Tag: maldives

“Sword of Damocles” hangs above Nasheed: European parliamentary delegation

The European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with South Asia has expressed “deep concern” at the deterioration of the situation in the Maldives.

“The European Union had deployed a team of experts to observe the first democratic Presidential elections held in the country in 2008; a sword of Damocles now hangs above the winner of these elections, with his arrest warrant already issued on unspecified grounds,” said a statement from delegation chair Jean Lambert.

“We understand a number of MPs and local councillors have also been detained or are in hospital following continued police violence,” Lambert added, further noting that several EU countries have issued travel advisories for the Maldives as “public resentment and violence are now spreading well beyond the capital.”

Urging Maldivian security forces to act according to their position and the law, the Lambert regretted that “credible signs [of establishing a National Unity Government] have yet to be witnessed.”

The situation in the Maldives has also turned up in the Australian parliament, in reference to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s own assumption of power from Kevin Rudd. Gillard’s office had prepared an acceptance speech two weeks before Rudd was deposed as leader of the party.

“While the new leader of the Maldives says he did not bring about the coup, reports have surfaced that he was involved in coup preparations that began weeks earlier,” said opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop.

“Does the foreign minister agree that the new leader should tell the full truth about his involvement in the coup?”
Rudd, who is now foreign minister and participated in the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAGS)’s urgent teleconference on the Maldives’ situation, reminded parliamentarians that “much is at stake” in the Maldives.

“Those opposite seem to think that this is a trivial matter, when hundreds of people are being beaten in the streets,” the foreign minister said.

“Those opposite trivialise the fact that hundreds of people have been arrested, that hundreds of people have been subjected to violence in the streets of the capital city of Male and on top of that, that we are likely to have seen the forced removal – under threat of armed violence with guns – of a democratically elected head of state.”

Rudd said he had spoken to the former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, three nights ago and had been involved in moves to send a Commonwealth mission to Male to establish whether the coup occurred through violent means.

“If so, the necessary course of action would be suspension from the Commonwealth. We take these matters seriously,” Rudd said. “As foreign minister of Australia I do not regard them as trivial.”

In recent days the UK and Germany have also indicated that an independent investigation into the nature of the power transfer would be necessary to “consolidate [the new government’s] legitimacy.”

The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs has said it remains “too early” to judge what conclusions its Heads of Missions (HoMs) will draw from their visit to the politically turbulent Maldives.

Amidst calls from member states like the UK and Germany to hold an “independent inquiry” into the circumstances that saw President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik come to power last week in an alleged “coup d’etat”, the EU said it has not reached a decision on the current government’s legitimacy.

“The EU has not taken a definitive position on the events leading to the transfer of power, so we would wait for the conclusions of the investigation,” said a spokesperson for the Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton.

“In the meantime, we look forward to the establishment of a unity government, to dialogue among all political forces and for all parties to refrain from violence.”

In an interview with AFP news agency President Waheed gave assurances that he would welcome the visit of a nine-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to ascertain details of the transfer of power in the country.

Several international human rights groups have nonetheless questioned the legitimacy of President Waheed’s government, which has faced widespread civil unrest and allegations of supporting violent crackdowns on members and supporters of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) by security forces tasked with securing the public.

Yet in an interview with The Australian newspaper this week, President Waheed called for Australia to support the legitimacy of his government amidst “untrue” claims he had come to power in a “coup”. He also pledged to push ahead with attempts at further democratic reform.

EU fact finding

According to the spokesperson for High Representative Ashton, last weekend’s visit of the HoMs was planned before the presidential turnover.

“However, in the current circumstances, the main focus of the mission is to assess the situation and meet with all major political parties, civil society and key institutions,” they stated. “It is yet too early to judge what the final findings of this HoMs fact-finding mission will be.”

When asked about allegations and reports emerging from across the country about violent crackdowns by some security forces and figures posing as police in areas like Addu Atoll, the EU said it would again be awaiting findings from the Maldives’ Human Rights Commission before making any statements.

“We welcome the role of the Human Rights Commission and other mandated bodies to investigate any possible wrongdoings by the government institutions,” added the bloc spokesperson.

Amongst criticism from a number of human rights organisations regarding the nature of the change in power, the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission insists that establishing the legitimacy of the Maldives new government is not just relevant, but crucial to any resolution of the current unrest.

