Leader of the minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr Hassan Saeed has returned to the Maldives, after visiting the UK to meet MPs and journalists, and call on the international community to pressure the government to respect the country’s constitution.
DQP Secretary General Abdulla Ameen said the visit was “very successful”, and that Saeed had met with former Labour Party Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott “and other prominent opposition MPs.”
“Dr Saeed presented in such a way as to ask the government [of the Maldives] to follow the rule of law and to respect and uphold the constitution,” Ameen said.
Dr Saeed also met with journalists from outlets including Al Jazeera and the Independent, and was printed in the Guardian newspaper, Ameen said.
“Although it was DQP members who travelled to the UK, they represented the opposition coalition,” Ameen added.
The trip was “collectively funded by the opposition parties”, he noted.
DQP enlists UK PR firm
Minivan News has meanwhile obtained an email sent by a Peter Craske representing a UK-based public relations firm ‘The Campaign Company’, in which Craske solicits a meeting between the recipient and the DQP, “which is formed of an alliance between the DRP and MDP parties”.
From: Peter Craske [[email protected]]
Sent: [removed]
To: [removed]
Subject: Possible meeting with MPs from the MaldivesDear [removed],
I am contacting you on behalf of The Campaign Company, a communciations agency, which represents the DQP political party from the Maldives, which is formed of an alliance between the DRP and MDP parties.
Two of their representatives, Hassan Saeed, a former Attorney General and Presidential candidate and Mohammed Jameel Ahmed, a former Minister of Justice, are visiting the UK next week, and would like, if possible to meet up with you given your longstanding interest in the country, for no other reason than to brief you on the current political issues in the country, where there has been some unrest and some Parliamentarians have been arrested.
The meeting would solely be for them to discus the issues in confidence, while they are in the UK.
I realise it is short notice, but would be grateful if you would be able to let me know whether or not this was possible, depending on your diary.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Peter Craske
The Campaign Company
The DQP is a minor opposition party in coalition with Abdulla Yameen’s People’s Alliance (PA), Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP), and the major opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), but not the ruling MDP.
The DQP confirmed that Dr Saeed’s delegation included two other senior members of the party, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and Abdul Matheen, neither of whom are MPs as Craske appears to suggest.
Minivan News was unable to find any mention of Craske on the Campaign Company’s list of employees, however a receptionist at the Campaign Company confirmed the PR firm was “definitely working with political parties in the Maldives”, and referred Minivan News to the company’s director for enquiries regarding Craske.
Instead, Minivan News contacted Craske directly through the included phone number, who confirmed he was employed by the Campaign Company on a freelance basis to set up meetings last week with his contacts in the UK parliament.
“I don’t work for the Campaign Company, I was just employed to set up meetings,” he said. ‘I was just using the information [the Campaign Company] gave me.”
Ameen said he did not know whether the delegation had contracted a PR firm for the trip, but said that Saeed was “still well-connected in the UK.”
“Dr Hassan and Dr Jameel are in contact with a number of MPs. They know MPs from before 2008 and they have still have contacts in the UK.”
He added that he could “not say anything about an email you might have received, only specifically what Dr Hassan Saeed said.”
Meanwhile, Craske’s contact at the Campaign Company, Debbie Coulter, confirmed the company had set up meetings on Dr Saeed’s behalf and denied he had ever been introduced as an MP – “I haven’t seen the email,” she said, suggesting it might have been a mistake – “the brief [given to Craske] was quite clear.”
Regarding Craske’s introduction of the DQP as “an alliance between the DRP and MDP parties”, Coulter said the agency had recognised and introduced the DQP “as an independent party.”
She confirmed she was aware that Dr Saeed was currently the legal representation of opposition MPs Yameen and Gasim in court against allegations from the government of corruption and treason, following the release of incriminating phone taps leaked to the media.
“The bulk of the people he met were in the legal profession and people who knew of him and his background,” Coulter explained, adding that she “personally attended” every meeting.
“During his stay in London, Dr Saeed met with representatives from The Law Society, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Amnesty International, Labour MP Gareth Thomas (Labour), Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, Lord Prescott, Lord Foulkes and Sir Ivan Lawrence,” Coulter said.
Sir Ivan Lawrence notably led a team of international lawyers to the Maldvies in 2005 to determine whether President Nasheed, leader of the then-opposition, was likey to receive a fair trial after being charged with terrorism and sedition by the former government.
