Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s representative on the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, has today expressed deep concern over the draft report compiled by investigation’s co-chair, retired Singaporean Judge G P Selvam.
In a brief statement provided to media today outside Muleeaage, Saeed said that the draft report produced by Selvam “somewhat refutes or denies what we Maldivians saw and experienced” on February 7. Former President Nasheed resigned during the day under what he later claimed was “duress” after elements of police and the army mutinied at Republic Square.
“I accepted membership of the Commission of National Inquiry with the weight of responsibility of carrying the hopes of you, the Maldivian people. The Maldivian people saw the first democratic government formed under the constitution adopted in 2008 as a good reform – a golden opportunity to revise the constitution and establish a democratic system and rule of the people. [The people] saw it as an opportunity to move away from the culture of arresting and banishing previous rulers and establishing a culture of changing governments through the vote and not through coup d’etats,” Saeed said today.
“February 7, 2012 was a day that shocked Maldivians – a day when the Maldivian government was changed in a sudden confusion. Now, however, the report that Judge Selvam has drafted and brought is a draft that somewhat refutes or denies what we Maldivians saw and experienced – or a draft that somewhat confuses things, the way it is now.
“While this is happening, for me to stay here, at Muleeage, would I believe be a betrayal of my country and the Maldivian people. I see the draft report as having been written without considering the witness testimony of many, many people to CoNI as well as the many scenes we saw.”
Saeed added that he would continue to work to “include my concerns” in the final report. He was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press regarding his comments.
Following Saeed’s statement, the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) convened an emergency meeting of the party’s National Council.
A resolution proposed by former minister Mohamed Shihab and seconded by MP Mariya Ahmed Didi expressing concern in line with Saeed’s views on the draft report was adopted with unanimous consent.
Speaking to Minivan News, MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that the information in the current “domestic draft” report was not acceptable.
“What [Saeed] is saying is that they have omitted several details that they found from the investigations, so he is asking to make the report accurate in reflecting this,” he explained.
However, he observed there was room for the CNI’s findings to still find consensus before its public release on Thursday (August 30).
“The CNI report should be something that all its members have to agree upon so without MDP’s word, the report would not be authentic,” Ghafoor said.
“There is a draft out there that appears to conclude that there was no police mutiny [on February 7], this is just not acceptable given what the public saw,” he claimed.
President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza and Media secretary Masood Imad were not responding to calls by Minivan News at the time of press.
The first three-member CNI was appointed by President Mohamed Waheed, following a police and military mutiny and Nasheed’s resignation on February 7. Both Nasheed and the MDP allege that his resignation was made under “duress” and was therefore a “coup d’état”.
Facing pressure from the Commonwealth and civil society NGOs, the government eventually agreed to reform the commission to include a retired Singaporean judge and a representative for Nasheed.
Nasheed’s representative, Saeed, who was formerly both Principal of ‘Ahmadiyya School’ and Deputy Principal of the British College of Sri Lanka was finally accepted after the government of President Waheed rejected almost 11 names Nasheed proposed to the commission.
The original members of the CNI subsequently released a ‘timeline’ into events that took place from January 16 to February 7.
The MDP accused the commission of trying to prejudice the work of the new commission, and then released its own version of events in response – the ‘Ameen- Aslam’ report based on interviews with the security services. The government described the publication of this report as a “terrorist act”.
An audio clip of Saeed’s statement
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Sad to say, but this was expected all along. In one fell swoop Saeed has;
- Undermined the work of the Commission of which he is still a member. Extremely unprofessional. A proper media hoopla could have been created by resigning silently instead.
- Cast doubts on months of work thereby lending Nasheed supporters within the MDP an excuse to deny any part of the report which condemns anything Nasheed did wrong.
- Created room for further unrest to be engineered in a bid to reach a political agreement where Nasheed does not have to face prosecution for Abdulla Mohamed's unlawful arrest.
- Used his position as a launching pad to carve a niche for himself in the political sphere.
It is sad to say that this was the accepted outcome. Did anyone for a second think that MDP would accept anything else than this was a coup?
It was so obvious that it makes one wonder why the Commonwealth would insist on having someone from Nasheed on this inquiry.
We have to remember that the Commonwealth did put a Singaporean judge and other observers on this commission and that all the interviews and statements were taken in English later on for the benefit of these foreign observers.
