Raajje News Blog

#Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: Military obstruct accountability and justice by wearing identity concealing face masks

2012-01-26T21:27:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Maldives Military wore black face masks to conceal their identity as they stormed the site of another civic protest against the military's forced disappearance of Judge Abdulla Mohamed. In doing so, the military obstructs justice and accountability by preventing the persons harmed and others from enforcing their constitutional right to hold military officers accountable for their actions.

In the international scene, it is common to see Israeli security forces don face masks and this too, only when attacking innocent Palestinians. Hence, it is rather disturbing to see the Maldivian military dodging accountability and justice by wearing identity concealing masks when confronting civilians.

The disturbing incident adds to the growing lengthy list of violations of fundamental constitutional rights by President Nasheed's military, police, administration and party.

The wearing of face masks by protestors is banned in several countries. The issue is related to the question of allowing the concealing of identity of persons who may be in contravention of the law.

In last night's events, masked individuals wearing Maldives military riot gear entered the scene after the Police Commander of riot police at the scene reportedly refused an order to arrest individuals at the protest. These masked individuals arrested several civilians and transported them away from the scene.

As in the traditional situation, the first presumption is that the individual behind the mask is engaged in an illegal activity. This presumption is lent credence by the fact that the current protests were prompted the military's contravention of the constitution of the country. Further, the Maldives courts have ruled that the police arrest of civic protestors on previous nights was unconstitutional.

The wearing of face masks by the military raise questions of legality in the act. It raises the question of whether such practices are allowed under the constitution and law. If legal, then is it standard practice for Maldives military to wear face masks in facing civic protests. If it is not standard practice, under what circumstances would military be given orders to wear face masks? And what level of officer in the military hierarchy would be authorized to issue such orders?

These are questions that the Parliamentary Committee of National Defense must ask the military, if it is to defend the fundamental rights of Maldivian citizens. However, past weeks have shown that the said Parliamentary Committee has been hijacked by President Nasheed's MDP Mps, and it is futile to even hope that the Committee can discharge its constitutional responsibility for hodling the military accountable for any of its acts.

The resolution of this lies not in the parliament now, nor in the judiciary. Nor does it lie in the hands of independent institutions such as the Prosecutor General or the Humand Rights Commission, since none of these institutions have condemned last night's act by the military. The onus of holding President Nasheed and the military accountable now rest with the people, through legal means and within the bounds of the constitution. It is for experienced minds and national interest to lead the people down this path and away from the conflictual and self serving path shown by political parties.

Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: Freedom of speech and of media - killed and buried by President Nasheed

2012-01-25T23:46:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Freedom of speech and freedom of media, both guaranteed in the Constitution, are two of many constitutional casualties of President Nasheed's prolonged struggle to remain in power. Opposition politicians continue to be interrogated and arrested for making public statements negative to President Nasheed, while private media have been repeatedly threatened by Government Ministers and police and military.

These arrests come in support of a campaign by President Nasheed's militant party Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) called, "Can't Say That", overtly to stop rising public outrage at President Nasheed's anti Islamic policies and action. However, the campaign has now explicitly shifted to attack all those who raise their voices against President Nasheed's unconstitutional arrest of Senior Judge of the Criminal Court, Judge Abdulla Mohamed. Nasheed's arrest of Judge Abdulla has sparked widespread civic protests against Nasheed and his government. The protests are now into the 10th day.

Judge Abdulla was abducted from his home by Nasheed's military on January 16th and has been kept incommunicado at a military camp since. Military have repeatedly refused court orders to present Judge Abdulla to court for hearings on his arrest. Maldivian law, based on Islamic Sharia principles, prevent the courts from beginning court proceedings in absentia of either proponent or defendant.

Today, Maldives police served a summons to two more opposition leaders to appear at police headquarters for interrogation in an investigation of an undisclosed matter. Leader of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr. Hassan Saeed and interim Deputy Leader of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer are the last in a row of opposition politicians who have been interrogated by police for making public statements which police allege incite the public and endanger public peace and national security.

Politicians who have been interrogated by police have been kept for hours either in police headquarters or at the police detention centre on Dhoonidhoo island. These include Leader of Adhaalath Party (AP) Shaikh Imran Abdulla, Deputy Leader of (AP) Dr. Mauroof Hassan, Deputy Leaders of DQP Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and Abdul Matheen, Parliamentary Leader of PPM Abdulla Yaameen, PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof, member of PPM interim council Maaz Saleem, and member of DQP Council Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Didi (Sandhaanu Ahammaidi).

Of these AP Leader Shaikh Imran, AP Deputy Leader Dr. Mauroof, DQP Deputy Leader Dr. Jameel, PPM MP Mahloof and PPM Interim Council Member Maaz Saleem have been arrested by police on separate occasions. They were later released upon court orders which found the police arrests unconstitutional.

Intimidation and threats against media also began under the nominal reason of preventing repeat of unsubstantiated statements on President Nasheed's anti-Islamic policies and actions.

Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim (of the powerful MDP clan DIK), Home Minister Hassan Afeef (a hardcore MDP MDP until he lost the last parliamentary elections), Communications Minister Adil Saleem (who came to public attention via a widely distributed porn video of him and his wife) and Youth Minister Hassan Latheef have taken the lead in media intimidation.

These Ministers, have at various times, directly and indirectly threatened the media and media associations and councils with closure, cancellation of broadcasting licenses and legal action if they report states by any party deemed to be inciting the people or endangering national security.

Cabinet level threats have been supported by Military Chief Moosa Jaleel and Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh. Moosa Jaleel has gone so far as to send a warning letter to all media that he would close down any media which reported anti-government sentiments. Faseeh has sent police officers to threaten staff at media stations during broadcasts and also brought in media personnel for interrogations of the same ilk as against opposition politicians.

Military and police forces at the civic protests have refused to provide protection for media reporters, even ordering them away from protest sites. Police even refused to assist a reporter who was injured two nights ago in an attack by Nasheed's MDP against the civic protestors. The injured reporter told media that police officers ignored his please for help even as he was lying on the ground with his arm broken.

His MDP attackers surged out of the MDP Meeting Hall where MDP Interim Chair Reeko Moosa and MDP Vice President Alhan Fahmy were delivering hate speeches under the "Can't Say That" campaign.

At the same time, Maldives Police have not yet investigated any hate speeches by MDP politicians nor interrogated any speakers on MDP podiums who have repeatedly called for violence and attacks against the civic protestors and their leaders. The fact that these hate speeches are prompted by President Nasheed is evident given the fact that last week Nasheed himself led an MDP rally last weekend at which several MDP leaders such as Alhan Fahmy, Mariya Didi, Imthiyaz Fahmy and Minister Hassan Latheef made intimidatory threats against the Chief Justice and opposition party leaders.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem went one step further last night, when at the "Can't Say That" podium, he incited MDP thugs into violence against former President Gayoom and his followers, stating that he had personally seen inmates being brutally beaten and being killed in prisons during Gayoom's regime. He concluded saying, "Gayoom is also responsible for the current protests. The man cannot be left free. Gayoom must be immediately arrested".

Article 27 of the 2008 Constitution assures that "everyone has the right to freedom of thought and the freedom to communicate opinions and expression in a manner that is not contrary to any tenet of Islam".

Article 28 states that "everyone has the right to freedom of the press, and other means of communication, including the right to espouse, disseminate and publish news, information, views and ideas. No person shall be compelled to disclose the source of any information that is espoused, disseminated or published by that person".

Tomorrow's police interrogation of DQP Leader Dr. Saeed and PPM Deputy Leader Naseer is yet another stake by Nahseed into the constitutional freedom of speech and media.

#Maldives in constitutional crisis: President Nasheed and opposition politicians must step aside and let national interest and political experience rescue the country

2012-01-25T16:44:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives

President Nasheed's is still unable to provide Maldivians with a legally valid defense of his unconstitutional arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed, nine days after the act. All Nasheed and his mlilitant party Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) are doing day and night, publicly, privately and on social networks, is to repeat their old accusations of ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom being a dictator and calling for his arrest. At the same time, the civic coalition movement and opposition parties appear to be reveling in their media exposure, but show no sign of moving towards concrete steps to resolve the constitutional crisis.

Nasheed's military arrest of Judge Abdulla, a senior judge of the Criminal Court, had been condemned as unconstitutional by the courts, the Chief Justice, Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu, Maldives Human Rights Commission, Maldives Lawyers Association and top legal experts in the country. Its unconstitutionality cannot be refuted. Yet, Nasheed is not willingly to release him. Nor is he willing to negotiate the issue with the civic coalition or opposition leaders. If so, Nasheed would already have begun such negotiations.

