Tag: umar naseer

Nasheed pleaded for family to be protected in exchange for resignation, reveals SBS documentary

President Mohamed Nasheed pleaded with mutineering security forces to protect his family, in exchange for his resignation, as police, soldiers and opposition protesters assaulted defence headquarters on the morning of February 7.

The previously unheard recording, obtained by SBS journalist Mark Davis, was aired on Australian television on Tuesday night.

“While the international community deliberates on whether Nasheed resigned under duress or not, this audio recording, broadcast for the first time, may be illuminating,” says the multi Walkley-award winning journalist.

In the clip, “minutes after representatives of the opposition made their threats of bloodshed”, Nasheed agrees that he will resign as long as the soldiers protect his family.

“”No problem”, one replies. “I will protect your family with Allah’s will.”

“You should do that for me under the circumstances. I should settle this with you first, right here, OK?” Nasheed is heard to say.

“Then I’ll go to the President’s Office and publicly announce that in my view the best thing for this country right now is my resignation. Is that all right? That’s what I’ll say.”

“That was an attempt for me to get out of where I was,” Nasheed tells Davis afterwards.

“Yes, I could have held on, but that would have been at very huge cost to the country and the people. There would have been a lot of blood.”

Davis’s documentary, produced for the SBS Dateline program, also features a frank interview with Umar Naseer, Vice President of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

PPM Vice President Umar Naseer

In the interview, Naseer explains in English what happened from the perspective of the opposition demonstrators on February 7.

“We had a small command centre where we do all the protests. I command from the centre and give instructions to my people,” Naseer explained.

“On the protesters’ side, we were informing and educating the police and army through our speeches and television programs.”

Asked by Davis if the opposition had made any other inducements, such as promises that they and their families would be “looked after” if they switched sides, Naseer said “there were.”

“We called on army and police and said that if a person was fired from his position because of their refusal to follow an unlawful order, the opposition would take care of them,” Naseer said.

After former army officer Mohamed Nazim and dismissed police chief Abdulla Riyaz were ushered into the military base, to cries of “Nazim sir!”, Umar Naseer explained to Davis that Nazim called him seeking permission to negotiate Nasheed’s surrender on behalf of the opposition.

“It was around 7-7:30am, and Nazim – the present defence minister – called me and said ‘I’m inside the Defence Headquarters, can I talk on behalf of the opposition?’ I said ‘You can talk, but don’t agree to anything without our authority.’”

“I had told Nasheed to resign, and that I was afraid for his life – because if Nasheed came out of the headquarters, people might beat him on the streets,” Naseer said.

Nasheed should now “face justice” rather than an election, Umar Naseer told Davis, “And I think he will get a prison term of 10-15 years.”

“You don’t give up easily. You’ve got the guy out of government now you want to see him in prison?” Davis responded.

“We want to see justice served,” Naseer replied. “He is seeking an election because he wants to get away with this sentence. I have no doubt that Mr Nasheed will be out of Maldivian politics for a long time. We want to make sure of that.”

In the documentary, Nasheed presses for an early election date as “the only way to stabilise the country”.

However it was “not so simple, according to newly appointed President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan,” says Davis.

“People are not convinced at the moment that we could hold free and fair elections today. Partly because there are so many deep divisions. The conditions are not right for an election just now,” Dr Waheed tells Davis.

At one point Dr Waheed’s answer to a question from Davis is interrupted by an individual later identified as Dr Ananda Kumarasiri, a 30 year veteran of the Malaysian foreign service and Buddhist author, who told journalists he was “just a friend passing through”.

“If I may inject, from the video tapes, I do not see how my colleague has got this impression that there was a coup. If there was a coup then [it would show] from the tapes… from the evidence,” Dr Kumarasiri says.

Davis observed that Dr Waheed’s “attempt to project an independent image was not helped by the advisors that now surround him.”

Nasheed appears upbeat in the Dateline documentary, describing the takeover as perhaps “a blessing in disguise.”

