President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has assured Transparency Maldives of his willingness to include international groups in the inquiry into the events surrounding his accession to the presidency.
In a meeting with the local NGO, President Waheed and Attorney General Azima Shukoor also welcomed requests for increased transparency in the workings of the Committee of National Inquiry (CNI) which is charged with looking into the legality and legitimacy of the transfer of presidential power.
Transparency Maldives Project Director Aiman Rasheed emerged from the meeting confident that Dr Waheed would respect the importance of transparency and accountability in the inquiry process.
Rasheed told Minivan News that Dr Waheed saw an independent and transparent process as the way forward, and recognised that an enquiry which did not have the support of the people would only further political discontent.
The inclusion of international experts in any such inquiry has been urged by numerous international actors as well as the party of former President Nasheed. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Committee (CMAG), in a statement released after its own inconclusive enquiry into recent events, had strongly recommended an international element to any future investigation, “as mutually agreed to by political parties in Maldives.”
The largest party in the People’s Majlis, Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), yesterday criticised the CNI for “dragging its feet” on the issue, in what it said was “a clear violation” of the wishes of the international community.
“The MDP hopes that the international community will immediately call on the Dr Waheed regime and the CNI to commit to significant international assistance in the investigation,” the party said in a statement.
MDP said it had received reports of that members of the police force willing to talk to the CNI were facing intimidation. MDP International Affairs Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said he believed that such reports only increased the need for international experts, including witness protection specialists, to help bring investigations to a successful conclusion. Ghafoor has previously drawn unfavourable comparisons between this investigation and the 2003 Maafushi jail enquiry whose independence was questioned and whose outcome was censored.
The CNI currently consists of three members: Ismail Shafeeu, former minister of defence and national security during President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s administration; Dr Ali Fawaz Shareef, Deputy Vice Chancellor at Maldives National University; and Dr Ibrahim Yasir, former Director General of Health Services.
One member of the commission has already been reappointed. Dr Ali Fawaz Shareef replaced Ahmed Mujuthaba, who said his position as the convener of the all-party consultative meetings was a conflict of interest.
Transparency Maldives, which is scheduled to meet the CNI tomorrow with three other NGOs, including the Maldivian Democracy Network, Maldives NGO Federation and Democracy House, has been active in raising awareness of the detrimental impact corruption and opaque governance on society.
The group’s current projects include Parliament Watch, a program that aims to increase public scrutiny of the procedures and processes used in the People’s Majlis, and the CRINIS Project advocating for changes to political party financing transparency. Others include the Right to Information Project, creating demand for right to information for greater transparency and accountability, the Decentralisation Project promoting accountability and increasing citizen engagement in local governments, and Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres Project, helping victims of corruption with the legal systems in place.
It has also produced reports on media, and conducted surveys on corruption perception. In pursuit of its stated goals of justice and democracy it asked the President to consider allowing it observer status on the CNI. It also requested that the CNI’s findings be made public.
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transparency maldives was established around 2007 or 2008. just saying. fact checking is a glorious thing.
I would like such an inquiry if there is foreign involvement at a greater degree.....
A word of caution in including international experts. Mr. Jangiya Nazim has specifically requested for UN involvement in the inquiry. Please note Dunya, Asim, Seaman Samad, B-Waheed have worked for UN and have very strong friends there. Andrew Cox to be precise is a good friend of B-Waheed. B-Waheed also has a good friend on US State Department.
Defenders of Human Rights working against the coup govt of Maldives need to be aware of this and establish stronger ties with these organisations.
transpency Maldives should get involved and they should do thier best without getting it politicized.
But doubt that Nasheed will accept anything that comes out against him and he only will accept his views.
MDP is in deep shit due Nasheed and Naseed is the culprit and he need to give up and let the democratically elected leader to lead MDP.
How interesting that NGOS as well as government start talking about international representation the moment President Nasheed announces the MDP is going to asign an international organisation to investigate the coup.
It is one month since the coup. One month of daily protests , people angry, scared, anxious, fear property vandalised, police brutality, sleepless nights . And Dr waheed carries on, business as usual.
The public needs to know what happened on the 7th February that forced President Nasheed to resign.
Dr Waheed has made it very clear that he is not going to allow early elections and he is here to stay.The political leaders who have backed him in the coup have said the same.
MDP should go ahead with their own investigation. We cannot trust any investigation by this administration.
Few comments
1.how does Aiman Rasheed know that people do not support an investigation? Is he talking about yellows? Or people of this country?
2. MDP is not cooperating with the govt on anything until election date given..why are they criticising inquiry com n delays..arnt they the ones dragging the whole thing in the first place?
