The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned attacks on police officers and called for peaceful protest, in a statement released on Friday.
According to the police, four uniformed officers have been attacked in the past week, sustaining injuries that required hospital treatment.
The most recent attack took place on Thursday night near Malé city’s carnival area. A police officer on traffic patrol was stabbed in the back of his neck, and has now been flown abroad for treatment, police have reported.
Three men armed with knives entered another police officer’s house on Wednesday, but the police officer was unharmed, police said. A total of 16 have been arrested over these attacks.
The MDP said it recognizes “high levels of public animosity towards police officers with regards to their involvement in the February 7 coup, overthrowing the first democratically elected Government in the Maldives, and their subsequent brutal crackdown on unarmed civilians”.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on February 7 after the army joined a police mutiny. Nasheed later claimed he was forced to resign under duress. He led a march through Malé city on February 8, which MDP claims was dispersed with brutal force.
However, the MDP urged the public to express themselves through peaceful protest. Further, the party expressed concern over police’s alleged attempts to frame the MDP in relation to attacks on police.
President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has accused Nasheed’s supporters of attacks on police officers on Twitter. A President’s Office statement on 19 March also accused “sympathisers of MDP” of torching the Auction Shop in Malé.
The MDP claimed women detained on 19 March were sexually harassed. “This includes demanding some women detained on Monday, 19 March, to strip and squat a number of times while under police custody, and the use of inappropriate language,” the statement read.
“The MDP would like to remind the Police of their responsibility in upholding the law, and respecting the fundamental rights of all those detained,” the statement said.
The party noted an increase in the use of Stop and Search powers and condemned it as “a form of intimidation against MDP activists,” and called on the police to follow “appropriate behavior” as outlined in the Police Powers Act.
Police spokesperson Hassan Haneef said all search procedures were conducted according to the law, and denied sexual harassment claims. He also said the public can lodge complaints with the Human Rights Commission and Police Integrity Commission if they had been mistreated.
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This is the joke of the century! haha... 😀
"Police spokesperson Hassan Haneef said all search procedures were conducted according to the law, and denied sexual harassment claims. He also said the public can lodge complaints with the Human Rights Commission and Police Integrity Commission if they had been mistreated."
This seems to be the approach taken by the Police in answering any complaints on police brutality and abuse. Conveniently neither the PIC or the HRCM are active enough to look into any of these complaints by the public. This is the real joke...they are basically saying that they will do whatever they want (of course everything is also within the law), and if the public has a problem then they should lodge their complaints with the relevant authorities!
MDP condemning the attacks on police will do no good as long as your dear leader calls out 'money money money yes sir' towards the police.
And what about the attacks of MDP protesters on police, public and their properties? 🙂
Thank you MDP for condoming, sorry I mean condemning police violence
Thanks to former President Nasheed and his hard core associates for condemning attacks on police. At the same time, we must be careful to weigh the truth of their stand how truly they uphold what they have ostentatiously put forth in situations of the same nature in the recent past. It would be wise for the Maldivians not to let Mr Nasheed and his close associates to play smart card any more. If Nasheed and his buddies believe, they can fool all the people all the time, then they are dead wrong. Nasheed constantly applies smart card tactics,i.e use and dispose, his closest buddies are not excluded. Better be warned guys!!
This is funny.
MDP is the people who are attacking and injuring our security forces.
If there is an MDP protest, our security forces will sustain grave injuries, out porperties will be vanadlised and our government buildings will be set on fire.
If there are no MDP protests, our security forces will be attacked by random MDP criminals. Most of these people are out on the streets because they are released from jail on a 'second chance' given to them.
Now the MDP is calling to stop all of this? Or is it the injuring the security forces that they are calling to stop?
Have they realised that their cheap tactics do not work?
Its not worth attacking those dumb heads
Maummon's brother Yameen planted some terrorists within MDP protesters to heat things up... Real evil personality Yameen.... MP Alhaan condemns these attacks.....
To Pipi: I agree with your 'money money yes sir' part of your comment... I believe its a mutiny of police and MNDF on 07 February 2012. What I dont believe is junior soldiers in the MNDF been bribed for the change of government!! Its not true at all.....If its true where is my money??? I didnt get anything from Buruma, Yameen or Champa!!
If some generals in The MNDF are involved in the 'money,money yes sir' part its better to isolate those generals who have been bribed and chant 'money money yes sir' to them...
To MDP leadership,
Learn to respect MNDF and Police if you want to earn their respects.....
Fabulous denial by the new regime now working as a coordinated PR team to every article and comment in Mininvannews! When is the new 100% bias website going to be launched, so you can fool the westerners...????
MDP introduced peaceful expression in this country, that is why Nasheed did not fight on 7th February. Yameen has hired his thugs to do these attacks and so blame the MDP, we all know this, ....just like before!
When the public no longer trust the Police, you have an enormous problem!
MDP is playing by the same book they had applied prior to 2008. Every Maldivian knew that they are the people who are attacking our security forces because of the self-coup on February 7th. Day in day out their senior figures are instigating this violence in Lonuziyaaraiy Kolhu and now in Haruge. You cant fool all the people all the time.
We have people who are asked to wear yellow color and go and attack the police, in order for them to retaliate against MDP members
The MNDF and the Police need to earn the people's trust, before anyone will ever trust them again. True, there are some very honest and dignified officers in both these institutions, but fact is that a bunch of greedy officers has sold this country to the devils for their own short term gains and fact is the people will not tolerate it. If calling "money money yes sir" is getting to them, well then think about how frustrated the people of this country are that the people who were supposed to protect us sold us out! Respect is something that has to be earned and people can't be terrorized into trusting the police or mndf by beating them up and pepper spraying them. Maybe these two institutions are too used to torturing people that they can't operate in any other way, but they better realize that the people are no longer going to just tolerate it as it was done in the earlier days of Maumoon's dictatorship.
If MDP is looking for future, they should stop all the violence and specialy harassing the police and armed forces. There will be significant number of police that support MDP and, the objective should be to increase that number. No government can stay in power when the country's security is against it.
Buddy Shan, you are totally right. MDP should learn to be more tolerant in dealing with volatile situations. I agree with you that "no government can stay in power when the country's security is against it. " Well versed buddy.
kekekeke ... whats the point - police and mndf are used and like to harass women, abuse them, beat them, they brutalise people all over
U really think we let this just pass ? U really think we just let them beat us ? U really think we let do PPM thugs - protected and even armed by police - just do their things ? While PPM "attacks" police, giving them some bruises, and then accusing MPD for ? U think we are called 'terrorists' because we protest against the military regime ?
U really think ? Well, u are wrong !
In first dictators time, 169 people, "bros and siss" ... were murdered, in cold blood, by the forces of gayoom maumoon. One hundred sixty nine ... murdered, our brothers and sisters, in cold blood ... Eevan Naseem 32 yo, Ibrahim Fariz 19 yo, Ali Mohamed 29 yo, ... go on ... ONE HUNDRED SIXTY NINE ...
You really think we will not HIT BACK ?