He concluded that the Maldivian judicial system lacked “the basic capacity, competency and necessary independence” to deliver a fair trial, as reported by the Asian Centre for Human Rights.
DQP’s UK media statement
A media statement issued in the UK and forwarded to Minivan News by Coulter quoted Dr Saeed:
“President Nasheed came to power carrying the hopes of many people that we could achieve full democracy. However today we see him threatening our democratically elected Parliament, our judiciary and our press freedom in a way that he would have no doubt similarly criticised his predecessor for.
We cannot allow the rule of law to be replaced by mob rule. The streets of our capital have seen violence and opposition politicians are detained and their homes attacked. Our judiciary is now described as corrupt when it upholds the rights of people to be treated properly under the law.
That is why I am in the UK this week to make a wider appeal to the international community that they should tell President Nasheed to behave inside the Maldives in the same way that he does when making the case for international support over climate change.”
Accompanying biographical information distributed to UK journalists notes that “the Gayoom government spent much time intimidating the ex-Ministers, seeking to ban the New Maldives movement and then registering another organisation under the same name under the control of the ruling party.
“Dr Hassan Saeed has been consistent in his advocacy of reform over the years. This has led him into conflict with the previous government, which he resigned from. He supported the present government in order to achieve reform, but now sees it behaving in a similar way to its predecessor and is thus speaking out in defense of reform and democracy.”
Meeting journalists
A second email obtained by Minivan News was from a journalist seeking further information on claims made by the delegation in the UK, and describing materials distributed on behalf of the DQP which reportedly alleged:
President Nasheed, a former political prisoner who was dubbed the ‘Nelson Mandela of the Maldives’, has become autocratic since being democratically elected and is introducing a number of repressive measures, including:
* plans to close the courts and set up ‘public courts’
* suspending the Constitution, which the UK and certain Commonwealth states helped draft
* Judges have suffered threats and intimidation at the hands of the government and police. Civil Court Judge Mohamed Hilmy and his fiancee were handcuffed, stripped, beaten – and then photographed in a state of undress by the police.
Ameen confirmed that the first claim referred to the vigilante court “[recently inaugrated] by MDP MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik”.
Of the second claim concerning the Constitution, Ameen said “I do not think [Dr Saeed] mentioned suspension of the constitution, I would say he broadly highlighted the need to uphold democracy.”
Concerning the suspension of Civil Court judge Mohamed Hilmy, “I think that was a case a few months back, I cannot specifically tell the detail. It was a very well publicised case.”
Minivan News reported in November last year that the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) had suspended Judge Mohamed Hilmy pending an investigation by police into alleged sexual misconduct, after he was discovered on a beach in Hulhumale’ in a state of undress with a woman.
A police statement claimed “the two had to be taken into custody on suspicion of sexual behaviour in a public place, as they were at the garbage dump in the south of Hulhumale’ with their pants down.”
At the time Hilmy denied the allegations to newspaper Haveeru, claiming he was walking with his fiancé when they were set upon by police, handcuffed, beaten, forcibly undressed and photographed. Police sent the case to the Prosecutor General and the matter was forwarded to the JSC, a police spokesman confirmed.
The last hearing concerning Judge Hilmy was held in January, although he remains suspended and continues to draw a salary due to the JSC’s inaction on the matter, according to commission member Aisthath Velezinee.
According to a report in newspaper Miadhu, Maldivian High Commissioner in the UK, Dr Farahanaz Faisal, claimed the Commission had yet to receive any enquiries from UK officials following meetings with Dr Saeed, and questioned whether they had occurred at all.
Addendum:
Subsequent to the publication of this article, Peter Craske sent Minivan News an email in which he accepted responsibility for “factual inaccuracies” in his communication with UK MPs concerning the DQP.
“Just to clarify the situation, as a member of the Conservative Party, I was recently asked by the Campaign Company (TCC) if I could arrange a small number of meetings with Conservative MP’s during a visit to the UK by Dr Hassan Saeed,” Craske wrote.
“Unfortunately, despite receiving a clear written brief from TCC, there were three factual inaccuracies in the email I sent to these MPs:
- The reference to a “Possible meeting with MPs from the Maldives” in the subject line, though this was not repeated in the text of the email;
- The reference to an alliance between the MDP and DQP, which clearly does not reflect the current political situation, nor the information with which I was provided;
- The suggestion in my email signature that I was an employee of the Campaign Company.