Commission Deputy Chair Ben Rogers said that any government hoping to be recognised as legitimate ultimately requires a people’s mandate.

“I believe Dr Waheed should hand over power to the Speaker and an interim government, and then fresh elections, with international monitors, should be held in three months,” he said. “In the meantime he should guarantee Mohamed Nasheed’s security and liberty, and the safety and freedom of other MDP members.”

US talks, IPU walks

Foreign diplomats have so far backed the plans forwarded by Waheed, who claims he is trying to form a national unity government ahead of the 2013 presidential elections.

On a visit to Male’ over the weekend, United States’ Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake encouraged the coalition of “former opposition” political parties affiliated with the new government to “work with all parties to reform and improve the capacity of the judiciary, the police and the election commission to maintain a democratic transition.

Nasheed’s supporters have rejected Waheed’s government as a legitimate ruling body and have refused to participate in its administration.

Challenged by a foreign journalist over the legality of the transition, Blake stated that America’s commitment was to the new government of the Maldives.

“The United states remains committed to working with all Maldivian people to ensure a democratic and prosperous future for this important friend of the United States,” Blake said.

However, he added that there were “some questions regarding the transfer of power” and suggested that an independent Maldivian commission be formed to investigate the issue, before arriving at conclusions.

In a more aggressive move, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a close affiliate of the United Nations, is sending an urgent mission to the Maldives to address concerns over the reported beating and detention of lawmakers.

“I am very worried about recent news alleging harassment and beatings of members of parliament and the continued detention of one of them,” said IPU President Abdulwahad Radi in a statement yesterday.

MDP Parliamentary Group yesterday released a statement categorically describing the beatings and in some cases detention of 10 MPs by security forces on capital Male’. Accompanying photos lend credibility to the claims.

Urging authorities to exercise “restraint”, Radi advised that “inclusive political dialogue” was the only solution to the current crisis. “It is essential that an atmosphere of non-violence, restraint and stability be established,” he said.

Radi further requested Maldivian officials to respect their parliament’s mandate while assuring that the IPU mission would meet with “all political actors concerned” with the country’s crisis.

The IPU, a conglomeration of 159 member countries founded in 1899, connects elected representatives from different nations and regions.

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Political turmoil threatens archaeological treasures in Maldives: New York Times

Nearly a week after vandals stormed into the National Museum here and destroyed almost 30 Buddhist statues — some dating to the sixth century — the broken glass has been swept away and the remnants have been locked up. But officials say the loss to this island nation’s archaeological legacy can never be made up, writes Vikas Bajaj for the New York Times.

Amid the recent political turmoil that has racked this tiny Indian Ocean nation of 1,200 islands, a half dozen men stormed into the museum last Tuesday and ransacked a collection of coral and lime figures, including a six-faced coral statue and a one-and-a-half-foot wide representation of the Buddha’s head. Officials said the men attacked the figures because they believed they were idols and illegal under Islamic and national laws.

There were contradictory reports about whether suspects had been arrested. Mr. Waheed said five men were caught at the museum but a spokesman for the police, Ahmed Shiyam, said on Monday that investigators were still collecting evidence and had not made arrests.

The attack is reminiscent of the Taliban’s demolition of the great Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in early 2001, and has raised fears here that extremists are gaining ground in the Maldives, a Sunni Muslim country that is believed to have converted to Islam in the 12th century from Buddhism. The country has long incorporated elements of Islamic laws in its jurisprudence. Alcohol, pork products and idols cannot be brought into the country.

On the same day that the statues were destroyed last week, Mohamed Nasheed, who was elected president in 2008 in the country’s first democratic election, stepped down in what he said was a coup and what his opponents argue was a voluntary resignation. His resignation came after nearly a month-long protest by Islamic and other opposition political parties, some of whom criticized him for not cracking down on massage parlors that operated as brothels and for proposing that hotels on islands inhabited by Maldivians be allowed to serve alcohol. Currently, only hotels on islands where no Maldivians live or at the airport are allowed to serve alcohol.

Ali Waheed, the director of the National Museum, said on Monday that officials might be able to restore two or three of the statues but the rest were beyond repair. Mr. Waheed’s staff recently moved some palanquins, beds and jugs from the last 100 years into the gallery that previously housed the statues on the ground level of the museum, built by the Chinese as a gift to the Maldives.

