Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers who are found to have violated the laws and regulation during the events leading to the controversial transfer of powers on February 7, will face disciplinary action, Defence Minister Ahmed Nazim has said.
Hours before former President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation on February 7, uniformed police and 60-70 officers from the MNDF were seen by reporters and recorded siding with opposition protesters, and attacking the MNDF headquarters.
Video footage also shows rogue police, military officers and civilians, armed with stones and wooden sticks storming the state broadcaster’s compound prior to Nasheed’s resignation, using a firearm or some kind of explosive to break down the gates – later claimed to be a riot gun, in the former Commission of National Inquiry (CNI’s) preemptive report.
Nasheed’s party accuses police and MNDF officers of taking bribes from the then- opposition to oust Nasheed from power in a premeditated coup d’état, and have continued to vociferously challenge the legitimacy of the new coalition government of Dr Mohamed Waheed.
Both police and MNDF have meanwhile dismissed the allegations and refrained from commenting on their role in the alleged coup until the CNI completes its investigation into the February 7 events.
Disciplinary action
However, at a press conference on Sunday morning, Defense Minister confirmed an “internal inquiry” was conducted within MNDF to find information on February 7 events.
“I believed it is of great importance to find information about why the sequence of events which occurred inside MNDF took place – Because then only we can correct anything that has to be corrected based on the findings.” Nazim observed.
He noted final report complied following the internal inquiry is with him and it will not be made public as it is an internal matter and it may “influence” the CNI’s ongoing investigation.
When Minivan News asked whether any actions are to be taken against MNDF officers who were found to have violated the law on February 7 during the inquiry, Nazim responded: “Necessary disciplinary measures will be taken by us for any action committed by MNDF personnel, found to have violated the laws and regulations of the MNDF.”
However, so far, no such measures have been taken.
“We have an internal disciplinary committee. The committee will discuss and provide me with the steps that can be taken. Further action will proceed based on the recommendations,” said Nazim, who himself is facing accusations of being at the centre of organising the alleged coup.
Defense Minister Nazim’s involvement
Nazim today acknowledged that he is a “target” of allegations and repeated that he did not wish to further comment on the subject until the CNI concludes investigation.
However he continued to lambast the MDP’s report, calling it “an imaginary story”.
Recalling his victory in the civil suit filed against MDP government after he was sacked from the military, Nazim further encouraged officers – whose names and pictures have been published in the report – to file defamation suits against the MDP.
In a recently published MDP report on the February 7 events, ex-colonel Mohamed Nazim and ex-deputy commissioner Abdulla Riyaz (now Commissioner of police) have been accused of recruiting police and army officers to join the opposition’s protest.
Meanwhile, the timeline released by the government’s three-member Inquiry Commission also states that between 8:00am to 9:00am “some of the military who had come out of the building [MNDF head quarters] joined with the police, who were calling for the president’s resignation outside the headquarters at the time.”
The report further says that it was Nazim and Riyaz who entered MNDF headquarters as the violence escalated outside, and proposed Nasheed “should resign without any condition”.
“We told them these are non-negotiable conditions. These are not things up for further discussion. We assure the beloved Maldivians, military and police who are with us that, God willing, these things will happen this way by the deadline we have set for 1:30 today.” Nazim publicly announced on the morning of February 7, after coming out of the headquaters.
Asked on what grounds and on whose command he made a non-negotiable condition for Nasheed’s resignation, he commented: “The message I gave represented the sentiments of people outside. I gave their message on what they wanted.”
As some military officers were also seen outside with police and opposition protestors, Minivan News asked whether the message to unconditionally resign represented what that military officers wanted.
Nazim however replied, “We will know that after the investigation. We cannot blame any specific person.”
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MNDF nominated scapegoats already!
This is an attempt of a cover up. It does prove they guilty however!
So what changed? So far the entirety of MNDF and Police have been hailed as heroes who rescued the country from infidels. Surely, during such heroic and brave actions, no laws of the land could possibly have been broken.
Or, is Nazim on the back foot now, since he knows that other people know a lot more than he thought? "Beyond the Grave" may be right in that Nazim and Co are preparing a few select scape goats ready for massacre.
With the MNDF high command accused of being fully complicit in the illegal transfer of power on February 7th, how can the said command undertake an inquiry on its own performance?