Similarly, the opposition has stated that it is not willing to negotiate with Nasheed on the issue until Judge Abdulla is released. At the same time, opposition parties and leaders appear to have differing agendas. Statements by leaders of opposition parties in the civic alliance show that the primary objectives differs between these leaders. Additionally, none of the leaders proposed any concrete steps to move forward in resolving the crisis. The meeting ended with an agreement to continue the protest, an act which does not give the Maldivian any real hope of rescuing the country from this crisis.

The Judiciary has failed in its attempts to put the whole issue on a legal track because the military and police continue to defy its orders to present Judge Abdulla for hearings on the case. Maldivian law prevent court proceedings in absentia of the either of the two parties to a case.

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu, although very vocal in stating his intent to prosecute the perpetrators of the crime in arresting Judge Abdulla, has artfully dodged out by assigning the investigation to the Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission, as all Maldivians know, will take months to complete any investigation, and the PG would take even longer to move a prosecution case against the government run by his school mate, Nasheed.

The Parliament has supported President Nasheed in this violation of the constitution, by refusing to hold the military and police accountable for these actions. The Parliament and most of the standing committees constitute of MDP majorities, plus an illicit alliance with Ahmed Thasmeen Ali's DRP in its major votes.

Top legal minds in the country have realised the futility of legal resolution of the case in a country where the Judiciary has been hijacked, and have submitted the forced disappearance of Judge Abdulla to the International Criminal Court. However, this too may take a long time. While the lawyers may eventually secure Judge Abdulla's release, their case offers no support into the resolution of the constitutional crisis in the country.

The media, sometimes called the fourth power of the state, has also been compromised. President Nasheed uses the state media channels as his propaganda machines, while owners of private media use their media to push forward political agendas, politicians and parties which they support. On top of this, in the past two months, President Nasheed has stepped up his efforts to curb the freedom of press by using his police and military to threaten and intimidate the press. The media council and media associations have proven powerless in the face of government and private co-opting of their rights.

In this context of the failure of all the organs of the state, including the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, independent commissions, political parties
and civic institutions, it now remains for experienced individuals who will give primacy to national interest to step forward and rescue the country.

The Maldives has hitherto been a socially cohesive country, which awards respect to individuals and to community. Amongst this community, although hidden from the limelight of today's conflicting politics, are experienced individuals of political experience who command respect across a wide spectrum of political interests. Such respect has been earned through remaining incorruptible and and giving primacy to national interest.

A panel of such individuals can lead the way to an internal and sustainable resolution of the current constitutional crises that would be supported by the majority. It is time for such individuals to step forward. It is time for President Nasheed and other political leaders to step aside and let Maldivians working for Maldives take charge.

#Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: Is President Nasheed's real target Islamic Sharia and not the Judiciary?

2012-01-23T21:28:00.001+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Tension and alarm escalated amongst Maldivian citizenry yesterday with President Nasheed's re-introduction of the controversial UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navirathnam Pillai into the Maldivian internal matters.

President Nasheed's grand design in the forced disappearance of Judge Abdulla appears to be to create an opportunity for international forces to enter Maldivian domestic politics and civic matters. If it were so, this would be a sad betrayal of centuries of struggle for political independence by Maldivians high and low. The end objective of this foreign influence is perhaps not reform of the Judiciary itself, but amendment of the constitution to remove its basis on Islamic Sharia.

The fact that he chose to invite Ms. Pillai for legal assistance in the current constitutional crises shows that there is a link between the current military arrest and Ms. Pillai's agenda.

Ms. Pillai sparked the largest civic protest in the country to date, when she stepped out of her UN mandate and attacked the state religion Islam and ridiculed the Maldivian constitution. Ms Pillai went so far as to say, "I do not believe that you have a constitution", a belief that President Nasheed too appears to hold. Ms. Pillai made her inflammatory remarks in an address to Maldivian parliamentarians, while on a visit to Maldives upon the invitation of President Nasheed. Her inflammatory remarks which challenged the Islamic faith of the 100% Muslim population, sparked nationwide protests on December 23, 2011, the biggest of which rallied over 20,000 civilians to Victory Square, Male'.

President Nasheed's cousin Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem (Kerafa) announced yesterday that Nasheed had sent a letter to Ms. Pillai inviting her to send a team of legal experts to investigate and make recommendations on what he called issues relating to the Maldivian judiciary.

The issues referred for Ms. Pillai's assistance by President Nasheed are in fact gross violations of the constitution by himself and his security services in arresting Senior Judge of the Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed on January 16, 2012 for alleged misconduct. Judge Abdulla was arrested within 24 hours of his ruling to release opposition politican Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed who had been arbitrarily arrested by the Police. Dr. Jameel's alleged crime was to have uttered statements alluding to the well known links between President Nasheed and Christian missionaries at a public rally.

Judge Abdulla is a case of "forced disappearance" as defined by international conventions. Judge Abdulla has been kept incommunicado since he was taken by force from his household by Maldivian military forces. His arrest has sparked over a week of unceasing protest from the Maldivian citizenry, calling for the reinstatement of the constitution and the rule of law in the country.

When Nasheed was propelled into power in 2008 by foreign support and that of foreign powers, Maldives was a healthy and stable society and economy, brought to the stage of graduation from the ranks of Least Developed Countries by experienced and hard working teams of local faithful working under President Ibrahim Nasir and President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Although Gayoom himself saw his defeat by Nasheed as due to "30 years", Gayoom's doom was perhaps rooted in his adamant refusal to allow a secular constitution as proposed by Nasheed's party, MDP. This led to a gathering of international support behind the then relatively unknown activist Nasheed, propelling him into international stardom in a media created image of democracy advocate.

The 2008 Constitution of the Maldives was written by a Constitutional Assembly gathered by Gayoom in a surprise move which took the initiative out of an incipient and inexperienced opposition's hand. In June 2004, Gayoom held a public lecture at which he announced a radical Reform Agenda, which instigated sweeping reforms to the Constitution, separated out the three powers of State and established independent watch dogs over the organs of the state.

The process of constitutional amendment was lengthy and protracted. Local and foreign interest groups tried to gain the upper hand in determining provisions of the new constitution. The strongest attempt was made by the UN, through the UNDP which funded two projects to "support" constitutional reform. The first funded an analysis of problems in the existing constitution. The second funded a Canadian legal expert to draft the new constitution. Working together with Drafting Committee Chair Male' MP Ibrahim Ismail, the first draft submitted to the committee and Majlis threw the majority of the assembly into disbelief. The draft constitution did not give Islam and Islamic Sharia its rightful place in the constitution.

Maldivian citizens witnessed on live television, the tooth and nail fight against Nasheed's MDP by Gayoom's party Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party to introduce Islamic Sharia into the provisions of the draft constitution. The defeat of the MDP's anti-Islamic agenda in the Constitutional Assembly was overwhelming, the credit for which must also go to the Speaker of the Assembly Gasim Ibrahim. Gasim Ibrahim brought back Islam and Islamic Sharia into the new constitution by inviting Malaysian Professor Hashim Kamali as an Advisor to the Assembly. Professor Kamali strongly defended the so-called "human rights" arguments levelled against Islamic Sharia, lending strength to Gayoom's parliamentarians to wrest the new constitution out of the anti-Islamic grip of the MDP.

This most recent invitation to international forces to push their political agendas in the microcosm of Maldivian society is nothing new to Nasheed. From its inception, Nasheed's fledgeling administration has swung every which way politically and economically under the influence of foreign powers and international institutions. As with any politician, Nasheed would have made various promises to his local and foreign backers. Most notable are the influences of the UK and India. The UK's Conservative Party continues to play a significant influence in determining Nasheed's domestic and foreign policies. India moved into the picture later, using its old age tactic of economic and financial influence through big business such as GMR.

The massive success of the December 23 protest against Nasheed's anti-Islamic agenda shows that, even if the country is thrown into civil war or taken over by the military, there is little hope that this latest attempt to remove the influence on Islam on the country's constitution and laws will succeed.

This failure is not all least due to the utter lack of experience of President Nasheed as a ruler, but also due to a lack of understanding of the psyche of his fellow citizen. The Maldives has long been a country which has weathered all foreign storms, yet been adept at forging strong international links with a multitude of interests. It has also been a strong ally with other developing countries. Had the issue of promoting international agendas that are not contrary to Islam in the Madives been taken up by an experienced and popular leader of integrity, there is no doubt that much could have been gained for the benefit of both Maldivians and international powers. Sadly for the Maldives today, President Nasheed is not, and never was, the caliber of man to lead a country.

#Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: Discipline of Judges is not the mandate of police or military - Judicial Services Commission

2012-01-22T23:46:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

The Judicial Services Commission today condemned the military arrest of Senior Judge of the Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed as unconstitutional. In a press release today, the JSC stated that Section 159 of the Constitution clearly gives the mandate to investigate complaints about the Judiciary, and to take disciplinary action against them, including recommendations for dismissal.

The JSC made this statement as civilians protest against the unconstitutional arrest of Judge Abdulla for the 8th night in a row. Opposition leaders have stated that they will not stop the protests until Judge Abdulla is released and the Executive brought into the bounds of rule of law. The protests have led to a number of documented incidences of police and army brutality and excessive use of force against civilians, especially women.

The JSC's statement repeats charges against the Executive made by Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and by Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu, that the military arrest of Judge Abdulla is in contravention of the Constitution and laws. The Maldives Lawyers Association and top lawyers in the country have also publicly pointed out the illegalities in the Executives actions.

The JSC defended itself against the allegations by President Nasheed and his militant party MDP that it refused to take action against Judge Abdulla. The JSC said that it had duly investigated the allegations and prepared a report on the matter. In accordance with law, the JSC had given Judge Abdulla the mandatory 30 days to defend himself against the allegations. Judge Abdulla had, within this period, submitted the matter to the Civil Court, which had issued a temporary stay order, ordering the JSC to withhold a decision on Judge Abdulla until the court could make a ruling on the case.

The JSC had then made a submission to the Supreme Court asking for a ruling on whether the case would fall within the jurisdiction of the Civil Court. The Supreme Court had ruled that the JSC case fell under the jurisdiction of the High Court. The JSC said that it was undertaking all the necessary work to prepare the case for submission to the High Court.

It is clear from the JSC statement that once again, President Nasheed and his party have tried to create an opportunity to implement one of its key strategies in its manifesto for control of the Judiciary, that is, the appointment of foreign judges to the courts of Maldives. MDP MPs in the last Constitutional Assembly made very strong stands during the debate on the constitutional provisions on the Judiciary, notably Male' MPs Ibrahim Ismail, Mohamed Shihab and (Colonel) Nasheed. They were largely successful in this, as the Constitution does not explicitly state that Judges appointed to the courts of the Maldives should be Maldivian.

While the provisions for Judicial independence in the Constitution are very clear, the current military detention and solitary confinement of Judge Abdulla throws the whole Judiciary into jeopardy. In a country where the Executive, Military and Police can attack the Judiciary extra-legally without being held accountable for it, foreign judges are bound to need "local protectors" if they are to practice in the Maldives. With such "protection", be it from the country's strong man President Nasheed himself, would come indebtedness and hence loss of impartiality of the judges.

The very act of compromising the independence and impartiality of the Judiciary puts into jeopardy the freedom and safety of any judge, be the judge Maldivian or foreign.

The JSC reiterated that it attributed grave importance to the investigation of allegations against judges and that a special session was held every Wednesday to deliberate upon such allegations submitted to the JSC. The JSC said that it had made a decision on more than 60% of cases submitted to it (208 out of 336 cases), and that it was endeavoring for rapid decisions on the remaining 128 cases before it.

The JSC's statements explicitly demonstrate that the big picture being shown by Nasheed and his propaganda chiefs is simply a figment of their imagination, dreamt up to commandeer the Judiciary. It shows that the Judiciary and JSC are following the rule of law in its investigations, and has indeed followed due process in investigating and taking actions with respect to Nasheed's the allegations against Judge Abdulla. Judge Abdulla, as with any other individual, has the right of innocence until proven guilty. He too has the right to justice, which he has chosen to use by submitting his case before the Civil Court. By putting him into military detention for using these rights is a violation of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. There is no legal argument that can defeat this fact. If Prosecutor General Muizzu does not prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, then others can and will.

For Nasheed, his Home Minister Hassan Afeef, Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim, Chief of Defence Forces Moosa Jaleel and Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh, there is no hiding from the law unless they continue the military rule that they are presently enforcing in the country.

#Maldives: Vice President Dr. Waheed proposes solution which obstructs justice

2012-01-22T15:55:00.000+05:00

The strong arms of the West-US partnership reached out into the ongoing political drama in the Maldives by positioning their agent, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan in the role of moderator in the ongoing constitutional deadlock between the Executive and the Judiciary in the Maldives.

Dr. Waheed has remained a silent confederate of President Nasheed in the numerous instances of unconstitutional and immoral practices by the President and his Administration, that caused injury to public welfare and the interests of the State.

Two days ago Dr. Waheed broke his long silence and started giving interviews in international media against President Nasheed's unconstitutional actions against the Judiciary and political opposition.

In an interview to local media at his office today, Dr. Waheed attempted to position himself as the savior of the Republic by offering some hope for a viable solution to ‘situation catch-22’ between the Executive and the Judiciary. Dr. Waheed suggested to media to suspend Senior Judge Abdullah Mohamed from the judicial bench until the controversies around the judge are judiciously resolved.

However, Dr. Waheed’s recommended solution is deeply unjust to the Judiciary and to Judge Abdulla personally, in a case where clearly President Nasheed has contravened the constitution and laws while Judge Abdulla’s contraventions are mere allegations at this stage. Nasheed’s violations of constitution and law have been publicly stated by the country’s top lawyers such as the Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu, and not just by the Judiciary.

Hence, if Judge Abdulla is to be suspended in order to investigate the allegations against him by President Nasheed, then Nasheed, his Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim (DIK) and Home Minister Hassan Afeef, and his top military and police brass must also be suspended if the matter of Judge Abdulla's unconstitutional detention is investigated and adjudicated in a just and equitable way.

Leaving aside the question of who did what illegally, it boggles the mind to even think that any individual or group of individuals can impartially and independently adjudicate on the matter, in a country where such individuals are liable to be taken to military detention and solitary confinement should their deliberations or rulings displease President Nasheed.

Nasheed's unconstitutional arrest of Judge Abdulla contravenes basic human rights of every Maldivian. By denying Judge Abdulla his constitutional rights, the Executive is denying the rights of all Maldivians.

By arresting Judge Abdulla for his ruling ordering the release of opposition politician Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed from illegal detention, President Nasheed has publicly demonstrated that he will interfere with the Judiciary at will should a Judicial ruling not be in his favor.

In reality, by proposing a solution which is unjust to every Maldivian citizen and not just Judge Abdulla, Dr. Waheed is obstructing Prosecutor General Muizzu from discharging his duties. Dr. Waheed is also undermining the independence of the Judiciary and Judicial Services Commission by indirectly suggesting that President Nasheed’s military arrest of Judge Abdulla is both legal and justified.

#Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: An Open Letter to Vice President Dr. Waheed

2012-01-22T00:37:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Dear Vice President Dr. Waheed,

Firstly, welcome to the Maldivian struggle for human rights and freedom from oppression. Your interview to AP and your blog today maybe a little too late and a little too self serving, but it does add weight to the protest we Maldivians have been engaging in from November 11, 2008 when you stepped into power one step behind President Mohamed Nasheed.

Secondly, please do not trivialize the daily struggle of the Maldivian Youth by decrying their efforts. No. We have been protesting since 11 November 2008 against the human rights violations by the regime in which you share and which you worked to put into place, against the poverty and economic degradation brought about by policies and programs run by the Cabinet in which you sit, and the reversal of democracy that you and your colleagues have propagated.

Thirdly, it is with great disappointment but no great surprise that we note that the level of your protest against President Nasheed's military arrest and forced disappearance of Judge Abdulla Mohamed is mere lip service. The most you have said in your blog is, "I have expressed my reservations about the way the Government has allowed the disappearance of a citizen, a Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, for the reasons I mention above". Expressed "reservations"? Is that the most a Vice President of the country can do in this hostage situation?

Fourthly, it is interesting that you feel that "the Government has ALLOWED the disappearance of one citizen". Does this mean that you do not hold President Nasheed and your Government responsible for deliberate actions to make Judge Abdulla 'disappear'? Do you mean to tell us that it a military act of which your government had no knowledge? Please do clarify that statement in your next blog.

Fifth, can you honestly say that you have raised this matter directly with President Nasheed? Can you tell us that you have demanded of President Nasheed that he immediately and unconditionally release Judge Abdullah Mohamed? Have you tried to lobby support from your other cabinet Ministers and your Senior Advisors to bring about the release of Judge Abdulla? Have you demanded a Cabinet meeting to deliberate on the issue? If you have not, then you have not used your position as Vice President of the country to back your statement of being "ashamed and totally devastated by the fact that this is happening in a government in which [you are] the elected the Vice President".

