Day: February 28, 2015

February 27 a historic success, claims opposition

The allied opposition parties have branded the mass protest of February 27 a success, claiming the demonstration was “the most well-attended peaceful political activity in Maldivian history.”

Estimating a turnout between 20,000 and 25,000, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Ali Waheed said the party had decided to end the demonstration at 6pm against many of its supporters’ wishes in order to honour an agreement signed with the Jumhooree Party (JP).

“The rally was organised jointly by the MDP and JP. Our joint commission had agreed to end by 6pm. We wanted to show MDP is a party that honours agreements and is a trusted ally,” Waheed told the press this afternoon.

In a recorded message before the rally began, JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim announced the rally would end at 6pm and asked protesters to avoid any confrontations. Gasim is currently in Colombo, meeting with diplomatic missions.

Following the rally’s unexpected end, hundreds continued scattered protests in Malé calling for former President Mohamed Nasheed’s freedom. The opposition leader is in police custody until the end of a surprise terrorism trial.

According to the police, 28 were arrested from protests last night. Ten, including JP member and former Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi remain in custody.

Apologising for the leadership’s failure to communicate plans ahead of time, MDP Parliamentary Group leader, Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, said plans had been evolving throughout the week and were only finalised at 12am on Friday.

Ending the rally at 6pm “was not part of the initial plan,” he said. In the lead up to the February 27 rally, many opposition leaders had pledged to topple the government.

Waheed said MDP would not ignore its members’ wishes, but Nasheed had instructed the leadership to follow the JP’s lead in conducting the rally.

Reminding supporters that Nasheed had resigned on February 7 “to prevent bloodshed,” Waheed said the party would never resort to violence.

“Remember, President Nasheed is under police custody. We had received reports there were threats to his life. Considering the events of his arrest and subsequent trial, MDP will not take rumours lightly. And we had to take that into consideration when we made our decision, regardless of whether that decision may be popular or unpopular,” he explained.

13 demands

Speaking alongside Waheed and Ibu, JP Deputy Leader Ameen Ibrahim said the opposition would scale up activities if the government failed to respond to their 13 demands.

The demands included calls for immediate release of former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim, repealing amendments to the Auditor General’s Act that saw the removal of former Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim, empowering local councils, and investigating serious corruption allegations against senior government officials.

“If we do not see the results we want, we will once again restart and scale up our activities. I do not think we will have to wait long,” Ameen said.

He also welcomed former ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MP for Nolhivaram constituency Hussain Areef to the opposition and said many more MPs had communicated their desire to join the opposition, but were scared due to intimidation.

“The most secure platform is that of the people. And we, MDP and JP, now hold that platform. The citizens will protect you.”

The numbers had captured the international community’s attention, Ameen continued, claiming new international organisations and foreign countries were reaching out to the members of the MDP, JP delegation who remain in Colombo.

The JP and MDP parliamentarians would decide a timeframe for government response, and how to proceed at a joint parliamentary group meeting tomorrow, Ibu said.

“We are united, we are working together. Our work is still ahead of us, we will achieve results,” he said.

Home Minister Umar Naseer in a tweet last night said the government had seen and heard the protesters. The former JP member said the government is responsive and responsible.

Speaking to Minivan News last night, PPM parliamentary group leader MP Ahmed Nihan said the opposition had done a “commendable job” in making their voices heard.

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Asking Maldives to abide by commitments “not undue interference,” says UK High Commissioner

The international community asking the Maldives to abide by commitments under UN conventions does not amount to “undue interference,” UK High Commissioner to Maldives John Rankin has said.

In an interview with private broadcaster Raajje TV in Malé yesterday, Rankin said decisions on domestic matters were up to the Maldives as a sovereign nation.

“But it is legitimate for one country to [remind] another country to abide by the undertakings which together we have signed up to,” he explained.

“That is a normal matter of diplomatic relations. So it is perfectly proper and not undue interference for one country to ask another to operate by those principles which we both voluntarily agreed to.”

Last week, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon hit back at statements issued by the Commonwealth, India, Canada, EU, and the UN expressing concern with the denial of legal representation to former President Mohamed Nasheed following the opposition leader’s arrest and prosecution on terrorism charges.

“Those who prefer to issue public statements about an on-going legal case, or on a domestic political situation, are advised to do a basic fact-check, before bandwagoning on to accusations made by a political party,” Dunya said in a statement.

Dunya insisted that due process was followed in Nasheed’s arrest and prosecution.

“The government of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom will not take instructions from a foreign government on any issue in governing the country,” Dunya said, urging foreign countries and international organisations to “refrain from acts and signals that could undermine the sovereignty of independent states.”

Nasheed arrived in court on Monday (February 23) for the first hearing of his trial without legal representation and with his arm in a makeshift sling after police manhandled and dragged the former president into court when he attempted to speak with journalists.

Rankin said the international community was watching developments in the Maldives closely and that the British government “remains very concerned” over Nasheed’s detention.

“The international community as a whole is watching what is happening here. Our concern is that President Nasheed, like any other citizen of the Maldives, should enjoy due legal process, that this fundamental right should be protected, and that we have transparent court procedures,” he said.