“The criminals are now obvious. The pictures are there. The people are identified. We are now able to reform a very, very brutal police, because we now understand who is who. and what everyone has been doing,” the former President says.

“We don’t give up. We’ve won against odds before. I’ve fallen many times before but I’ve been able to get back up, and start it all over again. I don’t see any difference now.”

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GMR remains “politically neutral” as stock price shows short-term wobble amid political upheaval

The stock price of the Indian infrastructure giant operating Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) took a tumble on the Mumbai Stock Exchange following the ousting of former president Mohamed Nasheed last week, as images of the unfolding violence were beamed around the world.

GMR has made a US$511 million investment in the Maldives’ international airport. The price of shares in GMR Infrastructure, which was contracted to develop INIA by the previous government, dropped by almost five percent on February 7 following news that fierce clashes between security forces on the streets of capital Male’ had led to Nasheed’s resignation.

GMR’s share prices quickly recovered over the following few days, as Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik was sworn in, and rain tempered public demonstrations which on Wednesday turned violent after police attacked a march by members of Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Speaking on February 11 about foreign investments in the Maldives, Dr Waheed said that foreign investors should not be concerned about the political upheaval affecting their interests in the Maldives, but hinted that some investments may come under scrutiny.

“We will not target anybody for political reasons,” he said.

“If there are any reasons for concern over investment, of course any steps that need to be taken will be taken.”

Speaking specifically about the contract with GMR, Dr Waheed said he would not approach the deal “from a political perspective”, adding, “It is not our intention to harm GMR. Our objective will be to resolve concerns of the public [regarding the company].”

GMR’s stock price continues to teeter this week.

“Short term fluctuations”

Speaking to Minivan News, one of India’s leading political economists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta observed that the political situation in the Maldives has affected GMR to a certain degree but pointed out that “GMR is also politically influenced in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.”

Thakurta said that the fluctuations in GMR’s stock prices should be seen in a wider context.

“These are short term fluctuations,” he said: “By and large, the markets of the world have been in limbo for some time. India’s stock market has been politically prone in the past year. I wouldn’t read too much into it,” he said.

The multi-million dollar deal to operate and dramatically expand the Maldives’ international air hub has been the target of controversy from the political opposition, much of it flowing from the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), a member of which – Dr Mohamed Jameel – is now the country’s Home Minister.

Nasheed’s government offered GMR, in partnership with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), the 25-year contract in June 2010. Since that time, various opposition parties including Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), Jumhooree Party (JP), and the People’s Alliance (PA) have questioned the contract’s legality while former airport employees have protested against what they have claimed is a foreign take-over of their business domain.

Opposition parties have accused MDP cabinet members of having “vested interests” in the deal. In late 2011 the DQP took their objections to press and produced a 24-page book claiming the deal would “enslave the nation”, while former DRP leader and current deputy leader of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer said last year that his party would re-nationalise the airport if it came to power.

While Dr Waheed is not a member of PPM or DRP, Naseer’s recent actions indicate shared interests. On January 31, a delegation of the December 23 Coalition, including Naseer, declared its allegiance to Dr Waheed amidst protests against Nasheed’s government and called for all military and police forces to back Dr Waheed. Naseer also recently informed the public that he was instrumental in the events and discussions leading up to Nasheed’s resignation.

Speaking to press last week, Nasheed said he had been aware that his vice president was meeting with opposition leaders at his home.

Naseer also told Minivan News in June 2010 that “If [GMR] allowed it, an Israeli flight can come and stop over after bombing Arab countries”.

Nasheed’s government was criticised last year for entertaining a deal with Israeli airline El Al. Following demonstrations in defense of Islam on December 23, in which opposition party and religious NGO leaders spoke against relations with Israel, the National Security Committee advised against the deal.

Past events have shown that GMR is sensitive to political fluctuations in the Maldives. GMR’s price on the stock market saw a 7 percent fall in December, when the Civil Court blocked GMR from deducting an Airport Development Charge of US$25 (Rf385.5) from passengers departing on international flights, according to India’s Economic Times.

