MDP – Page 21 – Minivan News

Nasheed questions government’s legitimacy and record as one-year anniversary looms

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) President, Mohamed Nasheed has criticised the government for failing to keep promises made when it came to power almost one year ago.

Beginning by questioning the manner by which President Abdulla Yameen came to power, the former president suggested the election coalition had faltered and investor confidence had not been restored.

While giving an interview to Raaje TV last night (November 11), Nasheed also slammed the government for its failure to respond adequately to the abduction of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan 96 days ago.

“There is no doubt that Rilwan was abducted. All the information obtained by the police and other separate investigations point to an abduction,” said Nasheed.

Recalling the much-delayed, and once-annulled presidential elections last year, Nasheed reminded viewers that yesterday’s Republican Day has traditionally seen the start of a new presidential term.

“Republican Day has always been the day when the new presidential term begins and ends,” said Nasheed. “However, President Yameen’s gave oath after the assigned date. This raises legitimacy issues with how the Government came to power.”

Last year’s Republic Day saw former President Dr Mohamed Waheed inform the nation that he would stay in power for one week beyond the constitutional end of his term in order to avoid a power vaccum after repeated delays in the poll to find his successor.

The 2013 presidential elections eventually saw the MDP and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidates contesting the second round, with the PPM’s Abdulla Yameen eventually winning the election after forming a coalition with the Jumhooree Party (JP).

“Recent events have made it clear the that the coalition has failed,” said Nasheed in reference to the government’s acquisition of JP leader Gasim Ibrahim’s Kaadedhoo Airport after the MP spoke against the government’s flagship Special Economic Zones (SEZ) bill.

Nasheed noted that the people in charge of the government right now received a very small percentage of the total votes once the votes from JP supporters were discounted.

Promises broken

Nasheed pointed out that the government made a lot of promises towards the betterment of fishermen – including a pension of MVR10,000 (US$650) which was not included in next year’s proposed budget. But the price per kilo of tuna has dropped from a healthy MVR18 during Nasheed’s government to a mere MVR6 today, he continued.

President Yameen recently announced a foreign policy shift from west to east, partly as a result of the Maldives’ failure to qualify for extended duty-free status for fish exports after non-compliance with international conventions concerning freedom of religion.

Nasheed also attacked the government’s SEZ Act, suggesting that there has been little interest shown by foreign investors even after all the necessary laws and regulations have come to place.

The SEZ act – which offers relaxed regulations and tax concessions – described by President Yameen as a landmark law that will “transform” the economy through diversification and mitigate the reliance on the tourism industry.

While speaking about the proposed 2015 annual budget, Nasheed said that like during Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s 30-year regime, the current government has included a large sum as expected earnings which would eventually lead to higher budget deficit.

“For example, expected earnings from SEZ investments is valued at MVR1.5 billion (US$ 100 million). This is ambitious and unrealistic,” explained Nasheed.

The 2015 annual budget includes MVR3.4 billion (US$220 million) as expected revenue from brand new income generating measures including acquisition fees from SEZ investments and the introduction of a green tax on tourism.

A recent MDP budget review concluded that such expectations were unrealistic after stating that even if the government were to obtain MVR1.5 billion (US$100 million) as acquisitions fees at a rate of 10 percent of the investment it suggests an investment of US$1 billion.

The single biggest investment in the country to date was the ill-fated MVR7.6 billion (US$ 500 million) deal with India’s GMR group for the development Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in 2010. A Singapore court of arbitration is currently evaluating the amount owed by the government for the wrongful termination of the deal in November 2012.

The former president described the government’ abrupt terminations of foreign investments as saddening, suggesting that it would decrease investor confidence in the nation.

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MDP says government should decrease foreign relations budget to fit “policy of exclusion”

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has called on the government to decrease its budget allocation for foreign relations, saying current policy made such expenditure unnecessary.

“Such an increase in funds will not be needed as the incumbent government has revealed that its foreign policy is one of exclusion,” said former Speaker Abdulla Shahid.

Speaking at a press conference given by the International Relations Committee of the MDP today (November 12), Shahid said that the current budget allocation was too great for such a policy.

“From the president’s speech on Republic Day, as well as various other statements by himself and foreign minister Dunya Maumoon, it has become apparent that this government’s key foreign policy strategy is to exclude itself and cut ties with the rest of the world”.