“The collection was totally, totally smashed,” Mr. Waheed said. “The whole pre-Islamic history is gone.”

Naseema Mohamed, a historian who retired from the museum last year, said the loss was particularly devastating because many of the country’s ancient artifacts dispersed across the archipelago had been lost or destroyed over the years by locals and rulers. “There was very little left,” she said.

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The speed of India’s abandonment of Nasheed is bewildering: The Hindu

The speed with which India abandoned Mohammed Nasheed and declared support for the successor government is bewildering, writes Jyoti Malhotra for The Hindu.

The speed with which the largest democracy in the world abandoned, by all accounts, the youngest democracy in the world has left several people terribly bewildered. Was this the result of an accumulated pragmatism that runs freely in the heart of New Delhi’s foreign policy establishment these days, especially as Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna is widely considered to be an absentee figure in this part of South Block?

Certainly, pragmatism has its benefits, and the art of foreign policy-making cannot be mixed with something as ephemeral as friendships, including with democrats. Certainly, too, the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the Maldives, M. Ganapathi, a top diplomat in the Foreign Office, has told Nasheed when he met him on Friday in Male, that Nasheed and his family will be safe under the new dispensation.

But as Nasheed pointed out to this reporter, on the phone from Male, this assurance is hardly enough. Meanwhile, in India and abroad, people are watching to see if India, the most powerful country in the region, can ensure that Waheed stops the savage crackdown that the Maldivian security forces are continuing to heap upon Nasheed’s hapless MDP supporters.

If all foreign policy is a function of national interest, then India must ask itself if the Waheed government is really an ideal partner in the Maldives, or if he is really a mukhauta or a mask of Gayoom. If Waheed is really Gayoom’s puppet — certainly, the new President has not one party member in Parliament, nor any councillors; he has been unable to form his own Cabinet, leave alone a government of national unity — then India should be more than worried.

But New Delhi has already decided that Waheed’s government is a legitimate one and that Nasheed’s crisis is largely one of his own making. Government sources say that Nasheed was repeatedly asked by High Commissioner Mulay, even a few hours before he resigned, whether he needed any assistance from India, and Nasheed said no.

On his part, Nasheed — on whom the realisation is beginning to dawn that his friend and partner, India, has dumped him — points out that he “resigned” because he wanted to avoid bloodshed, which would have been inevitable if he had decided to resist. Surrounded by security forces, Nasheed said, he could hardly have asked Mulay for protection.

As delegations from the U.S., the Commonwealth and the European Union set up camp in Male to figure a way out of the crisis, the world is looking to India to lead. It has all the credentials to do so — in fact, some parts of Lakshadweep even speak Dhivehi, the national language of the Maldives — especially if it believes that the Maldives is a part of its South Asian sphere of influence.

Whether or not Nasheed returns to a jail, this time under Waheed, the simple question remains: will India grasp the immensely fragile moment at hand, ensure that peace and stability return to the Maldives and that fresh elections are held, sooner than later?

If it does, it will be setting an example to the regime not only in Male or elsewhere in South Asia, but across the Asian arc littered with authoritarian rulers of all colours. If not, it could be making its second, strategic mistake in this Indian Ocean island. This time around, though, the error could take much longer to heal.

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Comment: Appeal for help

On the 7th of February, 2012 the lawfully elected Government of Maldives was overthrown by a mutiny carried out by joint factions of the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and the Maldives Police Service. Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed was forced at gunpoint to write a letter of resignation addressed to the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid.

Using the above mentioned letter that was processed under duress, was used as a pretext to usher in the then Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik to the President’s chair. Soon thereafter, Dr. Waheed appointed a new Home Minister, a new Defense Minister and a new Police Commissioner. It has now been revealed that these new posts are taken up by the leaders of the coup.

The self-claimed government of Dr Waheed is using the military and the police force to beat and arrest MPs and others loyal to the former government. This large scale crackdown on the members of Parliament and supporters of President Nasheed is continuing.

At the moment, the UN, Commonwealth and other bodies are trying to diffuse the situation.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the coup including Dr Waheed are using their newly assumed powers to suppress free media, conduct extra-judicial arrests and utilise the Criminal Court in issuing court orders for the arrest of President Nasheed and his supporters. We believe they are trying to wipe out the democracy movement by destroying the Maldivian Democratic Party.

As indicated by the popular uprising in the aftermath of the coup, a great majority of the Maldivian people do not accept the newly established government in power.