Thakurta said, “If they re-open the contract, it wouldn’t hurt them [GMR]. GMR is really big, they’re the company behind Delhi’s new airport, which is India’s biggest airport.

“As in the case of what happened in Mauritius, GMR has had some issues over the charging of airport development fees for passengers, and the same story is being replicated in the Maldives,” he concluded.

GMR unphased

Declining to comment on the stock market fluctuations, GMR CEO of Maldives operations Andrew Harrison said GMR expects the existing INIA deal to be upheld, despite the change of administration in the Maldives.

Speaking to Minivan News, Harrison stressed that the Indian company is “politically neutral” and added that it respects whichever party is in control of the government of the Maldives.

“We’ve always been politically neutral in that our remit is solely about developing and operating the airport,” he said.

“We respect whichever party holds the seat of government in the Maldives. The government change is a change we respect and we remain politically neutral. We’ve got a concession agreement and we are sure that any government in power will respect that agreement. We’ve not heard anything that would make us believe otherwise.”

Several foreign staff working in Male’ as GMR contractors were temporarily relocated to India after both they and their employers expressed concerns over their safety. The political situation in Male’ remains volatile.

Harrison said, “Our only concern is for the welfare of GMR staff, so we have advised them to avoid hotspots where it appears that riots and trouble is breaking out.”

He added that tourists traveling through INIA should not be too concerned about the events in Male’, as the airport and resorts are separated from the capital city.

Harrison said, “The resorts and the airport island are geographically separated from Male’, and we’re also fortunate in the fact that the Maldivian culture is both welcoming and friendly towards foreigners. We’ve seen demonstrations of great hospitality both at the airport and at the resorts, both during and prior to this situation.

“People visiting the Maldives are being made to feel very welcome in the Maldives, despite what’s going on in Male’. The Maldivians have a very warm and nurturing culture and a willingness to welcome visitors – and this won’t be affected by the political situation,” he added.

There have been no political protests at INIA or any of the resorts to date. As such, the majority of current travel advice issued by foreign embassies recommends that tourists specifically avoid visiting the island of Male’, but they are not issuing a blanket travel warning against visiting the Maldives, apart from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ukraine which advises it citizens to avoid the country as a whole.

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“I told them to surrender; otherwise Nasheed might lose his life”, Umar Naseer tells PPM rally

The Deputy Leader of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer has claimed that he warned the close aides of Former President Mohamed Nasheed during the unrest of February 7 that Nasheed “might lose his life” if he did not comply with the calls for his resignation.

“I kept telling them to surrender or else you might even lose your life. I kept telling them repeatedly,” he said, adding that Nasheed had asked for security guarantees for his family.

There are also videos of the ex-colonel and former assistant police commissioners going into the MNDF headquarters, coming out and addressing the crowd, informing them that Nasheed has been told to “immediately and unconditionally resign” and then escorting him to the President’s Office under military guard.

Umar made the remarks while addressing nearly 1,000 supporters of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s PPM party, gathered at Artificial Beach on Sunday night, in its first rally since Nasheed was ousted from office and appointment of Gayoom’s hardline supporters into the new cabinet formed by President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

According to Umar, he was at the “commanding center” and mediating with Nasheed’s close aides, while political unrest escalated on Male’ during the late hours of February 6, as rogue elements of police  and  military joined the opposition protesters culminating into what the MDP claims was a coup.

“While the operation [protest] was going on that night, I was at the commanding center. I was talking to Nasheed’s close aides. I told them to surrender; otherwise [he] might lose life. I told them that repeatedly. But, firstly, they responded arrogantly saying they do not have to surrender [because] such a circumstance has arrived,” Umar claimed.

But around 8:30 the next morning, Umar claimed that Nasheed called him saying that he wanted to resign. Nasheed said that he would not participate in any political activities hereafter, Umar added.