Speaking on the occasion of the Maldives’ Republic Day, President Yameen yesterday criticised “Western colonial powers” for anti-Islamic policies, suggesting that the Maldives was turning east toward China as a partner which does not involve such challenges.

Meanwhile, Yameen’s enthusiasm to participate in China’s silk road project has prompted opposition fears of strained regional relationships. The government maintains, however, that it is watchful of regional security issues.

The Yameen administration has pledged an improved foreign investor environment in order to restore confidence in local investment. Despite the introduction of the Special Economic Zone Act in August, the only najor interest shown in the government’s proposed ‘mega projects’ has come from China.

Shahid stated today that the budget allocations for foreign relations had risen by 22.7 percent from 2013 to 2014, and that the estimated MVR533 million (US$34.5 million) in the 2015 budget amounted to an increase of another 20 percent.

“An increase in this budget should only come in a government which is aiming to build ties with the international community, not break them. The MDP maintains that the budget should be reflective of the government’s policies,” he added.

Shahid highlighted that in 2014, the government shut down or downgraded a number of international missions.

He also took the closure and reopening of the missions in Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates as examples of the government’s weak foreign policies.

“Such indesicive action in matters like this affects relations with these countries. Additionally, the government has also downgraded the mission in London, which indicates that the government has no interest in maintaing strong ties with UK or the Commonwealth,” Shahid said.

The MDP alleged that such actions demonstrate to the world that the incumbent Maldives government does not have a long term foreign relations plan or objectives.

The MDP also expressed concerns that the number of political positions in foreign missions are on the increase.

“I don’t see why taxpayers should continue to pay for PPM activists to fill positions at foreign missions, when they don’t do any constructive work and do not even possess the skills necessary to do the required work,” Mariya Ahmed Didi stated.

Shahid added that the increase in political positions posed a disadvantage for better trained senior professionals at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose opportunities to work at foreign missions have decreased by half within the year.

He also emphasised the failure to provide incentives which allow female professionals to take up jobs in foreign missions, including allowances for child care and education.

Shahid went on to say that , while the next session of the SAARC Summit is scheduled for 2015, he feels that the government should exclude budget allocations for the event as past actions show the government “has no interest or intention to maintain ties or hold discussions” with neighbouring countries.

“The MDP maintains that its foreign policy will always remain non-discriminatory and open to all countries. We will continue to build ties with any interested countries as much as we can without compromising our country’s sovereignty or independence”.

The Maldives currently has 13 overseas diplomatic missions in China, Saudi Arabia, and Japan, with high commissions in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

The Chinese mission in Malé is the latest addition to the Maldives’ small diplomatic circuit which otherwise includes only the SAARC countries of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

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Nasheed’s awards brings honour and prestige to Maldives, says MDP

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s awards and international recognition for climate change advocacy brings honour and prestige to the Maldives, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said.

The opposition leader returned yesterday after a visit to the United States to receive the ‘Sylvia Earle Blue Mission’ award for 2014 at a ceremony in St Petersburg, Florida, on November 6.

Nasheed – also the party’s president – was greeted by throngs of supporters at the jetty in Malé.

The MDP noted in a press statement today that St Petersburg’s Mayor Rick Kriseman also presented Nasheed a key to the city at a ceremony in his honour.

Nasheed also addressed students of the Earth Science Faculty of the University of South Florida and gave interviews to several American newspapers and websites such as the Huffington Post during the visit.

The MDP said Nasheed has become a global icon for his advocacy on climate change and global warming, which has brought attention and international repute to the Maldives.

After serving on the jury panel of judges of the Zayed Future Energy at Abu Dhabi in October, Nasheed delivered the keynote address at the International Bar Association ‘annual conference showcase session on climate change and human rights’ in Tokyo last month.

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Police officers testify against February 8 arson suspects

Eight police officers testified at the Criminal Court today against several defendants accused of setting fire to a police station in Addu City on February 8, 2012.

At today’s hearing, the police officers reportedly identified the accused and testified that they had thrown stones at police officers blocking the causeway between Feydhoo and Gan and had broken through police lines before entering Gan police station.