Sixth, please do not try and use this tragic reversal of democracy in Maldives to try and further your own interest in the Presidency. With all due respect to your learned background and valuable service to the UN System, you have failed dismally in your avowed duty before Allaah when you took oath of office as Vice President.

To jolt your memory, please find reproduced below the words of your Oath of Office as Vice President:

"I, …(name of person)…, do swear in the name of Almighty Allah that I will respect the religion of Islam, that I will uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives and the fundamental rights of the Maldivian citizens, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Maldives, and will discharge the duties and responsibilities of the office of Vice President honestly and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Maldives".

Thank you.

#Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: President Nasheed steps up campaign to take over Judiciary

2012-01-21T23:22:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

President Nasheed today launched a third prong in his takeover bid of the independent Judiciary that was established under the new constitution brought in ex-President Gayoom as part of his Reform Agenda.

President Nasheed today led a rally of his militant party Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), at which MDP Vice President Alhan Fahmy announced that he would be leading an MDP protest group to confront Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain and the rest of the Supreme Court tomorrow.

Alhan Fahmy declared that the objective of the protest would be to show Chief Justice Faiz that he had failed in his duties, and to demand action by the Judicial Services Commission against Criminal Court Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed. Judge Abdulla has been incarcerated by the military and held incommunicado against his will since 16th January 2012. He has not been brought before a court of law since his forced detention.

The protest, led by Alhan Fahmy, is in support of a letter to the JSC by President Nasheed today, requesting action against Senior Judge Abdulla for alleged misconduct in his court rulings and proceedings.

By unleashing his Dogs of War on the Judiciary, President Nasheed is stepping up his ongoing campaign to gain control of the Judiciary. In the past two years, Nasheed has brought the country further into his iron grip by successfully taking over the Parliament. The Parliament, when it was first elected, had a strong opposition majority, with Nasheed's MDP in dismal minority. However, a strong campaign of bribery and corruption, funded by GMR and local entrepreneurs, enabled Nasheed to buy out a number of MPs, including highly vocal ones such as Feydhoo MP Alhan Fahmy and Thoddoo MP Ali Waheed.

Nasheed cemented his control over the Parliament by buying the the cooperation of Speaker of Majlis Abdulla Shahid and Leader of the Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, with over USD 3 million, facilitated through GMR.

The fact that Nasheed has had to resort to military detention of a senior judge and intimidation of others judges and the Chief Justice shows that the same deep pockets that paid out millions to Abdulla Shahid, Thasmeen Ali and MPs have so far been unable to buy out the Judiciary.

Nasheed has run a campaign of intimidation against the Judiciary throughout his short regime. The campaign was led by MDP Activist Aishath Velezinee in the JSC and outside the courtrooms. Aishath Velezinee, a known drug addict, led numerous riots outside the courts, JSC sittings and outside judges' homes, intimidating and threatening sitting judges.

Velezine's efforts were supported from the MDP podium by Interim Chair Reeko Moosa Maniku, (Colonel) Nasheed and Mariya Didi. The attack on the Judiciary from the Parliament was led by MPs Thimarafushi Musthafa, Reeko Moosa Maniku and Alhan Fahmy, all whom had ongoing cases against them in the courts.

Nasheed's police, frustrated with Judiciary which prevented them from arbitrary detentions and gross violations of the constitution and law in investigations, put their weight behind the covert and overt threats to Judges by undertaking extra-legal investigations of judges and court officials on hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations.

As with the Parliament until he bought out a majority within it, Nasheed continued to defy judicial rulings, including verdicts on drug offences, possibly because the support of street gangs to Nasheed depend on his clemency. He then resorted to a lockdown on the Supreme Court, getting his Police to put a lock on the Supreme Court offices and prevented Supreme Court Judges from entering the courts.

However, the Judiciary and JSC stood firm in defying Nasheed's influence, bribery and cash handouts, and outright intimidation. By doing so, the Judiciary is preventing Nasheed and his MDP leadership from implementing his promises to his party faithful, to lead the MDP witch hunt against individuals from the previous regime to the MDP's desired end result: criminal verdicts against ex-President Gayoom, his cabinet, top officials and family. It is the Judiciary's obstruction of such pre-determined and dictated rulings that has fired up MDP and their leader Nasheed.

Nasheed's action today on unleashing his MDP Dogs of War on the Chief Justice is just another step to encroach on the independence of the Judiciary. However, it is unlikely that Nasheed's desired result, a 100% replacement of all judges at all courts to people who can be influenced by MDP, can happen by legal means, since judges are protected by the constitution and law from such pressures.

Regardless of this, MDP's end objectives of intimidating judges into MDP pro verdicts will be achieved, unless Presiden Nasheed too is removed from office. President Nasheed today continued his claims that he is the supreme authority in the country. What he fails to understand is that Constitution and Islamic Sharia are the supreme authority in the state. Nasheed's executive authority are not supreme, but on par with the other two powers of the state, the Judiciary and the Parliament.

It is now up to the Legislature and Judiciary, and independent institutions such as the Prosecutor General, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Human Rights Commission to make the Executive accountable for such crimes against the people and state.

#Maldives in Constitutional Crisis: Nasheed's Master Plan may be a deal with opposition partners?

2012-01-21T16:53:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Into the sixth day of civic protests against President Nasheed's overturning of the constitution and compromising of judicial independence, the protests shows no sign of abating. If anything, civilian numbers joining the protests each night are increasing. However, at the same time, the protest does show any clear signs of succeeding in its stated demands.

Over various nights of protest, leaders of the protest have stated varying demands. It began with a demand for the release of opposition politician Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Qaumee Party. Dr. Jameel was released upon a criminal court order issued by Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed. Dr. Jameel has been detained several times since then, yet not arrested as before.

President Nasheed immediately took Judge Abdulla into military detention, an action that violated a number of constitutional provisions while raising a hue and cry amongst the Judiciary and independent governance organs of the state. The Prosecutor General, the Chief Justice, the Maldives Lawyers Association and top lawyers have publicly stated that Nasheed and the military are clearly in contravention of the law. Prosecutor General Muizzu has said he will prosecute every single individual responsible for this violation of the constitution and judicial independence. He is supported in the condemnation by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, which is investigating the matter.

On top of this Nasheed's Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan has denounced Nasheed's extrajudicial actions and called for the release of Judge Abdulla. Dr. Waheed's denouncement has skyrocketed international media exposure of the issue, leading to an EU denouncement of Nasheed's military detention of Judge Abdulla. The EU has said, in a press statement yesterday, that upholding the constitution and independence of the military should be the center of upholding democracy in Maldives.

It is obvious from their actions that by now President Nasheed and his military leadership have accepted that they have stepped very definitely out of their legal bounds. The signs are that, having realized their gross mistake, Nasheed and his military and police leadership are hunting around for a smokescreen by twisting the issue at hand into a more plausible one for the international media and observers: Western society's perceived demon of Islamic fundamentalism.

Weathering five days of civic protest, the Nasheed government began its arrests of protestors as soon as the highly popular Adhaalath Party stepped into the picture. It then cracked down on protest leaders, cleanly scooping out Adhaalath Party Leader Shaikh Imran Abdulla and Deputy Leader Dr. Mauroof Hussain, together with smaller political fry.

Eight political parties have called for the unconditional and immediate release of Shaikh Imran and 39 others arrested during the protests, as have civic movements. The Nasheed administration has ignored these and focused on shifting world attention to their allegations against Shaikh Imran and Adhaalath Party as a whole. Namely, of religious fundamentalism, trying to incite religious violence, trying to incite hatred against other religions, calling for Jihads etc, all phrases that would alarm the Western world and lobby in support for the failing Nasheed administration, as strong and stalwart in upholding democracy.

However, regardless of which color the big picture is painted by the Nasheed administration for international observers, the reality is being stated by Prosecutor General Muizzu: No individual is above the constitution and that constitutional violations will be prosecuted and those responsible brought to justice.

PG Muizzu has been threatened with removal from office by Nasheed and his party MDP, which hold a strong majority in Parliament. At the same time, the past 6 days have been days of alarm and fright for the PG's family, as MDP thugs run an intimidation campaign against the PG and his family with phone threats, harassment on the streets, near the PG's children's school and so on.