“Nasheed called and said that he is prepared to resign. He requested arrangements to be made for him and his family to leave for somewhere else. I told him that it will be arranged and to prepare for resignation,” Umar claimed.

Following media coverage of those remarks, Umar released a statement today pointing out that he did not imply that President Nasheed’s life was threatened by police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

During the unrest, Umar said that he spoke to Former Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu and told that their lives were in danger because of the large number of protestors on Republic Square.

“I said his life could be in danger because of the large number of people gathered there [Republican Square] and it seemed that police, MNDF did not have the capacity to control the crowd – not even us,” Umar said.

Umar said that “we feared from our hearts” that if the civilians [protesters] had entered the MNDF headquarters by using any means, Nashed, Tholhath and MNDF and police inside the building [at the time] would have been at danger.”

Nasheed and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have however denounced the legitimacy of the new government, and accused Dr Waheed of participating in the coup.

Meanwhile last night, some MDP supporters also took to the streets near parliament, where some MPs were staging a sit-in calling for the release of MDP MP Mohamed Rasheed, who was among those arrested from Addu for vandalising and setting fire to police and public property on February 8.

“Six of our MPs were taken away last night, I was badly beaten myself,” said MP Mariya Didi last evening, describing the aggression done to her by police forces. “I’ve got bruises all over. I’ve still got a black eye.”

Didi referenced her colleague MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, who was flown to Sri Lanka following a police attack on a peaceful march around Male’ last week. “We’ve all been beaten up for many days in a room” by police and security forces, Didi summarised.

Although charges are being issued they appear to have no base. Didi compared the allegations made against her to those made during Gayoom’s administration. “The same politicians, the same members, are doing the same thing all over again. They think they can charge us with terror charges. If this is the case then we will get huge sentences of 12 years or more,” she said.

MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor seconded Mariya’s statements, adding, “This is a coup, there is no doubt about it, and we [MDP MPs] are feeling the brunt of it.

Gafoor claimed that many MDP MPs are blacklisted and unable to leave the Maldives, although officials have denied the existence of such a list.

Protesters last night put down their signs reading “You cannot terrorise our MPs” around 9:00pm and took up the cry “Lari Lari! Yes Sir!”, mocking the police as corrupt servants of opposition party leaders.

The protests continued without turning violent until 1:00am.

Rasheed was moved to house arrest today, along with three Addu city council members detained by the police.

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“We call on the police and the army to pledge allegiance to the Vice President”: Umar Naseer, Jan 31

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has circulated a video of an opposition press conference held early on January 31, following an early morning meeting between former Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan and opposition leaders.

The meeting with Dr Waheed included President of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Imran, Vice President of former President Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer, and Vice President of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef.

Nasheed and the MDP contend that his resignation following an attack by opposition protesters on the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) headquarters on Tuesday February 7 – in which element of the police and a smaller number of MNDF officers participated – was made under duress.

Dr Waheed’s government has maintained that the events of the day, including the takeover and rebranding of the state broadcaster, were spontaneous, and has praised the “sacrifices” of the security forces who participated.

“What happened (on Tuesday) was the culmination of a long process of political conflict and undermining of the judiciary,” President Waheed told foreign media during a press conference the morning after the alleged coup, which followed three weeks of 200-400 people protesting over the detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.

“I think it is unfair for anyone to accuse me of joining the opposition. I will continue this government in the spirit of coalition,” Dr Waheed said.

In the video of the opposition press conference eight days earlier, Umar Naseer claimed that President Nasheed had pledged “not to hold elections in 2013”.

“Hence, the December 23rd Coalition, all the different stakeholders of the coalition and all the opposition political parties are calling out to the police and the army to come out and pledge allegiance to Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, and not to implement any order given by Mohmed Nasheed,” Naseer said.

The coalition of opposition parties was formed following a well-attended ‘Defend Islam’ rally on December 23. Opposition leaders at the protest had criticised Nasheed’s Islamic credentials, accusing him of “building churches”, defending the Addu City ‘idols’ (SAARC monuments) and failing to condemn United Nations Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay for her suggestion that flogging be abolished as a punishment for extra-marital sex.