President Nasheed won the Election in 2008, after 30 years of autocratic rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. New President Waheed named ministers on Sunday who are almost all veterans of the government of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years until Nasheed beat him in 2008 in a presidential election.

We believe that despite counter claims of Dr. Waheed, his move up from vice president to the head of state did not follow constitutional procedures after Nasheed was forced to resign.

We call upon citizens of all democratic countries to condemn this coup and to demand from the government of Dr. Waheed to hand over power to the Speaker of Parliament in accordance with the Maldives Constitution, until a free and fair election can be held. We also demand from the international community to conduct an independent inquiry of the process that lead to the forcible removal of President Mohamed Nasheed from office.

Help us save this young democracy, before the coup leaders and the mutinous military and police take back our democratic rights.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Commonwealth to send urgent ministerial team to Maldives “to ascertain facts surrounding transfer of power”

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will send an urgent ministerial mission to the Maldives to “ascertain the facts surrounding the transfer of power, and to promote adherence to Commonwealth values and principles.”

The meeting was convened by Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma and chaired by Surujrattan Rambachan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communications of Trinidad and Tobago.

Other members of the Group who participated in the meeting were: Kevin Rudd, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, Dr Dipu Moni, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, John Baird, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, Senator Hon Arnold J Nicholson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Jamaica, and Joseph Dauda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone.

“CMAG received a briefing from the Foreign Secretary of Maldives, Mr Mohamed Naseer, on the events leading up to and following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on 7 February 2012. The Group was also briefed by former President Nasheed. The Secretary-General advised the group regarding his own interactions with President Waheed and former President Nasheed, and the findings of the Commonwealth Secretariat team currently in Maldives,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, new President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan had today asked the Australian government to recognise the new government of the Maldives, which ousted President Mohamed Nasheed alleges is illegitimate following his resignation on February 7 “under duress”.

In an interview with The Australian newspaper, Dr Waheed said blamed international concerns about the situation on a “very biased message that has gone out”, claiming that “it could have an effect on how friendly countries like Australia view the situation.”

“I hope in the next two or three days there will be more understanding of what’s going on here,” he told the paper.

Dr Waheed said he was “not happy” about the arrest warrant for Mr Nasheed, but he would not intervene, the Australian reported.

“One of the problems that led us into this crisis was the involvement of the executive in the judiciary,” he said.

“I know there are some problems with the judiciary, but our democracy is still very young so the solution is not to have one branch of government fight with the other but to find ways of resolving matters.”

He conceded to an investigation into the allegations that Nasheed’s duration was under duress, and “that a half-brother of former president Gayoom had, just days earlier, offered financial inducements to any police officers who were prepared to mutiny”, the paper reported

“I think at the end of the day, he (Nasheed) is responsible for whatever has happened to him, and he should not be looking for scapegoats,” Dr Waheed said.

In the statement, the Commonwealth noted that heads of government had increased the body’s mandate in Perth in 2011 “to consider situations of concern in member countries in a proactive, engaged and positive manner.”

CMAG recognised “the impressive gains made by Maldives in recent years in consolidating multi-party democracy”, and “expressed its solidarity with the people of Maldives to select a government of their choice through democratic means.”

“CMAG stressed that the way forward must be determined by Maldivians themselves, through inclusive political dialogue in an atmosphere of non-violence, restraint and stability.”

The mission to the Maldives will be followed by a report, and a further extraordinary meeting.

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Tourists barely put down cocktails: Reuters

Tourists enjoying the sun and sand at the Maldives’ luxury island resorts have barely put down their cocktails during the political crisis rocking Asia’s newest democracy, oblivious to behind-the-scenes links of tourism to the tumult, writes Bryson Hull for Reuters.

Just a 10-minute boat ride from the capital island of Male, site of a police mutiny that led to ex-president Mohamed Nasheed’s departure last week and ensuing clashes, lies the paradise most visitors associate with the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Step off the 15-metre (50-foot) power boat, replete with an air-conditioned cabin and leather seats, that whisks you to the dock at Kurumba resort on Vihamanafushi, and you are immediately in a land of luxury, water sports and relaxation.

The political turmoil, as far as American literature professor Jerzy Sobieraj was concerned, was an ocean away across the glassine turquoise waters at his feet.