The officers also claimed some of the defendants had bragged about setting the station on fire.

More than 80 people from Addu City are currently on trial – charged with terrorism – for acts of arson on February 8, 2012, which saw police vehicles, courts and police stations torched in the southernmost atoll.

Some 89 individuals from the island of Thinadhoo in Gaaf Dhaal atoll are also facing terrorism charges. The atoll council office, court building, police station and several police vehicles were set on fire in Thinadhoo on February 8.

The Criminal Court yesterday issued a warrant ordering police to hold 12 defendants from Thinadhoo and one from Gahdhoo – including Thinadhoo island council member Abdulla Saneef – in detention pending the outcome of the trial after they failed to attend a previous hearing.

The accused were presented to court under police custody yesterday.

Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed reportedly asked the accused to submit their justifications in writing for the court to reconsider the decision.

Following its investigation into the nationwide unrest and violence on February 8, the police forwarded over 100 cases to the Prosecutor General’s office, requesting that 108 individuals be charged with terrorism.

Acts of arson are considered terrorism under the Terrorism Prevention Act enacted by the administration of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The offence carries a jail term of between 10 to 15 years.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed and Chief Inspector of Upper South Division Mohamed Basheer were summoned to the court last night to explain why police failed to execute an earlier order by the court to bring suspects to face trial.

The court has previously said it was facing difficulties summoning defendants from the southern atolls as well as housing and feeding the accused. Under the Judicature Act, terrorism trials must be conducted at the Criminal Court in Malé.

Speaking at parliament today, Progressive Party of Maldives MP for Thinadhoo North Saudhulla Hilmy accused opposition-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV of inflaming passions and inciting violence by falsely reporting on February 8 that MDP MPs had been killed by the security forces.

Raajje TV has since denied the allegations.

February 8

In a press release issued on September 18 after the hearings were scheduled – following a hiatus of over a year – the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) contended that the trials against dozens of the party’s members and supporters were politically-motivated acts of intimidation.

The party also accused the government of threatening to prosecute persons who participate in MDP activities.

The press statement also noted that police officers who committed crimes on February 6, 7, and 8 were not being prosecuted.

On February 8, 2012, riots spread across the country following a brutal crackdown on an MDP march in the capital.

Thousands of MDP supporters took to the streets of Malé in a protest march after former President Mohamed Nasheed declared his resignation the previous day had come “under duress” in a “coup d’etat”instigated by mutinying police officers of the Special Operations (SO).

Following an investigation, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) concluded that the heavy-handed police crackdown on the MDP walk was “brutal” and “without warning” while the “disproportionate” use of force left dozens of demonstrators injured and hospitalised.

Al Jazeera filmed parts of the crackdown, reporting that “police and military charged, beating demonstrators as they ran – women, the elderly, [with] dozens left nursing their wounds”. The BBC meanwhile reported “a baton charge by police on crowds gathered outside one of the main hospitals.”

Amnesty International warned that failure to prosecute police officers accused of human rights abuses and “serious failings in the justice system entrenched impunity”.

Moreover, former PIC Chair Shahinda Ismail told Minivan News in September 2012 that a staff sergeant caught on tape kicking a fallen demonstrator “was promoted after this incident.”

In February this year, Shahinda told Minivan News that detainees arrested in Addu City on February 9 were “forced to walk on smoldering coals”.

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PPM responds to foreign minister silk route controversy

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has responded to the Maldives Democratic Party’s (MDP) criticism of foreign minister Dunya Maumoon’s remarks regarding India’s participation in China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative.

In a media statement released today, the PPM accused the opposition of twisting the story in order to harness attention from the international community.

The party also alleged that MDP is trying to divert attention from the party’s achievements during its third anniversary and from the one year anniversary of President Abdulla Yameen’s term.

MDP condemned Dunya for “intentionally” providing false information about the Chinese project when questioned by the parliament Maldives involvement in the project.

When asked about the potential impact of the scheme on India-Maldives relations, Dunya told the parliament last week that India had also discussed participating during the recent state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinpeng.

However, Indian Diplomats in Malé promptly refuted the claim, releasing a statement containing comments from the Indian External Affairs Ministry which denied such talks having taken place.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement today seeking to clarify any confusion caused by these remarks, saying that Dunya had “noted her concern if her choice of words had led to any confusion”.