“We the Coalition of 23rd December has decided that from right this moment onwards, to step up the work we have been doing until today, to move things into the second phase,” said Sheikh Imran Abdulla, President of the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party, at the meeting on January 31.

“All of us in the Coalition have decided to pledge allegiance to Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik,” Naseer said.

At the press conference, DRP Vice Presdient Shareef said President Nasheed was a “huge threat to Maldivians”, and had “to be stopped immediately.”

“We believe Mohamed Nasheed has no legal standing to be the President of the Maldives. He has undermined the power of the courts, and completely abolished law and order in Maldives.

“He has tarnished the sanctity of the Supreme Court of the Maldives, and by giving illegal orders to the security forces, started injuring citizens.

“So before we go to a scarier, more dangerous blood shed, we have asked the Vice President to save this nation. I would like to call upon the security forces [to accept that] since the Vice President is a person elected by Maldivians, and should the President be incapacitated to perform his legal duties, the Vice President must assume the duties of the President.”

Recording of the January 31 press conference:

Transcript

Sheikh Imran, President of the Adhaalath Party:

In the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most beneficent.

We had to meet at this late hour because the Government is acting out
of the boundaries of the constitution to destroy the judiciary and disenfranchise the citizens of the country, and because President Nasheed has indicated to us, clearly, that the 2013 elections will not be held.

(And so) we the Coalition of 23rd December has decided that from right this moment onwards, to step up the work we have been doing until today, to move things into the second phase.

The steering committee of the 23rd December Coalition has met and decided, unanimously, that we have to take things to the second phase.

(And so) we went to meet the Vice President, and having met him, we wanted to convey our decisions to the beloved citizens of the Republic of Maldives.

Hence we are meeting at this late hour. Umar will convey what we desire and the decisions we have taken.

Umar Naseer Vice President, Progressive Party of the Maldives:

Thank you very much. As you would know President Nasheed has, beyond doubt, contradicted the Constitution, and he himself has said that, he has stepped out of the chart.

And that he will not hold presidential elections in 2013.

Hence, the December 23rd Coalition, all the different stakeholders of the coalition and all the opposition political parties are calling out to the police and the army to come out and pledge allegiance to Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and not to implement any order given by Mohmed Nasheed.

And all of us in the Coalition have decided to pledge allegiance to Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

So on behalf of this coalition we are calling on the security forces, to immediately pledge their allegiance to Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

As you know Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik was elected by a direct vote of Maldivians, and has not acted contrary to the Constitution.

But Mohamed Nasheed has contradicted the constitution, gone outside the chart and has said he will not hold elections in 2013.

Hence we cannot say that Mohamed Nasheed is the legal ruler of Maldives.

This is the decision of the Coalition.

Mohamed ‘Mavota’ Shareef, Vice President, Dhivehi Rayithunge Party:

In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.

We had met tonight with the Vice President on behalf of the Coalition to let him know what we think.

We have let the Vice President know what our parties had decided.

As you might know President Nasheed is a huge threat to Maldivians.

If what President Nasheed is doing is not stopped immediately, like what has happened in other countries, we fear that this country might plunge into a civil conflict.

So we requested the Vice President to take over the government, and we call upon the security forces to immediately start obeying the orders of the Vice President

That is because President Nasheed is not the President of the Maldives anymore.

He could have only stayed on as President, as long as he had not contradicted the constitution and does not contradict the law. He is trying to sideline the constitution.

He is contradicting the constitution knowingly, and on purpose.

Hence, as Umar and our Sheikh Imran has already stated, and as we have repeatedly stated, Nasheed who was holding the post of President, is not the President of this country anymore.

We believe Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed has no legal standing to be the president of the Maldives.

He has undermined the power of the courts, and completely abolished law and order in Maldives.