While the PG and lawyers are very clear on the steps to be taken for resolving the constitutional crises: Prosecution of those responsible for arresting Judge Abdulla and compromising judicial independence. Even of Nasheed were to release Judge Abdulla today, these steps need to be taken, top lawyers say, and those responsible removed from office. The argument posed in support of this is that, if the perpetrators of this crime are left with the same powers as now, the judiciary is left unprotected and will continue to be intimidated.

For the moment, escalating civic protests show no path to resolution of the constitutional crises. The issue at hand is a constitutional issue and cannot be decided on the streets. It can only be decided in the the other two powers of the state: the Judiciary and the Parliament.

The entry of the issue into Parliament was earlier very effectively blocked by Nasheed though his party MPs. Nasheed holds the chairpersonship and majority of the Parliamentary Committee on National in the palm of his fist, so much so that on 18 January 2012 he was able to throw out the motion tabled by PPM to make the military and police accountable for their actions. However, now that he has got international backing, Nasheed may find it easier to shift the battle to the Parliamentary Committee where a win for MDP/DRP is assured.

However, Nasheed's problems do not end there. Along with his attack on the Judiciary, Nasheed had launched an all out attack on media independence. Both Nasheed and the Communications Minister, plus the military and the police heads, have made direct threats to the media threatening the cancellation of broadcasting license of media channels which broadcast the views and demands of the opposition side.

With the Judiciary responsible for upholding the Constitution, and the free media worked up in its own defense, President Nasheed needs to come out with a Master Plan to stay in power till 2013. Not least of these would be closed door negotiations with past allies such as DQP/DRP, and a shift in the field of conflict away from the civic protests.

Unfortunately for the Axis coalition, the presence of Adhaalath Party, PPM and Jumhooree Party at the forefront of the protests compromise their ability to shift the field of conflict onto the Parliamentary playing field where they have greater strength.

Coming days will undoubtedly follow the standard EU/UK practice of shoring up failed leaders in their pay through foreign-led "negotiations with the parties in the coflict", a buy out of DQP/DRP during these negotiations, and failure of the talks blamed upon a walk out by PPM/AP/JP.

While the political drama is going on, the onus of upholding citizen rights to good governance, constitutional supremacy, rule of law and independent judiciary rests on PG Muizzu.

Maldives: Judicial independence and democracy cannot be restored without regime change

2012-01-19T20:54:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

The fledgling democracy of the Maldives, carried into place by Gayoom and his DRP, has been well and truly killed by President Nasheed and his militant party, Maldives Democratic Party.

Nasheed this week compromised the independence of the judiciary by arbitrarily arresting and holding in isolated detention, Senior Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed. Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz, Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu, Attorney General Abdulla Muizzu, Maldives Lawyers Association, Human Rights Commission of Maldives, and top lawyers around the country have called the act a violation of the constitution and laws.

President Nasheed today broke his total silence on the matter, by trying to justify his military action compromising the independence of the judiciary as an action he was required to take in order to uphold the constitution. Nasheed claimed that the Constitution gave him the parental role of protecting and upholding it. His arrest of Judge Abdulla, he said was due to uphold the constitution because of Judge Abdulla's misconduct and violation of oath of office and powers, in giving court verdicts and in setting the court agenda of cases.

Nasheed claimed that these allegations against Judge Abdulla had been sent to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) several times by his office, and had been ignored or delayed by the JSC. Nasheed said that the Constitution could not be implemented by allowing Judges to have a say in decisions regarding the misconduct of fellow judges.

Unfortunately for President Nasheed, his justification of Judge Abdulla's arrest as upholding the constitution, does not rescue him from the legal noose tightening around his neck. The Constitution stipulates that "No officials performing public functions, or any other persons, shall interfere with and influence the functions of the courts" (Section 141 (b)).

President Nasheed is a public official, subject to the Constitution and laws. He has violated Section 141 (b) as he has interfered with the functioning of the courts by arresting a Senior Judge, putting the rest of the judges of all courts into a state of fear over their imminent arrest.

The Constitution states that, "The principles of governance of the State being
determined by this Constitution, the President shall uphold, defend and respect the
Constitution, and shall promote the unity of the State" (Section 106 (c)). Clearly, President Nasheed has not upheld Section 141 (c) of the Constitution.

The Constitution puts bounds on the President's Executive powers by stating that, "The President shall exercise Executive authority as provided for in the Constitution and law". No where in the Constitution does it provide the President with Executive authority over the Judiciary. Section 115 which outline the Executive responsibilities of the President does not give any authority over the Judiciary.

In fact, the Constitution states the exact opposite, that, "The Judges are independent, and subject only to the Constitution and the law" (Section 142). Nasheed's arrest of Judge Abdulla violates this stipulation, as the Judges cannot be independent if they can be arrested at will merely because the President or his administration or his party are displeased with their court verdicts.

The Constitution clearly entrusts the Judicial Services Commission with the responsibility of appointing all judges apart from the Judges of the Supreme Court (Section 148 (b)).

The process of removal of judges is similarly clearly stipulated in Section 154. "A Judge shall not be removed from office during good behavior and compliance with judicial ethics" (Section 154 (a)).

"A Judge may be removed from office only if the Judicial Service Commission finds that the person is grossly incompetent, or that the Judge is guilty of gross misconduct, and submits to the People’s Majlis a resolution supporting the removal of the Judge, which is passed by a two thirds majority of the members of the People’s Majlis present and voting" (Section 154 (b)).

Again, nowhere here is there room for interpreting that the President has the authority to remove Judges from office.

The JSC too is protected from undue influence by the President or the Parliament. The Constitution stipulates that, "the Judicial Service Commission is an independent and impartial institution" (Section 157 (b)). The JSC constitutes of a balanced representation from the President, Cabinet, Majlis, lawyers, judges at various court levels, civil service commission and the general public. President Nasheed is attempting to influence the JSC by damaging its good reputation of the JSC with his allegations that JSC has not acted upon proven misconduct by Judge Abdulla.

In fact, the Constitution puts the investigation of complaints about the Judiciary also beyond the long arm of the President and his Police. Section states that, the JSC has the responsibility and power "to investigate complaints about the Judiciary,
and to take disciplinary action against them, including recommendations for dismissal". Thus, the initial summons served by Maldives Police Service to Judge Abdulla to investigate Nasheed's allegations about his misconduct was also an unconstitutional act, and hence an act that Judge Abdulla had the constitutional right to disobey.

In short, Judge Abdulla's arrest on January 16th 2012, constitute gross violations of several Sections of the Constitution by President Nasheed, Home Minister Afeef, Defence Minister Tholhath, Police Commissioner Faseeh and Chief of Defence Forces Moosa Jaleel. A fact that Prosecutor General Muizzu is well aware of, and must action regardless of whether Nasheed now releases Judge Abdulla or not. The Constitution was overturned by President Nasheed when he arrested Judge Abdulla, it now remains up to the organs of the state such as the Parliament and independent commissions such as the PG, JSC and HRCM to restore the constitution by making Nasheed and all who aided and abetted him accountable to the constitution and laws of the country. Judicial independence and hence democracy cannot be restored without regime change.

#Maldives: Speaker Shahid must resign as Parliament fails in its constitutional responsibility to control the military.

2012-01-18T20:57:00.001+05:00

Male', Maldives

In a direct challenge to the constitutional powers of the Judiciary, Maldives military today ignored a High Court summons to appear before the court and provide an explanation for its arbitrary arrest of Senior Judge of the Criminal Court, Judge Abdulla Mohamed. The Parliament must take ultimate responsibility for failing to control the Nasheed administration's abuse of the country's military and police services.

The military has also refused to abide by a Criminal Court order to release Judge Abdulla. By these actions, the military continue to defy the constitution and the Judiciary, holding Judge Abdulla in military detention since last Monday night. More than 48 hours after the military arrest of Judge Abdulla, there has been no word on his whereabouts or his state of health. The military has refused appeals from the Judge's family to be told his whereabouts and his state of health.

Over the past 48 hours, the military has ignored demands for his release by the Judiciary, the Prosecutor General, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives, the Maldives Lawyers' Association, human rights and democracy movements, opposition political parties and civilians nationwide.

These violations of the constitution, laws and judicial orders by the military raise serious issues of the legitimacy of the current state of governance in the Maldives. It also raises the issue of neglect of parliamentary oaths of office and parliamentary responsibilities by the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid and members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of National Security.

The highest law in the country is its constitution. The constitution vests powers of justice in the Courts of the country (the Judiciary) (Section 7), not the military.

"The Supreme Court shall be the highest authority for the administration of justice in the Maldives. The Chief Justice shall be the highest authority on the Supreme Court (Section 141 (b)).