The Maldivian government has assured Nasheed’s safety following discussions on Thursday (February 26), Rankin added.

Prior to Rankin’s arrival in the Maldives, UK Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire issued a statement stressing the importance of following due process and respecting Nasheed’s rights “for international confidence in the Maldives”.

“It is also incumbent upon the Government of Maldives to ensure his safety. We urge calm right across Maldives and we encourage all parties to act with moderation and restraint,” reads the statement.

“The UK will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Sovereignty

Rankin meanwhile referred to the Maldives’ obligations as a signatory to relevant UN conventions.

Rankin said the UK was “a friend of the Maldives” and that stability in the country was important to Britain with thousands of British tourists visiting the Maldives annually.

“As friends though, we are also honest friends and sometimes honest friends have to raise difficult issues, but we raise it precisely because we want to support that continued stability here,” he said.

Asked about Dunya warning that the Maldives might leave the Commonwealth, Rankin said the decision was up to the Maldivian government, but suggested that “together we can make progress internationally by working together in the Commonwealth.”

At a press conference last week, Dunya also accused Canada of exerting undue influence in the Commonwealth through funding. Canadian Foreign Minister Rob Nicholson had issued a statement suggesting that “the brutal and unjustified treatment of the former president call into question Maldives’ commitment to due process and democratic principles.”

Rankin said the Commonwealth was “a consensus organisation” of sovereign nations working together.

“But all members of the Commonwealth have signed up for the Commonwealth charter – a set of values which we have agreed between us, which we are all committed to. And therefore, the United Kingdom, for whom I speak, hopes that Maldives will continue to abide by those values.”

Photo by Businesstoday.lk

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JP Leader Gasim meets Sri Lankan President Sirisena

Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim met Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena this morning to discuss the ongoing political crisis in the Maldives.

JP Spokesperson Ali Solih told Minivan News that former Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz, deputy leader of the JP parliamentary group, and JP Deputy Leader Dr Hussain Rasheed Hassan also took part in the meeting at the President’s Office in Colombo.

The JP leaders briefed President Sirisena about the current political situation in the Maldives, he said.

Former Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem – a senior member of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – revealed in a tweet following the meeting that Sri Lanka “is sending a high level delegation to Malé to express deep concern on the arrest and harassment of political leaders.”

While the MDP-JP alliance launched nightly protests against alleged breaches of the constitution by President Abdulla Yameen’s administration in the wake of former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim’s arrest on charges of possessing illegal weapons, tensions escalated further with the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed on Sunday (February 22) on charges of terrorism.

Solih meanwhile revealed that the JP leaders are scheduled to meet a United Nations delegation today whilst further meetings with foreign diplomats could also take place.

A time or date for Gasim’s return to the Maldives is yet to be determined, he added.

Asked if the JP believed the government was planning to arrest the party’s leader upon his arrival, Solih said the party “would not be surprised” if Gasim was taken into custody.

“Our leaders have undertaken these efforts expecting that anything could happen at any time,” he said.

At the first hearing of Nazim’s trial last week, State Prosecutor Adam Arif said documents on a pen drive confiscated from the then-defence minister’s apartment showed he was planning individual and joint operations, financed by the Villa group, to cause bodily harm to “senior honourable state officials.”

However, speaking to journalists prior to departing to Colombo, Gasim dismissed allegations of a conspiracy between his Villa Group and Nazim as “a deliberate fabrication” intended to “frame” political opponents.

MDP-JP protest march

Gasim departed to Colombo with a joint MDP-JP delegation on Wednesday night (February 25) to meet diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka.

The delegation met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and European Union delegations and provided information on the state’s prosecution of former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim.

While MDP MP Abdulla Shahid, International Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor and Malé City Mayor Mohamed Shihab returned on Thursday night (February 26) ahead of the MDP-JP mass rally yesterday, Gasim stayed behind with the JP leaders, ostensibly to meet President Sirisena today.

In a recorded message from Gasim played out at yesterday’s 10,000-strong protest march in Malé, the JP leader called on the government to immediately release opposition leader Nasheed as well as retired colonel Nazim and withdraw terrorism charges against current Defence Minister Major General (Retired) Moosa Ali Jaleel and former Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfan.

Gasim also issued several demands to the government, which were later reiterated during the protest march across the capital’s main thoroughfare Majeedhee Magu.

In addition to withdrawing charges against “political prisoners,” the demands included repealing amendments to the Auditor General’s Act that saw the removal of former Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim, empowering local councils, and investigating serious corruption allegations against senior government officials.

Gasim said he could not participate in the rally due to important appointments the next day and insisted that toppling the government was not the purpose of the protest as alleged by the government.

While the JP had declared that the rally would end at 6:00pm, Gasim appealed to participants not to carry out any illegal activities or incite violence or unrest.

However, despite MDP Chairperson Ali Waheed announcing the end of the protest march shortly after 6:00pm, opposition supporters continued the protest in the absence of MDP and JP leaders near the Malé City Council Hall, and the Alikilegefaanu and Majeedjee Magu junction near President Abdulla Yameen’s house.

At least 31 protesters were arrested before riot police dispersed the crowd around 1:00am.

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