So Saeed may find himself marginalised and the only one with this opinion.
From day one it was obvious that "Gahaa" Saeed was unqualified to be selected as a member of CoNI. He had earlier spoken publicly at MDP rallies accusing the current government of coming to power in a Coup.
Since "Gahaa" Saeed had already made up his mind and stated so in public prior to him joining the Commission, he lacked any credibility in the eyes of the vast majority of people.
Now, by making such unprofessional and unethical public statements well before the final report has been concluded, "Gahaa" Saeed has lost any integrity or any little credibility that he might have had.
Even if the final report were to conclude against his opinion, the professional approach would be for "Gahaa" Saeed to write a minority opinion disagreeing with the outcome of the Commission.
Can you imagine a member of the Supreme Court coming out in front of the Supreme Court to claim that the Chief Justice has a written a draft verdict against the opinion of a single dissenting member of the bench? Such is the example of the unethical and highly unprofessional action of "Gahaa" Saeed who is no different from any street activist of MDP.
Shame on you Saeed!
its good the Gaha Saeed spoke to the media at this point.. so that the truth cannot be manipulated by a few lawyers bought by the tycoons. According to some reports, Azima Shukoor, Kutti Nasheed and Husnu Sood helped to draft this for Selvam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fp0IKPguDs&feature=plcp
video of Gahaa's press brief.
brave man.
So what did you expect Saeed to do? Watch them twist the facts and give the regime what they paid for? I know this looks like a strange concept to some of you. But does it occur to you that there are still people like Saeed who actually want to tell the truth?
Gahaa Saeed is trying to make a political buck out of this, this buggar should not he is no more than a principal. He is a good comedian also...now buggar off Saeed
Why did Selvam disappear?? He went to Singapore while the investigation was on-going. To do what????
Ismail Shafeeu (Gayoom's Defense Minister). Selvam (bought by Gayyom). All other memebers in the commission, except Gahaa Saeed is appointed by the govermnent,
why bother with CoNI report. everyone including HRCM, PIC, PG, indian high commission, american ambasseder, etc is biased against MDP. All of them took part in a coup. whatever president nasheed tells is the truth and nothing but the truth. lets reinstate him. no need for an election after his reinstatement as he is the nelson mandela of this country. no need for any courts also. abolish supreme court and other courts. the good members of MDP like (reekow moosa) will make a peoples court and will issue sentences there. abolish majlis also so that they dont hinder the government and the cabinet doesnt have to resign because of that. this country belongs to MDP and anyone who doesnt agree with MDP is a baghee and deserves to be harrased their children bullied and their properties burnt to ground..
If the report were to include everything everybody wants and says, the report would not make any sense.
A Jury decides the verdict on the most number of votes.
What the hell kind of idiot is this??
What does the Singaporean say?
I know that Mr Saeed is an upright,honest and a trustworthy person, who is as qualified as anybody else on the commission, for the task. If he says it is a 'farce', as i have always believed it would be,then it is so...i applaud Saeed for his integrity!
The report draft should have been submitted to MDP first, and modified as per MDP wished. I condemn any corrections made to the report without MDP's involvement. We only believe MDP's statement, all the others are liars !
hiccup....
How can the truth be twisted to this extent? Atleast Gahaa Saeed has the honesty to say what he did. Even if you do not support President Nasheed facts can't be denied, and it is very obvious to anyone who watched TV as the events unfolded live on TV that something fishy was going on that day. How can one explain the presence of Nazim and Riyaz in the President's office even at the moment President Nasheed resigned you can see them in the video.
And right on queue...
By speaking in advance, Gahaa Saeed has compromised the public perception of his impartiality.
Not a smart move.
So, this is a fix up, no surprise with the financial muscle of the current coup regime!
Let's forget everything else for the time being? When CoNI couldnot finish its task within the original schedule of July 31st, how s that & for what Mr. Selvam went out of Maldives right at beginning of August, to Coe back only 5days before the proposed date of report? Obviously there is more than meets the eye. Something was brewing outside the CoNi's office in Muleeaage and that is where the draft of Mr. Selvam' report has come from. God save our nation!
It takes courage to do what Saeed did. Thank you for your loyalty to our nation
yeah MDP gO, it's MDP's way or the high way. this country is full of MDp activists and the rest of the population can go to hell!!No wonder people talk about dictators???It's all so true!!