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Can decentralisation take root in the Maldives?

The uprooted trees and flooded streets of Malé in recent days seem to have laid bare the continuing tensions between local and central government in the Maldives.

After the central authorities last week removed the city council’s jurisdiction over the roads of the capital, senior figures from both the government and opposition have made the legal case for and against the decision.

Friction between the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) dominated Malé City Council and successive governments has left the local authority with just 5 of the 22 public areas granted to it after its establishment in 2010.

Attempts to replace the trees – allegedly cut down by off-duty police officers – were thwarted by the state-owned Malé Road Development Corporation last Wednesday, who police allowed to continue despite councillors’ calls to uphold the Decentralisation Act.

While the former Speaker Abdulla Shahid has suggested the cabinet has violated the law in taking over maintenance of the capital’s roads, Attorney General Mohamed Anil suggested that the move was compliant with both the Decentralisation Act and the Land Act.

The President’s Office have said the council had failed to deal with the recent floods, although the council continues to point out that it has received less than half the funds allocated to it from the 2014 budget.

“We don’t even have an account in which to put money,” explained Deputy Mayor Shifa Mohamed.

After his ministry gave orders to tear down the areca palms planted along Malé’s main thoroughfare last week, the housing minister added to the confusion today by suggesting the council would be irresponsible to challenge efforts to make the capital greener.

Others suggest that the real roots of the issue lie with a government unwilling to cede power to local authorities, resulting in what some have described as decentralisation in name only.

Policy

“They don’t believe in the concept,” suggested Shifa. “Instead of facilitating decentralisation, they are trying to show that it can’t function.”

Defending the government’s action, President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz has said that the decision regarding street maintenance was consistent with its policy of utilising state land for social purposes.

Authority over the city’s mosques will soon revert to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, leaving the council with control over only Malé’s burial grounds – completing the steady removal of land since the fall of the MDP government in 2012.

While the current administration has previously called on local authorities to cooperate in order to bring development to the people of the country, the provisions of the flagship Special Economic Zones Act appears to make such acquiescence redundant.

The yet-to-be-specified SEZs – designed to attract foreign investors with deregulated territory – will render local authorities powerless

“There will be consultations with the local councils, but the decision making power will be here because we want to take decisions very fast and we want development as soon as possible,” tourism minister and Chairman of the SEZ investment board Ahmed Adeeb has previously explained.

In the same interview, Adeeb made clear that his government does not feel decentralised authorities are currently suited to aid the country’s development.

“Land, labour, and capital – the central government and the regional governments are fighting for it as we don’t have enough resources even for the existing government to cover the budget deficits,” he explained.

“I believe when there’s enough economic activity we can give more powers to the councils.”

The ‘begging system’

The MDP’s claims that its political opponents are attempting to sabotage the decentralisation project in favour of maintaining a Malé-centric ‘begging system’ began before the ink had dried on the 2010 Decentralisation Act.

Following its failure to win a majority in the 2008 parliamentary elections, the MDP government had to accept a version of its decentralisation bill without the structural and fiscal provisions it had originally planned for.

The rejection of over 300 proposed amendments by the opposition-controlled house – including attempts to restore the provincial model on which the scheme was based – prompted MDP MPs to walk out of the Majlis prior to the bill’s passage in April 2010.

Subsequent amendments increasing the number of councillors were described by the party as “economic sabotage”, leaving the country with a system the UNDP has described as a “major barrier to fiscal consolidation”.

Since assuming power, the same political groups have moved to reduce the recurrent costs of a system that had grown to an estimated US$64 million per three year term.

Meanwhile, the 2014 UNDP Human Development Report pointed out that harmonising laws – a problem typified by the legal wrangling in/over the streets of Malé – remains a key challenge facing the decentralisation transition.

[T]he Decentralization Act identified land management as a core responsibility of the councils. However, this contradicts the Land Act, which provides that the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure manage land distribution. Similarly, the Decentralization Act and the Constitution make provision for fiscal decentralization, revenue generation and management of own revenues by councils. This contradicts the Finance Act, which mandates all revenues collected from any Government body be deposited in the Government’s central public account.
– Maldives Human Development Report 2014

Empowerment

Among the objectives envisioned in the Decentralisation Act are the empowerment of people and the creation of an environment conducive for peace and prosperity.