3. Why is this NGO not calling on mdp to start dialogue with the govt, cooperate on the investigation n be part of this interim govt to pave the way for elections instead of taking to the steers vandalising n burning places n threatening human lives?
4. What was this NGO doing when opposition leaders were arbitrarily arrested, judge being kidnapped, 23 nights of public protests took place, media were threatened of liscences being revoked under nasheeds govt??
5. Minivan news reporting has struck n all time low!!!
Dear Shazly,
Aiman Rasheed or anyone else doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that a unilateral move by President Waheed in forming the inquiry commission without larger consensus, especially without support from MDP is likely to end with MDP rejecting the findings of the inquiry. Hence, for the inquiry to be credible, it is important that the inquiry commission constitute of persons agreeable to parties across the political divide.
In addition, MDP members question the integrity of Ismail Shafeeu, who heads the commission and was a long time cabinet minister under the Gayoom administration.
I'm with Aiman Rasheed and Transparency Maldives on this.
Ma'am Shazly, you assume an elected Parliament would welcome an un-elected person in the guise of a President. It is therefore logical that you would assume that this was NOT a coup. Dr.Hassan Saeed of DQP declairs this as a "unique coup", while Mausoom MP from the DRP says it is a coup, but they do not believe it is a coup. Nice going....keep toting those guns!
Any foreign intervention in this would be a disaster. They always believe in the fat lies drooling out from the wine drinker animal Anni. We have in this country highly educated people and independent institutions who can carry out this investigation fairly and in a transparent maneer without the need of foreign parties. We don't need them. Do they invite us to come to their countries to carry out investigations? This is absurd. Its time maldivians do their own jobs without interference from foreigners. If MDP doesn't trust our independent institutions they can get the hell out of this country. We don't want anyway those terrorists, who knows nothing but to create havoc, fear and terrorism in this country.
MALDIVIANS, KEEP YOUR INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY. CHUCK THIS IMPOSTER OUT FROM THE JOB HE HAS GRABBED; UNLAWFULLY. ROUGE POLITICIANS/ BUSINESS-MEN/POLICE/ARMY... OUT!JAIL THE LOT OF THEM. THEY HAVE NO INTEGRITY. FREEZE ALL THEIR WEALTH AND ASSETS BEFORE THEY TAKE IT ABROAD.
GET THIS IDIOTIC WAHEED OUT OF OFFICE. RE-INSTATE PRESIDENT NASHEED BACK WHERE HE BELONGS. ROUGE POLICE ARE SENDING THEIR CRIMINALS TO VANDALIZE AND DO CRIMINAL ACTS TO MAKE WAY FOR THE ROUGE POLICE TO GO AND ARREST PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS. AND THEY FORCE FALSE CONFESSIONS. FROM THOSE ARRESTED. THE ARRESTED CONSIST OF SOME VERY YOUNG . ITS TRAUMATIC! FIRST YOU LOOSE YOUR DIGNITY AND DEMOCRACY. THEN THIS VIOLENCE BY THE FORCES WHICH ARE THERE TO PROTECT YOU. IF WAHEED, GAYOUM & CO THOUGHT THIS WOULD DIE DOWN TO ALLOW THEM TO ENJOY LIFE, THEY ARE VERY VERY WRONG. THE PEOPLE WILL NOT REST UNTIL DEMOCRACY IS RESTORED. WAHEED, GET OUT!
Dr Waheed and those who support him have been raising the question why President did not speak the truth about what happened during those fateful minutes inside the barracks.
They know full well what happened.
But one month after the coup, they stil claim they don’t.
This is what I have heard happened.
President Nasheed was surrounded by the military all the time,that fateful morning. The short "walk" from the Military compound to the President's office was in a vehicle. He was left at the podium but surrounded by the military out of view of the camera. Hisan, HEP's legal secretary has publicly described at MDP live events how the events inside the President's office unfolded. The videos of Hisan are around. The words President Nasheed used were loaded with the message, if anybody cared to hear it, he said he did not want to rule through force and he does not want to be the reason for bloodshed.
The plan was the mob to break into military compound with none of the military making any move to block the gate or stop that from happening. This mob could have or was supposed to have done what they had to do, possibly killing President Nasheed. There were "local mercenaries" among the crowd and possibly in police uniform. Police and or military uniforms have disappeared! Arms were taken out of the barracks,there is video and photo documentation of this fact.
President Nasheed saved his life and the lives of his family and others by his wits, agreeing to their demands for his resignation. He had a narrow escape when the coup conspirators, fortunately for him, decided to move him, on his request, to the President's office to announce his resignation.