He has tarnished the sanctity of the supreme court of the Maldives, and by giving illegal orders to the security forces, started injuring citizens.

So before we go to a scarier, more dangerous blood shed, we have asked the Vice President to save this nation.

In conclusion, I would like to call upon the security forces, (to accept that) since the Vice President is a person elected by Maldivians, and should the president be incapacitated to perform his legal duties, the Vice President must assume the duties of the President. (And so) we have decided that he has to start performing these duties.

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Umar Naseer issues wooden weapons to supporters

The 23 December coalition’s steering committee armed supporters outside the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) office last night with wooden clubs and sticks, stacked outside, reports Haveeru.

Opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Vice President Umar Naseer told local media the group was “armed and ready with wooden clubs to defend themselves” against activists from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who allegedly confronted them with knives.

Emphasising that the wooden weapons were only meant for defense, Naseer allegedly urged opposition members standing guard outside the building not to initiate a confrontation. He added, however, that the weapons were mean to show protesters that the coalition was willing to stand alongside their supporters on the front lines, local media reports.

Naseer alleged that the MDP activists had evidently consumed alcohol, and that police had not responded to the coalition’s phone calls.

Meanwhile, MDP labelled Naseer and the coalition’s committee as “ready for a rebellion”, local media reports.

Approximately 20 MDP protesters proceeded to shout vulgar commentary outside the DRP office before dispersing.

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MP rejects authority of Criminal Court after judge releases armed “I was just cooking” civilian

Today’s Criminal Court hearing for a case involving ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Thimmarafushi Mohamed Musthafa was cancelled after the MP refused to accept the court summons on the grounds that the court’s judges were unlawfully appointed.

Musthafa added that Thimarafushi island council had advised against his attending the hearing.

Musthafa’s comment came after the Criminal Court today ordered the release of a man arrested for carrying a knife as protesters spread throughout Male’ on Friday evening.

Hassan Areef, who has prior convictions for violence, was arrested in Henveiru ward by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) before being handed over to police.

Appearing in court today, Areef claimed he had been preparing a meal using a butter knife when he went outside to see the commotion, unintentionally carrying the knife with him, according to local media.

The criminal court accepted Areef’s version and ordered his release. Police have announced their intention to appeal the verdict.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the court, Musthafa justified his refusal by citing President Mohamed Nasheed’s position that lower court judges were not appointed in accordance with Article 149 of the constitution, therefore their rulings held no legal weight.

According to Article 149, “A person appointed as a Judge in accordance with law, must possess the educational qualifications,  experience  and  recognised competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a Judge, and must be of high moral character.”

The article further requires judges to be a Sunni Muslim of at least 25 years of age, who has not been convicted of an offence and is of sound mind.

Musthafa has been charged for bounced cheques.

The MP faces multiple charges of cheque fraud, notably over transactions made by his company Seafood International Pvt Ltd.

Citing deception by food supplier General Meat Ltd, Musthafa threatened legal action against the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in November if it did not pay the US$500,000 that the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) owed Seafood International.

Musthafa alleged that the sum was due to be paid to his company according to a 1991 London court ruling.

Citing MMA as the “live branch of BCCI in the Maldives,” Musthafa previously stated that “the debt of a dead person has to be paid by a living legal parent. If the MMA does not pay us within seven days we will sue the MMA in court and when we sue, we will ask the court to take the amount of money for the loss we have had for the past 20 years as a cause of not having this money.’’

Meanwhile, a case filed in 2009 by opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Vice President Umar Naseer claims Musthafa must be removed from Parliament due to a decreed debt which is in violation of Article 73(c)1.

The Supreme Court was due to rule on a case against Musthafa on October 20, however proceedings were interrupted when MDP called for a nation-wide protest against the judiciary during an emergency meeting.

Speaking to Minivan News at the time, MDP MP and spokesperson for the party’s Parliamentary Group, Mohamed Shifaz, said judges had been blackmailed and that the party would protest the politicised judiciary indefinitely.