This is the undoing of filthy scum Selvam. Do you really think you can own a resort here??
It is one thing to sue Nasheed for the alleged constitutional crimes he may have committed and totally another to wreak havoc by the security forces by calling for his resignation. Their responsibility is obey the orders of the elected government and it is none of their business to mind and judge the lawful of the orders and demand resignation of the commander in chief. Who decided the order was unlawful Who? Which is the unlawful order. Utter nonsense emanating from greed-ridden, power hungry, wily political c criminals. nothing else. If Nasheed had given unlawful orders let it people's verdict in the next elections. Where is the trial for that unlawful orders. Without courts of law, undermining the constitution and undermine the laws of the country the security forces did nothing but destroy the legal fabric of the country.
Neither CONI nor Majlis nor Supreme court can be used to rubber stamp the legitimacy of this government. This is nothing but broad daylight mutiny, injustice and duress imposed to derail the first democratic government for three following reasons:
1 the opposition lost of hope of the next election too flagrantly.
2. Excuses posed to create mayhem did not lend credence due to the fact they too inconsequential to the people to impeach a serving President or topple the government. no popular support at all.
3 Criminal court has been the tool run away with impunity.
Thus, nothing but brute force and coup to feed their greed and burning jealousy. This does not lead to peace
So what do you all who are commenting here say abt the missing CCTV footage? I know you all want maumoon to be in power, can you just answer why CCTV footage has gone missing before saying Saeed in unqualified for all this.
Gahaa Saeed, to my belief, is not a person like the co-chair person of the Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI, Mr. G. P. Selvam, whose integrity and character is very much challenged and questioned!
Gahaa Saeed is known to be a person of character and integrity. I am sure his friends, colleagues, and students would know it best and can vouch for it!
To my belief, he has taken a bold and trustful step in a call for justice!
He does not represent non other than the elected president who was ousted by an opposition using the armed forces of the country.
And I believe Mr. Saeed has right to express and tell the people what he finds missing in whatsoever report he is involved in compiling!
It is truth, nothing but the truth that is needed for justice to prevail.
Being timely or otherwise is the will of god and will be best known when the final result is out!
Who formed the CONI?
Who was behind the coup readily to take oath?
Whose favour will the report be?
Where was the Judge, the co-chair during the last two weeks? Did he manufacture the report in Singapore or was he just taking rest amid the report?
Where did this calamity happen?
How did Gayoom and Waheed suddenly changed the language, so sanguine?
Would any government survive when the security forces mutiny and the mutinying forces are not arrested and the snowballs into full scale anarchy?
Can the security forces say "no sir" or "may be sir" or "not today sir" to the command emanating from the top?
Are attempts, declared and virulent, to overthrow an elected government without vote or impeachment legitimate as per the Maldives Constitution?
Could Saeed stay silent till the report is out when he knows that covering up is going on?
Why were the phone calls not considered evidence?
How come some officers were not summoned?
Why is it that no action has been taken against security personnel who rebelled against the President?
Why cannot security forces claim the same again and rise against a government that captured power?
Why did Anni hand write write his own resignation in the President's Office? Why did not the letter have a reference number? Does he always hand write his letters and sign?
Do you think the soldiers who could not subdue or arrest the mutinying elements would have protected the President from harms way?
What would have been President's fate if he did not resign?
Why did the retired security officers, only three officers who were dismissed by Anni, come to the scene? Were they not revengeful?
Is it not people versus the corrupted powerful?
Is Saeed not known as a man of integrity?
Common sense's answer is so plain, all happened before the eyes of the world.
Oh Shimy, dear Shimy, you are such a babe in the woods.
Dr Waheed failed in his leadership bid in the MDP. Dr Waheed also failed to get a political party on the road. Allt he work of the party was done by Mustahfa and Aminath Ali. Dr Waheed knows the only way he can become President of the Maldives is through the political base of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the resort tycoons.
Maumoon, Yaameen , Dhunya and Umar Naseer think they have got Dr Waheed in their fist, but it is Dr Waheed who now holds them in his fist.
Dr Waheed will be the Presidential candidate of the PPM.
Wow!! What a priviledge Dr Waheed, to lead the party of those who killed a nation.
To have the opportunities you had and to fail so spectacularly as you have done Dr Waheed, must be so painful.
Do us a favour, Dr Waheed, just leave.