Or have I missed some military "intelligence" here, Mr Nazim?
the lie is coming out from the horses mouth now... MNDP officers mutinied after believing the sermons of Kutti Nasheed (one of Gayoom era's henchman) and lawyer who has lost way.. We must also punish Kutti and the likes together with Nazim and other mutinying police and MNDf officers
Joker Nazim defending himself. How can any disciplinary action be taken against anyone in MNDF without first taking that action against Nazim, one of the biggest baghees as seen on TV? MNDF and Police should really take their grievances to court if they have the guts to, but don't think these people would want any investigations to uncover what they really did on the 7th!
After reading this article, one can only realize how urgently the Maldives Military & Police require Humanitarian, Democratic and Social values...May Allah SWT bestow us these IMPORTANT knowledge, Ameen
Nazim was a civilian on 7th February. Who is he to decide that President Nasheed resign.
This itself proves that this is a coup.
Who gave him permission to enter the Police Station?
Who is Nazim?
Video footage and pictures are there. Reporters have reported. What else is required to identify who the rogue elements are in MNDF??
Four months passed, whilst no action is taken. Despite that, they are made heroes to the likes of Boduthakurufaanu.
Hey give me a break.
First take action against all those including couple of Ministers who are comfortably sitting...why should big fishes escape ...and ordinary soldiers being played as puppets? !
Finally something what Nazim should have said the very next day he became minister of defense. Why come out and say this today after MDP put the pressure pot to its highest. that itself signals a corrupted intent to get away with it but now realizing he can't, he's trying to come clean.
Faces of evil seemingly are loosing.
So, it was not Nazim and Riyaz who infiltrated evil into these poor officers who did not have the capacity to think before they did the dirtiest thing they could have done in their lives!
Nazim, Riyaz, Shiyam, Fayaz and Co. have no way out.
You were the evil!
You answer, get punished before you let these unworthy officers and others serve sentence for the part they played in this drama!
Kutti Nasheed thinks he, and he only can decipher and translate the Constitution! Bah! Kutty!
You and your mentor will have to serve punishment for what they have done to this nation!
I think the Nasheed-Aslam-Faisal Claims and the now released official timeline indicates that there was considerable popular support for what is seen by some to be an uprising against then President Nasheed.
While it is no surprise that Nasheed and his loyalists defend his actions and continue to insist that he was ousted in a coup, we must never forget that Nasheed had breached the Constitution as well as international treaties binding on the Maldives to arbitrarily arrest a Chief Justice of the Courts.
This point can never be glossed over nor forgotten. An additional vital piece of information is that the Nasheed regime had ordered police forces at the scene of violence between opposing political activists to pull back. Pull back!! Leaving Maldivian citizens to get hurt in the process. For what purpose? To what ends?
Nasheed has refused to answer for the allegations against him. The only thing he has said so far is that he would treat the Chief Justice the same way he had done earlier if he had the chance to do it all over again. This leads us to believe he is unrepentant and unwilling to accept the consequences of his actions.
While Nasheed supporters have been robbed of their credibility by allowing themselves to be led by several who had illegally received islands to operate resorts on, the MDP faces an additional dilemma. The legal questions over its leadership.
The MDP can crow about "coup"s and "traitor"s all they want but the truth is large numbers of the common folk despise Nasheed for the open contempt and blatant disregard for the rights of non-MDP people he had shown during his presidency. He had event sat and smiled while an MP in his party had publicly called on the President to deny housing for non-MDP members. Not that he acted on such an assertion but even tolerating such comments are unbecoming of a President.
No, my dear MDP folk, Nasheed will never ever in a million years return to the Presidency.
The Maldivian economy cannot and will not allow him to squander our meager funds on buying political support and doling out unsustainable welfare funds for votes.
The Maldivian government machinery cannot bear his appointment of pretentious untrained activists to command their betters.
The Maldivian public are unwilling to accept his desire to transform the country into a religiously pluralistic society overnight.
Even his supporters within the MDP are sick and tired of his cronyism which saw the appointment of insanely young children of MDP elite to undeserving posts within the government.
how come tsk tsk didn't comment on this one?
@this tsk dude has his own version of democracy or he thinks he is in possession of a superior brain. such drivel
@hashim; is tsk tsk on something? it seems like from how his sentences are structured... ??
@tsk tsk ; you are going to go to jail for one.. you are the rotten product of golhaaboa... we don't need the likes of you for this society anymore...