“This was one email to a small number of Conservative MPs which in fact did not result in any meetings,” he added.
“Having had this drawn to my attention, I would like to express my deep regret for any misunderstanding this email will have caused. I have apologised to the Campaign Company and to Dr Hassan Saeed for this.”
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MPs? DQP is an 'independent' party?? Made up of DRP and MDP??? Suspending constitution? Scrapping the courts? Another case of Hassan Saeed telling big fat whopping lies.
What a load of lies.. this coming from UK London PR firm no-one ever heard of! We shd write them to get their facts right. They should be more professional before taking any client.. [email protected]
a good leader has to be both smart and just,,, Justice is first realized in the heart... True Justice (Adhalaath) is a knowledge of the heart, not of the mind...sadly, all Hassan's energy is in his mind but none in his heart, he is a genius, but with no real conviction of right and wrong, and no heart to stand for what is right... really really sad
please, I know you can find it in your heart to realize that helping corrupt MP's is not the real you Hassan... Please, you are a genius, please, your country, the cause of justice needs your beautiful mind to serve the cause of honesty, please come away from Yamin and them, please help democracy without supporting Yamin and Gasim and Kutti... you don't have to support Anni, but please do not support the corrupt ones... I see that deep inside you are so much better than that Hassan,,, please find your true self, that moral guy inside
Who is this craske? what right has he to meddle in our affairs.
we should email this guy and let him know what we think. who is with me?
And so, there was much bawwwing by the remnants of tyranny when President Anni took steps to improve the lives of the citizens.
Whether they met or not, its not a problem for me now. I just know that after there arrival at UK the government's words and behavior was totally changed. Dr.Farahanaz is doing her job to lower the fame of Dr.Hassan which the current government and previous government also did. Not a problem, corrupted people always hate the good one as we can see in other parts of World too.
Hassan Saeed's magical mystery tour...
😉 I don't have anything better to say than ...."STOP THIS NONSENSE"
I'm just amazed with such obvious bigotry of DQP
I noticed that Dr. Hassan Saeed's bio very conveniently 'ignores' the fact that he studied in a Pakistani Madrasa - Jamia Salafiya.
8 meetings in a week? I wonder what he was doing the rest of the time. hmm...
so this is poor mans hill&knwolten.Its the same cycle you bastards ...get over it and get on with your program. You politicians all of you which includes the ruling idiots as well. grow up now that you have Robert Blake as a pacifier suck on it. MDP you are turning into DRP and yes DRP you might just become the new MDP. What a shame. Look at the TV its the same shit.. its all propaganda its independence day just let the people get on with their lives you fight it out and clean your own dirty diapers.
doctaru hassanu again showing his double standards.
once he would criticize Anni or MDP for having close connections and consulting UK conservatives. that nation is being sold and churches will be built. But then when the opportunity arise, he also uses the same international media and sources or any other means to get to the power. the same things he criticized, he is using as a tool. just looking for some consistency and im not a fan of MDP either.
among all politicians, Hassan is the biggest joke! worse than our beloved Gasim. (ladies and gentman)
Oh Mrs.Farahanaz faisal you bring shame to the post you are holding.. you on the telly sounding all that pompous and sounding legally blonde.C'mon you are The high Commissioner maam not Heena Waleed on the evening news. Dr.SHaheed and bunch what more would you expect. *Dear government you are in power, unlike Gayoom you don't have to answer for everything the opposition has to say 24hrs on the TV.You are doing good just breath and go with the flow ..no dont follow reeko.Yes Mr Nasheed you are capable and can do much better dont be a hostage of your own backstabbing parlimentarians.
If you want TV time bring something substantial for the general public.Now its more dead air 24/7.
*its really not good PR when you have Inthi and Alhan saying in the past it was easy to get arrest warrants and just the judge would give rights to detention so easily.That's why we changed it . it was good that you stopped short of praising your ex boss Isthafa Manik.
Seems Hassan Saeed longs for the glory days of Hill & Knowlton.
President Anni was accused of trying to build churches just because he is close to the UK government.
Can we accuse Hassan Saeed of the same thing now?
Such a lier this Saeed, so educated and still trying to fool the international world.
And can this Craske guy resign from whatever job he is holding and take up a job as a toilet cleaner.