However, a report into the process by UNICEF in 2013 suggested that the political wranglings at the center of Maldivian government have left the islands worse off than before decentralisation was introduced.

“Local Councils are now less empowered than they were in 2008 which was when they officially had even less functions and revenue raising powers,” concluded the UNICEF report.

“More importantly the above arrangements mean that Council finances are micro-managed from the centre. So Councils have almost no autonomy to prioritise and manage their resources. There is, thus, basically no fiscal decentralisation.”

Decentralisation advocate Salma Fikry argues that the central government has little interest in genuine devolution of powers, preferring ‘deconcentration’ which allows for dispersed administrative powers without real financial autonomy.

“I do agree that Island Development Committees were doing better work, but the underlying truth was that the government could choose who to support and who not to support,” said Salma.

She suggested that the desire for decentralised government stemmed from the realisation in the atolls of disparities in regional service provision – another issue highlighted recently by the UNDP.

The central government will not allow for revenue raising measures at the local level as this would reduce political leverage, she explained.

The UNICEF report further noted that political partisanship and overstaffed local authorities had resulted in “political bickering” between council members, “stalemates”, and “no decision making”.

Malé Deputy Mayor Shifa also suggested that the problems with the current government stemmed from political rather than practical reasoning.

“Just because it is done by the MDP, they will destroy it.”

UNICEF concluded that the decentralisation process in the Maldives had been “rushed”, noting that such far-reaching changes can take decades to implement successfully.

During the time it took to compile the 2013 report a new level of provincial government was introduced and subsequently abolished within two years, with UNICEF noting the subsequent “confusion at all levels of government”.

Observing recent events in the capital, it appears that the Maldives decentralisation experiment will continue to struggle to take root and may well be washed away in the next political downpour.

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MDP slams foreign minister for giving false information regarding Chinese silk route

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has criticised the foreign minister for providing false information while responding to questions put forward in the Majlis regarding the Maldives’ participation in China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative.

“The party severely condemns foreign minister Dunya Maumoon for intentionally providing false information about Maldives and its diplomatic relations with other countries,” read an MDP press statement released yesterday (November 8).

President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jingping has called on the Maldives “to get actively involved” in the creation of a maritime trade route linking China to the east coast of Africa and the Mediterranean.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has today released a statement seeking to clarify any confusion caused by these remarks, saying that Dunya had “noted her concern if her choice of words had led to any confusion”.

However, Indian Diplomats in Malé promptly refuted the claim, releasing a statement containing comments from the Indian External Affairs Ministry which denied such talks having taken place.

“[T]his matter was neither raised, nor discussed, nor is it reflected in any of the outcomes of the visit of President Xi Jinping to India,” the ministry official told Indian media on Thursday (November 6).

The Maldives foreign ministry today said that Dunya had mentioned various discussions having taken place between India and China “on a wide range of issues” as an example of the excellent relations between the two nations.

The MDP also noted that it was “shameful” that the Indian Government had to re-clarify the public after “lies” from the foreign minister, and warned the government that such actions will weaken Maldives’ relations with other countries.

Fears have been expressed by the opposition regarding the potential for the government’s willingness to participate in the scheme to damage relations with regional neighbours.

The party also called for the resignation of Dunya, stating that intentionally providing false information to the parliament was a crime under the Maldivian Constitution.

The Chinese president travelled to India after having visited the Maldives where numerous MoUs were signed between the two governments – most notably agreements promoting the Malé-Hulhulé bridge and the redevelopment of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The new INIA agreement comes while previous developer, India’s GMR, waits to hear how much they are to receive in damages after a Singapore arbitration court ruled their prematurely terminated contract with the Government of Maldives to have been “valid and binding”.

As Chinese companies pledge assistance with major infrastructure projects, Indian companies continue to fall foul of the Maldives’ changing political currents.

Meanwhile, China’s rising economic presence in the Indian Ocean region has stoked concerns in New Delhi that China is creating a “string of pearls” encircling India, including Chinese investments in ports and other key projects in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

*This article was amended shortly after publication to include an additional statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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MDP reconstitutes 19 ‘shadow’ committees

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has reconstituted 19 ‘shadow’ committees to hold the government accountable.