This month, the opposition took up the protest baton and demanded the release of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed from military detention. The Judge was arrested on January 16, 2012. Protestors have demonstrated against the government since that date.

Contending that the judge was lawfully arrested, the government has requested international legal assistance to resolve what has been labelled a “judicial crisis”.

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Police summon Umar Naseer, Hassan Saeed for questioning

Police have summoned Umar Naseer, Vice President of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Dr Hassan Saeed, President of Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) for questioning at 9:00am tomorrow morning.

Police have stated that they aim to clarify information regarding an ongoing investigation.

Both men, and their parties, have been at the forefront of vocal and physical protests against the government over the last two weeks.

After alleging that the government is involved in “anti-Islamic conspiracies” and that President Mohamed Nasheed was “a madman elected by mistake” on local broadcaster DhiTV, party members Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and ‘Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Ibrahim Didi were summoned for questioning on January 14 for four consecutive nights, prompting public demonstrations for freedom of expression. Hassan Saeed was their lawyer.

In a 30-page pamphlet released on January 15, DQP accused the government of participating in anti-Islamic conspiracies and associating with Jews and Christian priests.

The President’s Office called the pamphlet “a litany of extremist, bigoted and hate-filled rhetoric aimed primarily at President Nasheed and his administration” which has “[undermined] the religious harmony of the country” by using the constitutionally-granted right to freedom of expression as an excuse to engage in hate speech.

In an effort to garner international support, a DQP delegation flew to Colombo to explain its position to embassies.

On January 14 Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by military forces after attempting to block his own court order and was taken to a training facility on Girifushi, where he is currently being held. The charges against him include obstruction of justice and corrupt professional behavior.

Although Saeed filed the first complaint against Judge Mohamed in 2005, he has been an outspoken participant in the opposition-led protests to free the judge over the past 10 days.

Opposition parties claim that the judge’s detention constitutes a human rights violation; the case has been forwarded to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Umar Naseer, deputy leader of opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) until he was dismissed, assisted former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in forming PPM. The party was registered in late 2011, drawing membership from DRP in high quantities.

Speaking at a PPM rally last evening, Naseer said he was aware that Special Forces had appealed for an order from the High Court to apprehend him. Meanwhile, Gayoom has reportedly left the country.

Speaking at the same event Jumhooree Party (JP) President Gasim Ibrahim told the crowd that the government is bankrupt, citing a growing budget deficit and rumors of unpaid salaries.

Requesting the government to stop using Special Forces to carry out “crimes against the people”, Gassim asked opposition parties to “work together to restore freedom before it’s too late”, local media reports.

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Government will not allow religion to be used as a weapon for political purposes: Home Minister

Council members of the minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) questioned by police were unable to substantiate “slanderous allegations” that the government was working with “Jews and Christian priests” to undermine Islam in the Maldives, Home Minister Hassan Afeef said today.

Briefing press at the police headquarters, Afeef criticised Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and ‘Sandhaanu’ Ahmed Ibrahim Didi for exercising the right to remain silent when they were summoned for a second time last night and challenged the DQP leaders to point out or provide evidence of “the government’s efforts to wipe out Islam.”

“Where is that priest? Where is the money that priest gave? When was it given? Which account was it deposited to?” Afeef asked.

Dr Jameel told police interrogators that his claims were based on “rumours circulating in the island,” Afeef revealed, criticising the former Justice Minister for not realising the gravity of the allegations when repeating it without proof.

Sandhaanu Didi’s statement to police was meanwhile “useless chatter” claiming the President was “a madman and a Christian,” he added.

“We cannot allow such claims to cause unrest among the public, incite hatred towards the government and lead to discord,” Afeef asserted.

He reiterated that opposition leaders had a responsibility to substantiate “atrocious” allegations that the MDP government was intent on “wiping away Islam” to introduce religious freedom and the practice of other religions.

