliament that they will not confront each other and that the protests will go peacefully.

NGO Coalition President Abdulla Mohamed was today questioned at the committee whether pregnant women and children will participate in the protest, to which he replied that he cannot stop pregnant women and children from coming to the protest.

Local newspaper SunFM reports that during today’s committee meeting MDP MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik questioned Adhaalath President Abdulla whether Al-Qaeda mercenaries were recruited to the protest. Abdulla replied that he did not want to answer that question.

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