The Constitution protects interference with the functioning of the Judiciary by any entity, even the military. "No officials performing public functions, or any other persons, shall interfere with and influence the functions of the courts" (Section 141 (c)).

The same constitution establishes the Security Services (the military and police service) "to enable all persons in the Maldives to live in peace, security and freedom" (Section 236).

The responsibilities of the security services are to "sovereignty, maintain its territorial integrity, defend the constitution and democratic institutions, maintain and enforce law and order, and render assistance in emergencies" (Section 237).

The constitution clearly limits the powers of the military and police, stating that "the actions of the security services must be exercised in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and operate on the basis of accountability" (Section 238). It entrusts the President of the country to "shall ensure that these obligations of the security services are complied with" (Section 238).

In far sighted attempts to establish checks and balances on the possible misuse of the military and police services by the Government of the time, the Constitution next awards the Parliament (People's Majlis) the authority of oversight over the security forces. "The security services shall be subject to the authority of the People’s Majlis", states Section 239.

The Constitution further orders the Parliament to implement its responsibility and oversight authority over the security services through a standing subcommittee for the express purpose. "A committee of the People’s Majlis shall be established to exercise continuing oversight of the operations of the security services. The committee shall include representation from all the different political parties within the People’s Majlis" (Section 241).

The Constitution further orders that the Minister in charge of each security service shall be answerable to the President AND the Parliament (Section 242).

The Constitution also very clearly state the objectives of the military service. Section 243 (a) states that, "the primary object of the Military Service is to defend and protect the Republic, its territorial integrity, its Exclusive Economic Zone and the people".

In a further directive germane to the current issue, the Constitution orders that "If the President, as Commander in Chief, authorizes or orders the employment of the
Military Service in defence of the Republic or as part of an international undertaking, the President shall without delay submit the authorization to the People’s Majlis. The People’s Majlis may at any time approve the authorization, or revoke the authorization".

The Constitution also protects the security services from the abuse of their powers by the Government. Section 245 states that, "No person shall give an illegal order to a member of the security services. Members of the security services shall not obey a manifestly illegal order".

It then protects civilians from the security forces, by directing that "Members of the security services shall treat all persons and groups equally without any discrimination, and with humanity and dignity in accordance with the decorous principles of Islam", (Section 246 (a)).

Then comes the clincher in the Chapter, "Members of the security services shall not
engage in partisan political activity of any nature, and shall not affiliate themselves with any trade union or political party" (Section 247 (b)).

Given these clauses, the Constitution very clearly prohibits the military and its servicemen from the opportunity of any manner of interferes in civic affairs (within which fall political affairs). It also entrusts the Parliament with the ultimate responsibility of holding the military and police accountable to the people.

Hence, a significant part of the responsibility of the military's continued violation of the constitution falls on to the Parliament, and specifically the Speaker of Parliament and the standing committee on national security - a responsibility they have failed to discharge in the current state of events in the country.

Quite clearly, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid must resign from his post as he has failed to uphold his oath of office, as must all members of the Standing Committee on National Security.

#Maldives: Military intervention in political wars ... opening new options for military leaders?

2012-01-18T08:46:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

This week's military intervention in civic affairs is no small matter. Even leaving aside the subjugation of the judiciary to military and police might, the active participation of the military in the Nasheed administrations political wars with political opponents will have caused alarm amongst the more thinking Maldivian voter base.

Maldives Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim (DIK) said last night, that the military's arbitrary arrest of Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed was to protect national security and maintain public peace.

Reading from a written statement, Minister Tholhath stated on the state television network MNBC1 that the military had acted upon a request from Home Minister Hassan Afeef for military assistance to secure the detention of Judge Abdulla. Judge Abdulla's whereabouts and the state of his health are unknown from the time of his incarceration by the military on January 16, 2012.

Military actions cannot be merely dismissed as Minister Tholhath blindly following his crony Nasheed's bidding, given the Maldives military is led by a hitherto respected national hero, Lt. Gen. Moosa Jaleel. Lt. Gen. Jaleel, supported by an educated cadre of military officers trained at top military centres in the US, Europe and India, has until the recent past maintained the integrity of the military within its legal bounds. The first violation of the law by the military was in 2010 with the arbitrary arrest of opposition leaders Abdulla Yaameen and Gasim Ibrahim. At the time, the Defence Minister was Ameen Faisal, a frontline MDP leader with a history of violation of the military rules, ethics and codes of conduct.

After a period of quiescence, the military again crossed its legal boundaries with the historic civic protest in Male' on December 23, 2011. An estimated 20,000+ civilians gathered at Victory Square that day to protest against President Nasheed and his corrupt government. The military leapt to the forefront in the run up to the December 23rd protest, issuing a written and verbal threat to all media that those which were seen as acting against national security would be closed down. This was followed by verbal threats to media by Defence Minister Tholhath (who hails from the MDP clan DIK and is the younger brother of Nasheed's inner circle member, ex-Finance Minister Ali Hashim) and by Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Moosa Jaleel.

In reality, Minister Tholhath himself is a ex-military officer highly respected amongst military servicemen. Minister Tholhath resigned from military service in political opposition to then President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. With Tholhath Ibrahim's political aspirations, he will will no doubt have played an influential role in convincing career servicemen such as Lt. Gen. Moosa Jaleel to act against the constitution and laws as he did on January 16th, 2012.

Jaleel, although a decorated hero who defended the country against Tamil Tigers led by Nasheed's uncle Sikka Ahmed Ismail (Bodu Sikka), will undoubtedly be indebted to President Nasheed for elevating him up from the officer ranks to head the Maldivian military. Insiders report that Jaleel's cooperation and active participation in Nasheed's machinations are based on his career ambitions. Such reports are lent credence by the well known fact that Nasheed's crony, Roy Jayasundhura (a man of Tamil descent), has been waiting in the military wings since Nasheed's first day as President, to take over from Jaleel. Anyone in such a position would no doubt feel the gentle sway of the Sword of Damocles above their heads, were they to put one foot outside the arbitrary line drawn by the Commander in Chief, Nasheed.

For Jaleel, a career servicemen, the options are few, if not wholly lacking. The same holds for the top military leadership. The country's political and social structure does not give much opportunity for a retired serviceman to enjoy the style and privileges he/she enjoyed in active service. Nor does retirement hold much thrill, especially for one who has tasted the reins of power as Chief of Defence Forces.

The military top command's recent step outside their legal boundaries, be it as blind following of orders from the Commander-in-Chief or any other reason, leave them little choice except to continue forward. Their arrest of a senior judge is a violation of all military rules and has propelled Maldives into international limelight. The Prosecutor General has added his weight to the national and international condemnation of the Maldives military, vowing to prosecute all individuals and institutions responsible for this overturning of the constitution.

What remains for the military top brass is to either proceed forward hand in hand with President Nasheed and Tholhath Ibrahim, or to take matters into their own hands. The latter is an option that several other military leaders in the Asian region have taken, a fact that President Nasheed and even his political opponents would be cognizant of.

The Maldivian military in past history have hatched up such plots, witness the plot hatched by Ameen Faisal (then QRF Leader) and his compatriots in 1988. Although Moosa Jaleel stood on the legal side in that military battle, today he may not be.

Maldives: As all around lose their heads, Adhaalath Party keep their focus

2012-01-17T23:57:00.001+05:00

Male', Maldives.

As Government, military and police overturn the constitution, as the judiciary deflates like an old balloon, as independent institutions pass the buck to one
another, as opposition parties backbite and undermine each other, the one party touted to be the "extreme" party, Adhaalath Party, once again demonstrate their solidity and focus to the Maldivian citizenry.

In the unfolding events of President Nasheed's mockery of the constitution, Adhaalath Party has taken the type of concrete logical steps one would like to see from an organized civilized opposition. Tonight, in an emergency meeting of its party council, Adhaalath Party has formed a 7 member committee to analyze the state of the country and to formulate and implement legitimate strategies and actions to change that state to a better one. The committee is headed by Adhaalath Party Chief Shaikh Imran Abdullah, and has the mandate to undertake any action that is not in contradiction to its principles.

Last night too, Adhaalath Party distinguished itself from the madding crowd by calling for concrete legal actions to address the constitutional violations by President Nasheed. It called for the impeachment of the President through due process.

In stark contrast, rival opposition parties have taken to the streets of Male', protesting against the same actions by President Nasheed. PPM today threatened direct action, if the two prisoners were not released. DRP too condemned the action, pointing out the obvious, that the Nasheed administration was no longer within the bounds of the law. DQP, revelled in its new found position as poster boys for the revolution, but did nothing concrete to secure the release of Judge Abdulla Mohamed. DQP's leadership was engaged in priming themselves for the photo-op and sound bite at Dr. Jameel's release.