“This government will not allow anyone to use religion as a weapon for political purposes,” he continued. “Therefore, I would like to remind [journalists] that these actions are an atrocity. The government is not going to allow such atrocities to be committed. I urge you to be mindful of this when the media reports such news.”

Afeef also suggested that the Media Council and Maldives Broadcasting Commission were failing to fulfill their mandate by not objecting to religiously-based allegations by opposition politicians on privately-owned media outlets.

Asked why the police were not investigating cases filed by the opposition against President Mohamed Nasheed, Afeef insisted that the complaints were “baseless” and that police “would investigate if there was any truth to it.”

Among the cases filed with police include a request by PPM Deputy Leader Umar Naseer to investigate President Nasheed’s remarks allegedly “encouraging drug use”.

Calling for compassion towards heroin addicts, Nasheed said in June 2011: “When we don’t provide care for them, they take off with the box cutter and steal money from the mother’s drawers. [They] need it. They need to use. They must use. We have to come to know and understand this. We shouldn’t try talking about this politically or with the intention of hiding behind a nice veil, without using the real terms and words.”

The falsehood of such claims by Umar Naseer and others was evident and “clear as night and day,” Afeef argued.

Asked about DQP’s request for police to investigate President Nasheed’s claims to foreign media that islands in the Maldives were sinking, Afeef said the President was referring to beach erosion in recent interviews and not submersion by sea level rise.

DQP also requested police investigate Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair for allegedly “threatening the media.”

Meanwhile, according to his twitter page, Dr Jameel revealed that he and Sandhaanu Didi have been summoned to the police station tonight for a third time.

The pair were questioned by police for a second time Saturday night, but both exercised the right to remain silent. After the initial interrogation Thursday night, Did was detained for almost 24 hours and released around 7:00pm Friday night.

Sandhaanu Didi appeared outside the police headquarters with a mask and fins last night, explaining that he had cooperated with police for 30 minutes on Thursday night and intended to “go snorkeling with the police boys tonight.”

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PPM accuses government of setting Luthfee free from prison

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has alleged that the government has set free Abdull Luthfee, who was sentenced to life during the time of Former President, for playing a senior role in the November 3 coup attempt in 1988.

Former Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party [DRP] and current interim council member of PPM Umar Naseer yesterday held a press meeting and told the media that the government has said that Luthfee went to Sri Lanka for medical purposes and escaped.

Luthfee, Umar said, did not escape but was ‘escaped’ with the assistance of the government and alleged that the government have been still supporting his stay at Sri Lanka.

Umar said it has been years after he left for medical purposes and added that the government has not even tried to look for him.

He said he was not astonished that the government has not searched for him because one of President Mohamed Nasheed’s brothers-in-law was also a senior figure in the November 3 attack.

‘’The PPM will very seriously look in to this issue of government letting a senior figure involved in the November 3 coup attempt in which 19 Maldivians were killed escape,’’ said Umar, adding that many other figures involved in the November 3 attack were currently filling senior government posts.

Sri Lankan newspaper The Island reported Luthfee as saying on the 23rd anniversary of the November 3 coup attempt, “I wanted to get rid of [former President Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom at any cost. As the election process in my country never gave a reasonable opportunity to the opposition, I felt an outside force should be used to oust Gayoom,”

In May this year, before the PPM was created and supporters of Gayoom were in Dhivehi Rayiithunge Party as a faction, Gayoom’s faction of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) protested outside the Prosecutor General’s Office and marched through the streets of Male’  with coffins, demanding justice for the martyrs who died in the November 3 coup attempt.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair denied the allegations and referred Minivan News to State Home Minister  Mohamed ‘Monazer’ Naeem for more details.

Naeem said that Government will never help a detainee escape and denied the allegations made by PPM.

‘’The Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service [DPRS] will not hold anyone in detention if a doctor advises to send an inmate abroad for medical reasons, but that does not mean that we are making way for him to escape,’’ Naeem explained.

He said anyone can point fingers at the DPRS or Home Ministry.

‘’We are confident that no staff or anyone here will held him to escape,’’ he added.

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