When despite a clear brief he made such horrendous mistakes in an email according to him, he should take up a job with minimal amount of responsibilites.
i bet the DQP delegates had a great time sight-seeing in UK. and if their visit was funded by some other people, DQP have a lot to explain now to them, dont they. but this is really hilarious...
@Ahmed Aliased
Post the full comment instead of starting with "And..." as usual.
AND what are you hiding before the "And"?
@Ahmed Aliased
AND do you read comics a lot?
Who funding this Drs trip and PR firm. Champa, via Crown Nazeer? Dirty money..
@Mariyam
Where did you read his bio? Let me have a look.
So DQP met with Lord Prescott? Hahaha, I just can't stop laughing! He probably doesn't even know where the Maldives is! Must've come for the free beer!
If not for the efforts by Hassan and Qasim, Anni could have never won 2008 Presidential election. Have you people forgotten? Now its time to kick Anni out and I am sure Hassan is a force to be reckoned.
this is great anni is getting some hits from people other gayoom and his family.
Insider information from Dr Latheef and Jameela camp revealed that they could not meet any credible person from either Labour or Con-Lib during their UK visit.
As usual Jameel and Saeed spent most of their time in London Soho area, this is according to a reliable source.
Some should check these idiots for HIV before the whole Maldives gets infected.
This is not the first time Hassan Saeed had lied. He is a dubious fellow and nobody really trusts him any more.
So, the DQP boys, erm... I meant to say Gasim and Yameen's legal team met with The Law Society, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Amnesty International, Labour MP Gareth Thomas, Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, Lord Prescott, Lord Foulkes and Sir Ivan Lawrence. I hope that was money well spent by Gasim and Yameen.
I wonder whether the Amnesty International representative asked these chaps about their personal involvement in the torture and death of innocent people. I also wonder how they explained their role, being the legal team for two of the biggest tycoons in the country who are facing embezzlement and corruption charges.
Oh, and they represent themselves as Members of Parliament too? We don't recall electing any of these clowns to ANY public office, never mind the Parliament.
No wonder, the Tory MPs didn't turn up. They know full well who these chaps are. Better luck next time.
Hassan Saeed, Anni, Sikka, Zaki, Thasmeen, Yaameen and Gasim are corrupt figures. We should get rid of them.
Dear Mr JJ Robinson,
I have wasted much time in reading your long article. And all the time, I have been wondering what the point of this ultra-long article is.
One thing that I noticed before I lost concentration is that Mr Craske does not even APPEAR to suggest that anyone is an MP but you have conveniently added "neither of whom are MPs as Craske appears to suggest" in your article.
There is nothing that bugs me more than to read outright falsehood on a propaganda website.
What Hassan Saeed did or what he did not do is one thing. But to discredit someone and downplay the significance of his work by using words that are on the verge of being 'misleading information' to any readers is not professional journalism.
Minivan News has always been amongst other things, pro-government and pro-MDP. But, that does not mean you need to mislead people about others.
Thank you for your ongoing and valued scrutiny of our editorial policies. Please refer to the subject line of Mr Craske's email to clarify your concerns regarding the mistaken presentation of the DQP delegation as MPs, and understand that not all our readers are as intimately familiar with the vibrant Maldivian political scene as your good self. - Minivan News team
@ JJ Robinson - What a waste of time!
BUNCH OF CLOWNS NAMED DQP.ONE OF THEIR PUBLIC FUNDED HOLIDAY TRIPS ABROAD.
Whats wrong calling on the international community to pressure Nasheed's government to respect the country’s constitution.
MDP had hired people like Nirj Deva and David Hardingham to call on the international community to boycott the tourism industry of Maldives.
DQP LOL. These bunch of people are meant to be spreading only lies nothing more. These people dont know what they have talked about Yameen during the presidential campaign, and now defending everything. DQP is there for money nothing else. And for all these dirty stuff, the expenses is grabing from Mr. Gasim, no other person is spending a single cent. I feel sorry for Mr. Gasim. Wake up Gasim
Seriously, I'm so tired of all these effing politicians.
Who's bright idea was independence anyway? Had we stayed under the British we can all run around with British passports and be eligible for scholarships in UK universities. Hilath wouldn't have gone crazy and none of our boys will go to these Jamiyaa Salafiyyaa madrasas either.
I say boycott independence day!