None of these parties show the solid inner workings of the party councils, as Adhaalath has done. The difference here perhaps being that most other parties are built around strong men who make all the decisions, while Adhaalath Party is built on the cohesive interest base of religion.

As the night ends and a new day begins, Chief Justice Faiz has fizzled into a nonentity after a meeting with President Nasheed today. Prosecutor General Muizzu conveniently passed the buck to the Human Rights Commission of Maldives, when he could have muzzled Nasheed's police dogs using the constitutional powers vested in his office.

In the meantime, yet another night ends with Judge Abdulla Mohamed languishing, incarcerated under military detention, the state of his health and fitness a mystery to all. The opposition's long winded protests, while entertaining on cable TV and an adrenaline to participants, once again appear to have achieved nothing except more photo ops and sound bites to the opportunistic few. The status quo remains unchanged.

#Maldives: Government, Military and Police refuse to accept Judicial supremacy. Impeachment or Revolution next?

2012-01-17T16:33:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Maldives Military and Police Service have both refused to abide by judicial injunctions ordering them to release two prisoners arrested illegally. Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed was forcibly removed from his residence by military forces and detained at an offshore military camp. The charges against Judge Abdulla are not yet known.

Opposition politician Dr. Mohamed Jameel was re-arrested by police last night in violation of a court order for his release the night before.

While opposition parties and democratic institutions continue to protest and call for the release of the prisoners, it is business as usual for President Nasheed and his government.

Chief Justice Faiz has ordered Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu to take legal action agaist military leader Lt. Gen. Moosa Jaleel to secure the release of Judge Abdulla. However, it is not yet known whether PG Muizzu has taken the appropriate legal steps. PG Muizzu, close friend and class mate of President Nasheed, was Nasheed's private lawyer for many years. Nasheed's current Attorney General Abdullah Muizzu is the PG's younger brother, so it remains to be seen if PG Muizzu will uphold the constitution and discharge his responsibilities in the public interest.

Amidst the outcry throughout the country, the silence of the Parliament is very obvious. The Parliament is led by Abdulla Shahid, a member of the Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party, and reportedly in the pay of Nasheed's financiers, GMR. Shahid also hails from the Jameel family which has a strong presence in Nasheed's cabinet and inner circle. It is interesting that Shahid has chosen not to exercise his powers as Speaker of Parliament to hold Extraordinary Sessions of the Parliament at a time that the Government of the country has clearly overturned the Constitution and laws of the country.

At a time that Government, the military and the police continue their blatant refusal to abide by judicial orders, it is clearly up to the Parliament to step in an enforce legal checks and balances in the country. Independent institutions such as the Human Rights Commission derive their powers from the constitution and law. In an anarchist situation where the Government, backed by military and police, have overthrown the constitution, such independent institutions lack teeth and muscle.

The current situation in Maldives clearly demonstrates that the Judiciary too is powerless when the Government is a tyrannical despotic regime which does not abide by the law.

Maldivians are thus presented with two clear options: Impeachment of the President by Parliament, or Revolution on the streets. Opposing Adhaalath Party has called for impeachment, while parties with presence in the Parliament have threatened direct action. These actions by the opposition show that impeachment is not an option, possibly because the DRP is unlikely to vote against MDP. if all the opposing parties collaborated in an impeachment motion, Nasheed would be hustled out of his office in the blink of an eye and VP Dr. Waheed be the interim leader. However, Parliamentary votes in the recent past have shown that DRP continue to vote with the MDP, and hence other parties cannot raise the required number of votes to pass an impeachment motion.

Of course, vested interests such as big business have third option .. to engineer an internal coup in MDP to rid itself of Nasheed and his cronies. The Addu leadership in MDP could very well implement such a strategy, perhaps in collaboration with the DQP (another Addu/Fuahmulah led party).

Tonight's events will perhaps provide a clearer picture of the political arena of Maldives.

#Maldives: A Police State as the MDP/DRP/DQP drama series continues

2012-01-17T04:01:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives

Maldives is in a state of civic disorder early this morning as President Nasheed turns it into a Police State with strong police and military actions against all democratic institutions. Independent and non-partisan institutions such as the Judiciary, Maldives Human Rights Commission, Prosecutor General's Office and civic bodies have called upon President Nasheed to stop his brutal police and military actions and to uphold law and order in the country.

Maldives Police Service late last night arbitrarily arrested opposition politician Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and held him at the infamous Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre. This is Jameel's second arrest within 48 hours. Police grounds for Jameel's arrest were not stated. Dr. Jameel's re-arrest by police comes within 24 hours of his release by order of the Criminal Court.

Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) then detained Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed against his will at their Girifushi Training Centre. Judge Abdulla issued the court order last night for Dr. Jameel's release from police arrest. The Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hassan and the Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu have called upon the MNDF to release Judge Abdulla. MNDF have refused to do so.

MNDF has been backed by President Nasheed, whose Press Secretary minutes ago told media that the Government does not recognize the authority of the Chief Justice to demand the release of Judge Abdulla.

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives issued a press statement early this morning calling upon President Nasheed to uphold fundamental human rights in the country.

The Maldives Lawyers Association held an emergency meeting late last night due to President Nasheed's arbitrary arrest of two of their ranks, Dr. Jameel and Judge Abdulla.

Media reports are coming in that Chief Justice Faiz is even now in consultative session with the panel of judges of the High Court.

Jumhooree Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim last night called upon President Nasheed not to meddle with the judiciary.

Opposition Adhaalath Party have called upon the Parliament (People's Majlis) to immediately impeach President Nasheed.

Although opposition MPs are even now active in protesting President Nasheed's violation of the constitutional rights of the populace, the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid has been resoundingly silent on the issue. Speaker Shahid is a member of DRP, and has been accused (together with DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali) by other parties of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from GMR courtesy of President Nasheed for various favors through Majlis.

To the present hour, while all other democratic institutions have raised their voices in concern at the Government's violation of constitutional rights, there has been no official or unofficial statement by the Parliament which has the primary responsibility of holding the Government accountable to the people. Relevant parliamentary subcommittees such as the National Security subcommittee are headed by President Nasheed's MPs, a possible reason for their silence as the country is turned into a police state. Although Parliament is presently in recess, most MPs are present in the capital Male'.

In other events last night, Maldives police used tear gas and batons to break up civilian protests against President Nasheed for his violation of fundamental rights of free speech and free press.

Last night's clamp down on political opponents and judiciary by President Nasheed comes within weeks of his intimidation of opposition MPs and civic groups. Last month's historic civic protest was used as the pretext for police to storm into several businesses owned by Jumhooree Party Leader and MP for Maamigili (Ari Atoll). The last Parliamentary session for 2011 closed amidst scenes of military action on the parliament floor, removing opposition MPs from Parliament using force.

The free press was next in Nasheed's firing line, threatened by the military in writing in December, not to air any content that may be construed as compromising national security. This was followed by threats from Nasheed's Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair that media which reported third party remarks that could not be substantiated would be closed down. Police took action yesterday to prevent airing of the popular Morning Edition of the DhiFM network, citing use of foul language by a phone-in individual.

Taken together, Nasheed has successfully used his police and military forces against all pillars of a democratic society: parliamentarians, judiciary and judges, civilians, opposing political parties and politicians, and the press. In doing so, Nasheed has effectively made the Maldives a Police State in which civilians, press and all democratic institutions of governance cower under the raised iron fist of the police and military.

Why this should be so can only be understood by stepping away from the nitty gritty of events and looking at Nasheed's infamous "big picture".

Tonight's police actions, the most recent in the spate of daily dramatic episodes engineered by President Nasheed, have helped to sky rocket the popularity rankings of his ex-coalition partners Drs. Hassan Saeed and Jameel of the infamous New Maldives movement. These events have at the same time cast Nasheed as the bad guy against whom the valiant good guys (Hassan Saeed and Jameel) struggle against all odds. A fitting picture to launch and position New Maldives (and their ally DRP) for a successful bid for the presidency.

The New Maldives movement was created by Drs. Saeed, Jameel and Ahmed Shaheed to spearhead a Brutus like attack on then President Gayoom from within his own cabinet ranks. Fortunately for Gayoom, his experienced cabinet ranks led by the likes of Ismail Shafeeu (Defence Minister), Abdulla Kamaludeen (Home Minister) and Hamdhoon Hameed (Planning Minister) could not be infiltrated by the would-be king and kingmakers.