My understanding is that if President Nasheed had indicated he was resigning under duress, the military would have snatched him off the camera and take him back to the military compound sparking spontaneous unrest on the streets. I believe this is why he could not do it. He alone understood what was really going on at the time.
Looking at all the events that have unfolded since president Nasheed's resignation, in particular those who Dr Waheed has apppointed as his leaders, only those with vested interests in a government run by Dr Waheed and former President Gayooms friends and associates can believe this was not a coup.
Do you remember that in August 2010 DRP leaders asked Dr Waheed VP about reaction to presidential overthrow at a midnight meeting?
This is a coup and Dr Waheed is complicit in this coup. Say what you will, but the facts speak for themselves.
Does Dr Waheed think we are deaf and blind?
...Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party? When did the party became his?
Stop reporting for the MDP.
We do understand that MinivanNews is operated by the family of President Nasheed but there is still your moral obligations to bring out the news unbiased.
This is the kind of Govt we have been waiting for. Patience, listen, responsive rather than being offensive. MDP govt failed because they dont have the ability to listen and instead take offensive.
GET THIS IDOTIC MARIYA AND REKKO MOOSA OUT OF OFFICE AND CLEAN MDP!!
also three other NGOs participated in the CNI meeting, NGO Federation, Maldivian Democracy Network and Democracy House (Kutti's Organisation).
Former President Nasheed now says he cant remember if he had a cabinet meeting on 7th April. But earlier he said he did have one just before resignation
Nasheed seems to have a memory loss problem.
Have a look. This is the defense the Baaghees have prepared. The verdict is the headline. "No evidence to support Nasheed’s claim that he resigned under duress"
http://www.miadhu.com/2012/03/local-news/no-evidence-to-support-nasheed%E2%80%99s-claim-that-he-resigned-under-duress-yaameen/
Transparency Maldives already know the 7th February incident was a real MUTINY. Now we have to find out who involved how deeply involved in the operation. We believe Transparency Maldives is quite young to find anything during the Presidential power transfer because we understand that the MUTINY was organized by a very experienced world-notorious Silent DICTATOR GAYYOOM of the Indian Ocean
Dear brothers and sisters! May Peace and Blessing of Almighty God be upon all of us.
It is time for "Truth". Surely and "hopefully" "Truth" will prevail. There's no doubt about it.
Dear President Nasheed!
Indeed it's the time of "Truth". When Truth is hurled against falsehood, falsehood parishes.For Falsehood is by it's nature bound to perish.
Dear (Vice) President Dr.Waheed!
Please adhere to the principles of "Truth". At least we the "people of silent majority" knows what went wrong all these days. Most of all, God knows best what we conceal and what we reveal.Therefore it's advisable for the best of this nation, our people to stand firmly for "truth".
Dear all!
We are one, We belong to One. And in final we will be One. To God Almighty we all belong and to God Almighty we shall return.
God Almighty has power over all things. (even the thoughts and aspirations of the people). God Almighty only intends for a thing and it happens.
There are No gods, accept One and Only true God Almighty.
With Love to all our fellow people!
~Bismuth~
One for all, And all for One!
May Peace and Blessing of God Almighty be upon all of us.
It's not coup.....
MNDF Head Quarters attacked by police
It's not a coup....
President Nasheed was threatened of his life
It's not a coup....
Umar Naseer attempted to climb the walls of MNDF Head Quarters using 30 people with 15 ladders in 30 seconds
It's not a coup....
Umar Naseer (a business man)had a command
center Setup
It's not a coup....
Maldives police distributed weapons to general public which itself by law is an offense
It's not a coup....
Theres no law in the Maldives for police and MND to form up a strike of any kind
Tell me what justifies a coup????
I have no confidence in the Committee of National Inquiry appointed by Waheed!
The website of Democracy House says that :
"Democracy House is an apolitical and a non-partisan organization that promotes democracy, freedoms, rights, and tolerance."
The organisation's website does not disclose the names of the members of their board.
A key patron of this "apolitical" and "non-partisan organisation" is Mohamed Waheed Deen, the current "Vice President" awaiting parliamentary approval.
A founder member is Mohammed Nasheed MP - an "independent" MP whose independence is highly questionable, and a notoriously slippery and partisan political character, noted for his loyalty to Gayyoom, notably a previous information minister under Gayyoom's regime).
I am sure the involvement of "democratic" organisations like this in this process will suit Waheed very well!
But the Maldivian people out on the streets who want Waheed out will not be hoodwinked.