Great article. Much needed, relevant information presented in a clear, balanced and timely manner. Thank you.
Anyone who thinks this article is pro-MDP is probably right. The truth always seems to be pro-MDP.
What ever Minivan news say or write, whether it is PR tour or what ever. Its clear that Nasheed's administration has obeyed what DQP has demanded. And also they are on the negotiating table too. I want to tell Ms.Farahnaz, do your job with some respect and show so called western professionalism you guys claim.And also I dont believe any Maldivian with common sense will believe to give the job to your brother Ameen Faisal the job he hold now. I hope after all these negotiations also they should not approve him.
Dear Minivan News Team,
Please refer to your reply to my earlier comment on this article.
“Thank you for your ongoing and valued scrutiny of our editorial policies.”
I have no reason to take this as anything else but a compliment. So, thank you for the compliment.
Indeed, the subject line of Mr Craske’s email says “Possible meeting with MPs from the Maldives.” But the content of the email clearly says that there are 2 people who want to meet the recipient and also it clearly mentions who these two people are.
So in my mind, there is little room to believe that, it is a “mistaken presentation of the DQP delegation as MPs,” but rather, that the delegates are MPs is a mistake.
My apologies if I am wrong. And also, my apologies for being a bother.
Kind regards,
Robin
The campaign company's senior project officer Jessica Griffiths is not new to Maldives. Check out her profile at their website:
- http://www.thecampaigncompany.co.uk/who-we-are/our-team.html#jg
- http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jessica-griffiths/6/835/388
She worked in Maldives very closely with Dr. Shaheed (foreign minister then and now), specially coordinating with the notorious Hill and Knowlten hired to end the MDP and the current president Nasheed. Jessica Griffith's profile at linkedin shows that she's still holds the position of the lead coordinator of Open Society Association. Anyone who were here in Male' from 2005 - 2008 (until Shaheed was forced to resign from Gayyoom's cabinet) would never forget the close affiliations and public appearances of both of them together. I'm not saying that Shaheed still works for DQP and Saeed behind MDP's back. But seeing Jessica is here looks interesting. Perhaps not for MR. JJ. Great article btw. You have done better though.
When MDP came to power Minivannews has played a positive role, not just as one of the strong advocates of democracy but also as a standard bearer of journalism. You also have had excellent writers like Omidi.. But recently your journalistic standard has deteriorated and it is doubtful whether you are helping or hurting MDP.. The credibility of Minivan needs to be restored.
Good, I agree. I will not advert directly to a previous roll-over advertisement, but please don't repeat it.
I was a Hassan Saeed supporter in the campaign and I seriously don't think ANNI could have come anywhere near presidency without Hassan and Qasim's support!
I don't like all these Hassan Saeed BASHING for no good reason!
Tell me ONE good reason why you all are after him? ONE SOLID REASON!
YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES! THIS IS PURE RACISM!
I think it's partly got to do with him being from ADDU and he is one of the very few souls around with a credible personality who went all the way up with an extremely HUMBLE beginning and no powerful or rich people to support his education all the way upto PHD!
This Farhanaz's only skin deep. I don't think she could have come even close to "moyanasira" without the monarchial blessings in her blood. Without having been born with a silver spoon in her "sandhoroas" mouth. A REAL SHAME!
IF WE ALL DELVE INTO OURSELVES AND MAKE A GOOD CALCULATION ON WHERE WE ARE - WE SHOULD ALL BE PROUD OF SOME ONE LIKE DR.HASSAN SAEED WHO COULD HAVE EVANESCED INTO RURAL ISLAND LIFE INTO THE ART OF DOING NOTHING!
A simple person with a humble background. SO THOSE MALE' PEOPLE JUST DON'T GET A HEARTACHE!
PURE RACISM ROOTS OF WHICH GO DEEPLY INTO SICK "BEYFULHISM"
We want a President who is NOT from Male'.
As I have been for a long time, saying that we should amend our constitution to have a President or ruler from every atoll in Maldives on a rotating basis - NOT JUST "BEYFULHU" from Male'.
I know it's still a TABOO subject in Maldives. NOW BREAK THE TABOO!
I am SICK of Male' LANDLORDS ruling over Maldives!
WE WANT THIS DEADLOCK TO BE BROKEN OR SEPARATE MALDIVES INTO 19 DIFFERENT NATIONS!
