Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Waheed has said the party will put forward a no-confidence motion against Home Minister Mohamed Shihab, after police detained Waheed and several other senior party figures in an effort to defuse violent clashes between the supporters of both parties on Thursday night.
”We decided to take the no-confidence motion against Shihab because he used his powers and influence against the law,” Waheed said, adding that details would be provided tomorrow.
Waheed alleged that when the situation in Male’ broke the peace of the country on Thursday night, “Shihab was relaxing in a nearby resort.”
He said the party had received information “from a trusted source” that President Mohamed Nasheed gave the order to police that night to arrest the senior party leaders.
”The police have no powers, they only have to take orders from their leader,” he said.
However the President’s Office said yesterday that the government had full confidence in police and “absolutely no involvement” in the decision to remove the DRP leaders from the protest.
But Waheed claimed that the police “cannot arrest MPs while a no-confidence motion is ongoing inside parliament.”
”The police lied to us, saying that they were taking us to police head quarters to calm down the situation,” he said. ”Instead they took us to Dhoonidhu and took our mobile phones, and treated us just like the other criminals there.”
Vice president of DRP Umar Naseer said that there were “many things” the Home Minister had done, including “attacking peaceful protesters with tear gas.”
”He arrested MPs while there was a ongoing no-confidence motion in the parliament which is against the law, did not stopped MDP thugs attacking us, and did not enforce the law,” Naseer said.
He also claimed that President Mohamed Nasheed was “giving the orders to police that night”, claiming the party had obtained the information “because 90 per cent of the police and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) support the DRP.”
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair confirmed that President Mohamed Nasheed went to the police headquarters on Thursday night, “but not to give orders.”
”He went there because he is the owner of all the powers – police and MNDF,” Zuhair said, ”but the Commissioner of Police was the one giving the orders.”
Zuhair claimed that the opposition was trying to take no-confidence motion against ministers “one by one” to delay more productive bills sent to the parliament by the government.
”Countries with civil wars pass more bills in parliament than the Maldives does,” Zuhair said.
He said the opposition “is jealous and cannot accept their failure.”
”They are trying to show the people that they still have powers,” he suggested.
MDP’s parliamentary group spokesperson Mohamed Shifaz said the party would stand against the no-confidence motion on the home minister as ”we have not noticed home minister doing anything against the law.”
He said the party’s parliamentary group would continue to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) released a statement appealing to the police to respect laws and to treat everyone equally when they work to disperse crowds.
HRCM said that ”political parties meetings are interrupted due to differences among people on political issues.”
The commission said it had noticed that regulations governing the dispersal of protests “are not being applied equally among everyone”, and that Article 32 of the Constitution guaranteed ”freedom to gather peacefully without prior permission from the government.”
Home Minister Mohamed Shihab and State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.
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Why are people even listening to these kids like Ali Waheed whining about nothing?!! He's behaving like a kid who can't accept the fact that he was punished because he was naughty!! Its just too bad that the parliament is full of MPs who actually don't even know how to play smart politics! Somebody please give these thugs a lesson in political science!
Sometimes this Zuhair guy talks nonsense. "President Nasheed went to the Poilice, But its the Police commissioner who gives orders" May be Zuhair thinks all maldivians are insane like hime to be blind of whats going on. When MDP, the curretn president Nasheed held protests on daily baisis and called foreigners to boycott Maldivs that was for democracy but when these people can not uphold the rule of law and when dissatisfaction is shown by the people they are trying to hinder democracy. Come on, grow up MDP, you got to do better then this.
This is crazy. What is wrong with president being involved with sensitive operations involving MPs. In another country it would be welcomed the fact that the president personally went to see that the matter is resolved properly. Those who are criticizing do not know that the president is the head of the police. It is his responsibility to see that police carry out their role properly. What is wrong with him giving his opinion to the police?
Ali Waheed will remain the laughing stock of parliamentary acting for a very long time.
His swing (with hands behind his back) to the tune of "Loalaariehga ves nujehen" was classic; and the sudden flat crash without action of another force was a mind blowing finale! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!
DRP not only will take NO CONFIDENCE over everyone who oppose or will oppose anything or everything against the DRP and the blood suckers fueling DRP who within the past 30 years of Gayyoom Power had be squandering not only our coffers, banks but the real asset that Maldives had; yes! the shipping line of Maldives!
DRP as it seems is stabbing themselves to a very slow death which they really deserve!
Today it was AG, tomorrow Shihaab, next day someone else and so on!
All bills that need to rectify the daily living and benefits for the people will have to wait and Maldivians must be silent.
This is true madness! It is simply difficult to take it anymore!
With 43 Votes in favor, and only 28 against, Auditor General is out.. Now you still tell me that is an undemocratic move? 43 MPs are gangsters?
we saw the mps being taken to the lorry very politely, 3 or 4 years back we saw Anni being carried,dragged,kicked,pushed or any other ruthless way you can imagine into the jeep and carried to kudagolhi and fed 'fulhithoshi'
cant these bloodthirsty suckers notice the difference???