“We are having a great time. We heard about the coup, but it doesn’t matter to us. It hasn’t affected us at all,” Sobieraj told Reuters, sipping a glass of white wine alongside his wife, lawyer Ewa Korzan-Sobieraj, on a chaise longue.

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Diplomacy Falls Flat in Maldives: Wall Street Journal

A weekend of diplomacy by US and European officials failed to douse the political crisis in the Maldives, where supporters of deposed President Mohamed Nasheed vowed to continue protesting for his reinstatement, writes Tom Wright for the Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Nasheed, who in 2008 became the country’s first democratically-elected president, claims he was forced to resign in an armed coup almost a week ago. He’s accused police of using undue force against his supporters, severely injuring some of them.

Robert Blake, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South Asia and Central Asia, attempted at the weekend to persuade Mr. Nasheed to agree to a unity government with the man who replaced him, Waheed Hassan Manik, the former vice president.

Mr. Blake met both men and urged all sides to refrain from violence. A coalition government, he said, would help to restore stability. A delegation from the European Union also urged compromise.

“It’s very important for the U.S. that all parties exercise restraint and refrain from violence,” Mr. Blake said.

Mr. Blake said there were reports of “quite serious violations of human rights” by police against supporters of Mr. Nasheed in Addu, a southern island, including beatings and detention without access to legal representation. The armed forces, Mr. Blake said, “need to restore their credibility with the Maldivian people.”

So far, the violence has had only a limited effect on tourist bookings, big operators say, in large part because the luxury hotels are on self-contained islands cut off from Male. Most tourists come to those islands direct from the airport by speedboat or seaplane.

On Karumba Maldives, the nation’s oldest luxury resort, only 10 minutes speedboat ride from Male, the manager, Abdul Samad, says he’s running at 98% occupancy and has seen no dip in bookings.

As a precaution, Mr. Samad has stopped the resort’s excursions to Male and advised guests not to go there. Over lunch Saturday, the resort was humming with Chinese and European tourists, many of whom seemed oblivious to the troubles over the water. But some guests expressed concerns.

One couple, Ajay Sharma and his wife, Chhavi, who run a nursing home in the Indian city of Varanasi, said they were returning home early. “They’re saying it’s not safe to go to Male,” Ms. Sharma said.

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Dr Waheed announces independent inquiry into “developments in the Maldives from Jan 14 to Feb 8”

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has announced an “independent and impartial investigation” into developments in the Maldives from January 14 to February 8, according to a statement on the President’s Office website.

Dr Waheed did not reveal who would conduct the inquiry, but he acknowledged the need for it yesterday after Germany and the UK to establish the legitimacy of his government.

The dates given include the period of incarceration of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, and subsequent protests held by 200-400 opposition-led demonstrators, which culminated in a press conference on January 31 in which opposition parties called for Dr Waheed to take over the government with the assistance of police and military. The event itself took place on February 7.

In the statement, Dr Waheed said the investigation would create “factual and legal clarity” around events with a “direct bearing on the constitutional transfer of executive power that took place on February 7.”

“The investigation would also help establish accountability for any human rights violations which have taken place and thus set the groundwork for national reconciliation and dialogue,” Dr Waheed’s statement read.

“Reiterating his commitment to free and fair elections in 2013, the President urged all political parties to work together in creating a climate of trust and confidence in the build-up to next year’s elections. The President is also hopeful that the investigation, together with his offer to create a strong National Unity Government that would provide impetus for building trust and the establishment of the rule of law, would facilitate the resumption of normal democratic processes in the country,” the statement read.

Nasheed and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) maintain that Dr Waheed’s government came to power after Nasheed was forced to resign under duress, and have refused to participate in a “national unity government” they claim is illegitimate.

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Dr Waheed appoints majority opposition, Gayoom supporters to cabinet

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik made seven new appointments to the cabinet on Sunday morning.

The majority are hard-line opposition figures, while several are long time supporters of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Only two of the new appointments (the tourism and and health portfolios) have previously undeclared political affiliations.

Dr Waheed has faced pressure from his predecessor former President Mohamed Nasheed, who has challenged the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s government claiming that he was forced to resign in a bloodless coup d’etat  on February 7 at the hands of rogue police and military officers.

Dr Waheed said yesterday that he wanted cabinet to “represent all major political parties”, hoped that Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) would be represented, and said he would “keep posts vacant for them”. The MDP has so far rejected any participation in Dr Waheed’s government.