MDP Chairperson Ali Waheed told the press on Thursday (November 6) that chairpersons and vice chairpersons have been newly elected to head the oversight committees.

The former MP said the leadership would have regular meetings with the shadow committees in the future.

They include committees dealing with international relations, transport, housing, rights, research and policies, elections, organisation, economic affairs, fund raising, fisheries and agriculture, media, membership and campaigns, legal affairs, security, health, education, and employment and social affairs.

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MDP slams home minister’s “irresponsible” remarks on Rilwan disappearance, death threats

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has slammed Home Minister Umar Naseer’s “irresponsible” remarks concerning the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan and death threats sent to journalists and politicians.

In a press release yesterday, the main opposition party referred to Naseer having stated at a press conference on Thursday (November 6) that it was too early to determine whether Rilwan was kidnapped, abducted, or missing.

Naseer’s remarks were an example of his “incompetence and irresponsibility,” the press release stated.

“And we note that it contradicts his earlier statement about gang involvement in Ahmed Rilwan’s disappearance.”

In an appearance on state broadcaster Television Maldives last month, Naseer said police “already know there is a gang connection to Rilwan’s case.”

Moreover, police arrested four suspects in relation to Rilwan’s alleged abduction, of which one suspect has been held in remand detention for nearly six weeks.

During Thursday’s press conference, Naseer compared Rilwan’s case with the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

“Not every crime is solvable. And when a crime remains unsolved, it does not mean police were negligent. We are doing all we can in Rilwan’s case. We will not leave any stone unturned,” the home minister told reporters.

Rilwan has been missing for 92 days and is believed to have been abducted at knifepoint outside his apartment at 2am on August 8.

Naseer also criticised the opposition for prematurely concluding that Rilwan was abducted.

Rilwan’s family have meanwhile accused the police of negligence and filed a complaint with the Police Integrity Commission,which is currently being investigated.

“If the abduction had been investigated immediately at the right time, the police would have been able to find the victim and clarify if it is our brother or not,” Rilwan’s sister Mariyam Fazna told the press earlier this month.

Despite eyewitnesses having reported the abduction at knifepoint at 2am on August 8, police only took their statements on August 14, the family noted. The police had also failed to track down and search the car used in the abduction.

The police only searched Rilwan’s apartment 29 hours after the abduction was reported and searched his office 11 days afterwards. The police also failed to make a public announcement on Rilwan’s disappearance – despite a request by the family – and did not inform the public on how to act if they had any information related to the case, the family explained further.

The People’s Majlis last week threw out a 5,055 signature petition urging MPs to pressure police for a through and speedy investigation. The parliament secretariat later admitted the rejection was “a mistake,” according to MP Imthiyaz Fahmy who sponsored the petition.

In September, human rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network released an investigation report implicating radicalised gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance.

Death threats

The MDP press statement also condemned Naseer’s response to a question regarding death threats sent via unlisted or private numbers to journalists and opposition politicians.

Naseer made a “joke” out of the death threats and claimed recipients were not intimidated or scared, the party contended.

The home minister, however, was surrounded by bodyguards provided by the state and had requested pistols earlier this year, the press release added.

Naseer had claimed that the opposition was using the death threats for political gain.

Last week, MDN urged police to expedite investigations of death threats and provide security to journalists while Amnesty International demanded police intensify their efforts to find those responsible for the numerous death threats and violent attacks against journalists.

The Inter Parliamentary Union has previously said the government’s reaction to the death threats would be a test of its democratic credentials.

After meeting with the IPU earlier last month, union member and MDP MP Eva Abdulla raised concerns over the personal safety of MPs and journalists in the Maldives.

Meanwhile, the MDP also expressed concern with the prevailing atmosphere of fear in the country with serial stabbings, violent assaults, drug trafficking, and death threats.

The party contended that the government was failing to prosecute perpetrators who commit crimes in “broad daylight”.

Naseer’s remarks were prompted by his inability to establish domestic peace and security, the party argued.

“The MDP calls on Home Minister Umar Naseer to not make such irresponsible statements and to fulfil the responsibilities of his post,” the press release stated.

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