The only EVIL I see which we inherited from our forefathers is skin deep "BEYFULHISM".
In other words Maldivian "APARTHEID" legacy!
I once saw Mr. Saeed in a coffee shop. His trousers were well pressed and quite flat in the front. His belt had a very narrow strap that floated liberally around his dancing waist. Mr. Saeed belongs in the civil service. He needs to gaily present himself for public service daily instead of prancing around in UK and holidaying in his gaseous benefactor's low-quality resorts.
@Sooraj
"His trousers were well pressed and quite flat in the front."
No sooner you saw him you were looking at the front of his trousers? What were you looking for? LOL!
rr jacobson's last comment gave me goosebumps. MDP should be careful of this Shaheed guy who worked with Hill and Knowlton to crush the democracy movement led by Anni.
Was this trip funded by allocations to DQP from the treasury? Hope the party financial audit reveals this.
@ heck
One good reason 'why I am after' Dr. Hassan Saeed is that he has proven himself to be a very good hypocrite. At least Yameen and them are genetically programmed to be corrupt and everybody has always known so. But Hassan Saeed? There was a time, a few months before the first round of presidential election in '08 when I honestly considered voting for him. Fortunately, I was enlightened before the big day.
And yeah, I had a good laughing fit when u mentioned the RACISM part. so thanks for that and for being very racist towards Male' people.
Heck, what RACISM? If Saeed wants to get respect of the population he better have concrete ideas and show how he wants to lead. His inability to hold alliances with anyone is ample. Since jumping Gayyoom's ship he has joined up and broken up with nearly everyone. That's not a sign of a credible leader.
Now he has joined up with the most notorious crooks in the country. And you still want to believe in this RACISM bollocks?
Do not forget that Dr Hassan( latheefa) was the guy who said "Aboojahulhu ves vidhaalhuvi"....lol he gives so much respect to Aboojahulu .. Can u belive this??..lol
@heck
perhaps its this humble beginning of saeed that you talk about; that lead him to seek the "beyfulhism" you mentioned. If you look carefully, Hassan Saeed (&maumoon) is the one's trying to show themselves as BEUFULHU cute all knowing leaders. He is such a hypocrite just like any other politician out there.
what you mean by racism? we only have one race in this country for your info.
@girlie
"why I am after’ Dr. Hassan Saeed is that he has proven himself to be a very good hypocrite"
Show me JUST one who is not a "HYPOCRITE" !
@Ahmed
"If Saeed wants to get respect of the population he better have concrete ideas and show how he wants to lead."
I think his CONCRETE ideas were in his manifesto?
I especially liked the part where he wanted to ERADICATE mosquito breeding grounds from Maldives?
Have you heard about Dengue fever??
I don't know why the GOVERNMENT is playing down this life threatening disease.
I am still waiting eagerly to buy a US dollar for ten rufiyaa.
I am waiting to reach out and PLUCK affordable goods and services from those trees! They have not yet come within my reach despite having an average height of 5'8" !! I even used a ladder with no avail!
I am waiting to cath the ferry to my wife's island. The ferry wont show up!
I have lost all hope with the recent events in Male'.
I came to know Anni is just another "smart" dictator who wants nothing but SELF GLORY!
@girlie
I lost all hope in ANNI because he once said he was not interested in presidency, but hoodwinked majority of Maldivians to reach there! That's where ANNI qualified as HYPOCRITE # 1!
I respected him like Mahathma Gandhi when he was at the helm of MDP, but not after he started claiming presidency.
I can neither compare him with Nelson Mandela nor with Mahathma Gandhi.
Why?
Just look at the percentage of people who supported him in the first round of elections! That too based on the firm belief of people who were hoodwinked by ANNI to believe that he would hold MID TERM elections!!
So where in the world can you compare an arrogant, sycophant, mountebank lier seeking self-glory to those symbols of SELFLESSNESS!
MDP's loss in the following parliamentary elections is clear proof that the people considered themselves not mesmerized by ANNI's CHARISMA, but rather HOODWINKED out of lies!
So ANNI is neither close to Nelson Mandela nor any where near Mahathma Gandhi. Neither in words nor in deeds!
The closest thing he resembles is the military dictatorship of Burma where lives in the backyard of an old mansion a lean "girlie" also known in Maldives as the "backyard lady" for whom he seems to have a soft corner!
@heck,, calm down, guess your ladyboy is alright