Mohamed Hussein Shareef ‘Mundhu’ was appointed as the Minister for Human Resources Youth and Sport. Shareef has been the spokesperson for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom since his last term in office and also holds the Acting Secretary General’s post in Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Aishath Azima Shakoor was appointed as the Attorney General. She once held the same post under the former administration and is known be one of the most successful lawyers in the country with a record number of wins in controversial cases against Nasheed’s administration. She is a council member of Gayoom’s PPM.

Ahmed Mohamed ‘Andey’, Deputy Leader of leading opposition party Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), was appointed as the Minister of Economic Development. He has been an outspoken critic of Nasheed’s privatisation policies and the state’s budget formulation. He was the former CEO of the State Trading Organisation (STO) under Gayoom’s administration, the organisation implicated in blackmarket oil trading with the Burmese military junta under the former chairmanship of Gayoom’s half-brother, Abdulla Yameen.

The DRP was the first official party registered by Gayoom before he announced his resignation from politics in February 2010, becoming the party’s ‘honorary leader’. He became increasingly politically active and later fell out with his anointed replacement, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, and formed the PPM after an acrimonious split.

Dr Asim Ahmed, a member of the DRP, was appointed as the Minister of Education. He has not been a particularly active member in the country’s political spotlight.

Dr Ahmed Shamheed was appointed as the Minister of Transport and Communication. He is a member of minority opposition Jumhooree Party (JP) and works as a Director at Villa Shipping and Trade, owned by JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim. He served in the ministry of planning and development under Gayoom’s administration. He is also a director of the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation Board (MTDC).

Ahmed Adheeb, was sworn in as the Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture. Adheeb is the President of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) is well known as a critic of the Nasheed’s economic policies. Under his leadership, the MNCCI made a failed attempt in court to halt the enactment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, citing worse economic ramifications and violations of law. He is a widely respected economic analyst.

Dr Ahmed Jamsheed was meanwhile appointed as the Minister of Health and Family. Jamsheed, formerly Director General of the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) resigned from his post, over concerns about reduced workloads, and later joined as the Cheif Operating Officer (COO) at ADK hospital. He is one of the leading and most outspoken public health experts in the country, and has been extremely active in promoting both public health and combating malaria epidemics in the Maldives.

Dr Waheed earlier appointed Deputy Leader of minority opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DQP) Dr Mohamed Jameel as the Home Minister and retired colonel Mohamed Nazim as the Defence Minister last week. Both are also notable supporters of Gayoom. Most recently Dr Jameel, Gayoom’s Justice Minister prior to the separation of powers, was an outspoken critic of Nasheed’s religious policies, authoring a pamphlet entitled ‘President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians’ and attacking his “business dealings with Jews”.

Dr Jameel is the only member in the cabinet from DQP, Dr Shamheed only member from JP while including Nazim the ministerial posts held by DRP members reach three and PPM stands at two.

Meanwhile ministers are yet to be appointed to the Finance Ministry, Islamic Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Fisheries Ministry and the Housing Ministry.

Abdullah Riyaz, former Assistant commissioner dismissed by Nasheed was appointed as the Commissioner of Police and Major General Ahmed Shiyam, appointed as Chief of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

“No self interest”

Speaking after the appointments, President Dr Waheed said that remaining cabinet ministers will be appointed in a week, and expressed his hopes for MDP’s participation.

“We all are with that hope. Because, today the country needs all of us to work together to establish peace, and take the country out of the deep pit of economic and political [problems] to find a prosperous future for our children,” Dr Waheed said.

He also added that: “I cannot do this work without the benevolent and sincere help of the [cabinet ministers]”, who he claimed had the full potential to serve the nation with “no self interest” during these “special circumstances”.

The newly appointed cabinet ministers must be approved by the parliament, in which MDP currently holds 35 seats, a single seat behind total opposition combined.

Minivan News could not get MDP’s comment on the new appointments as no member was available at the time of press – however, MDP has steadily rejected the legitimacy of Dr Waheed’s government accusing him of participating in what they call an opposition backed coup to force Nasheed out of office.

MDP Thodoo MP Ali Waheed has earlier stated that MDP will do everything to “stop the implementation of Dr Waheed’s every order” through parliament if he continues to remain in office, and ignores the party’s call for new elections in the next two months.

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