With their cover about to be blown, New Maldives scampered into an Axis alliance with MDP and Adhaalath, exiting the Gayoom government in a flurry of personal allegations against Gayoom. The partners in the Axis Tripartite Pact proceeded to successfully defeat Gayoom by taking away his votes on three central issues: human rights (MDP), religion (Adhaalath), and opportunities for educated youth (New Maldives).

The reality on the ground in the Maldives at present is that neither MDP nor DRP can garner enough votes from amongst the voting middle ground in 2013. MDP, a total loss as a government, has to accept a secondary position in a coalition if it is to remain as part of the next government in 2013.

Nasheed's first choice of ally, the country's second largest party DRP, is sinking slowly but surely after Gayoom's departure. However, DRP is no longer an option for Nasheed on its own as it is unlikely to win votes even close to the number of its registered membership. This is a reality that DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen himself has accepted as evidenced by his negotiation of the transfer of his frontline player Thoddoo MP and DRP Deputy Leader Ali Waheed (Boom-boom Ballack) and his financiers to Nasheed's MDP. What was left in the game plan was for new Tripartite Axis powers (MDP/DRP/DQP) to launch DQP as their clean cover image in order to contest Gayoom's PPM and Adhaalath Party in the middle ground.

Tonight's events show that PPM has well and truly been routed in the political arena, docilely leading its grass roots by the nose to DQP's support. PPM has contributed heavily to its own political loss by actively building grass roots support for DQP in Male' and the islands. The MDP/DRP/DQP master plan is self evident to any school child when one considers that PPM's leaders have been more vocal than the whole of DQP and DRP combined in publicly stating accusing Nasheed and his government of an anti-Islamic agenda. Yet, only DQP and DRP politicians are summarily arrested by Nasheed's police.

It is difficult to believe that seasoned politicians such as PPM Interim Leader Gayoom and council members Abdulla Yaameen and Ilyas Ibrahim would have fallen into such an evident trap to erode their increasing vote base in the political middle ground. After all, this same strategy had been used against them in 2008. Hence, the more logical explanation is that PPM's activist leadership is perhaps moving independently, or even against their experienced counsel.

Additionally, it again brings into the limelight the weight of Adhaalath Party as a moderate political force with the seasoned political thinking to focus on bringing law and order to the country through legal means. Adhaalath however has no vote in Parliament and needs to rely on other political parties to implement its call. It will be an interesting testament to its coalition building powers if, although not in Parliament, it is able to lead an impeachment motion against Nasheed.

Maldives Presidency 2013: Is Dr. Jameel being martyred as part of an MDP/DRP/DQP masterplan?

2012-01-16T12:06:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

President Nasheed last night imprisoned Deputy Leader of former coalition partner Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed. And then released him within 4 hours, upon a court injunction ordering his release.

In the process leading up to the imprisonment, Nasheed also imprisoned DQP Council member Ahmed Ibrahim Didi (ex-Sandhaanu writer and Nasheed's co-conspirator during Nasheed's wilderness years) and DQP Deputy Leader Abdul Matheen. Ibrahim Shareef (MaVotaa), Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party, was also handily detained by Maldives Police for an hour or so on some pretext or other.

What did these events achieve? Aside from reinforcing the image of Nasheed and his police as common thugs, these events played a more crucial role to influence Maldivian voter thinking for Presidency 2013. These events increased public support for MDP ally DQP. It projected to the avid public, the smooth public profile of DQP Leader Dr. Hassan Saeed, playing the role of part of the savvy lead lawyer for Dr. Jameel. It brought DQP to public attention as the stalwart defender of the constitutional rights of Maldivians. It rallied in support for DQP and Drs. Saeed and Jameel from DQP ally DRP's frontline activists. It roped in youth and activist from rivalling PPM, quick to adapt the adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". In short, in the past week, DQP and its leaders Drs. Hassan and Saeed have zoomed up the national presidential candidate charts, all courtesy of friend and partner President Nasheed.

Nasheed has nothing to lose in giving a helping hand to Dr. Hassan Saeed. To the man who has blasphemed against religion of the populace Islam, sold out his country's assets, beggared the citizenry, persecuted political opponents, trampled upon citizen rights, his hard core supporters are his only support base. Hence, he has all the more to gain by balancing out his "opposing" teams, and later obtaining those opposition votes through a coalition with some of the teams. His choice of bed partners are evident even now: DQP, together with DRP.

Very simply, as before, with this drama of police victimization, Dr. Saeed would be eating away into Gayoom's educated and grass roots voter base. Dr. Saeed is Nasheed's only option for this, as DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has proven to be no match for Gayoom politically. Nor does DRP show any viable educated prop to Ahmed Thasmeen who can draw votes away from Gayoom, having only ex-MDPer and anti-Gayoom campaigner MaVota Mohamed Shareef as the elected Deputy leader.

A fourth partner may be courted at a later stage, namely Adhaalath Party. Any joint bid by Adhaalath and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), were it to materialize by some miracle, is still likely to defeat the MDP/DQP/DRP coalition. However, sadly for the Maldivian public, PPM is still engaged in trying to recapture the glory days of the Gayoom regime, while Nasheed, Dr. Hassan and Thasmeen play havoc with its voter base.

Only Adhaalath Party was smart enough to stay away from the melodramatic series being played out under President Nasheed's direction. Who knows, Adhaalath Party may be smart enough to build a successful solo bid for Presidency 2013 around an independent candidate who can draw in youth votes across the country.

#Maldives Presidency 2013: Gayoom's PPM: A lost cause or potential winner?

2012-01-15T16:39:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has lost all hopes of winning the Presidency 2013 in a free and fair election, as evidenced by his sustained persecution of his political opponents. A highly unpopular man even at the outset, Nasheed was carried into power by powerful business clans, foreign interests and clever vote rigging by his stooges in the Elections Commission.

The current situation has thrown into stark relief the same dilemma that Maldivians faced in 2008, and perhaps the preceding 3-4 presidential elections. Who can replace the incumbent? Certainly, not any individual from the current leadership of the MDP, tainted as they are from the MDP's dismal failure as a government. This leaves rival opposition parties and independents vying for a lead role in the run up to the presidency.

Perhaps the individual with the strongest personal following is ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. In any election which picked a winner on the first past the post basis, Gayoom may win hands down. However, MDP has been highly successful in eroding his support base with blatant lies and unsubstantiated allegations, so much so that Gayoom's support base is much much weaker than in 2008 when he last contested the presidency. This means that, even Gayoom, were he to contest the Presidency 2013, has no hope of winning 51% without a coalition of partner(s) in the second round of the elections.

Leaving aside the personal animosity of Elections Commissioner towards Gayoom (for allegedly playing around with Fuad's wife Fathimath Riza eons back), the very structure of the presidential elections stacks the cards against any Gayoom re-bid for power. The reality is that, the Maldivian presidential elections is structured in a way that no single individual or party can win the presidency in the first round. This creates the space for smaller elites and business interests to tamper with the citizen's will, by ensuring that the winning candidate must represent a coalition of such interests. History has proven that Gayoom is unable to even bring together such a coalition of interests.

This evidence is written in the history of his lengthy tenure as president of the country, and in his inability to hold together his own party, Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party, the second largest party in the country today. Gayoom's presidential terms were marred by infighting between warring factions within his own family (Endherimaage and Kaamineege) and amongst his closest friends (Fathulla Jameel and Zahir Hussain). With the inception of a multiparty system into the country, Gayoom very decisively shrugged off his warring kin, pushed away his experienced cabinet to arms length, and brought close young ambitious vainglorious individuals (such as Dr. Hassan Saeed, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, Mohamed Nasheed, Hilmy) who very successfully stabbed the ailing Gayoom presidency in the heart.

The same scenario was played out within the DRP. Warring family factions were pushed away and out of the party (Yaameen and his business gang), close family friends were forced out (Gasim Ibrahim and his followers), and a nondescript man with no following adopted as his running mate (Ahmed Thasmeen Ali). Where did this lead? Total and utter failure of a 30 year old regime first, ousted from his own party next, and the political wilderness last.

Gayoom's resurgence with Progressive Party of Maldives is perhaps a last ditch attempt to do what he should have done way in the past, say 1993? That is, mediate and resolve family wars, and ensure joint backing of one individual to replace him. However, even in this, it is evident that Gayoom's hunger for power and his fear of being replaced by others is holding him back from offering a real solution to the people of the Maldives.

A close look at PPM shows its front line to be filled with immature pre-schoolers engaging in verbal fights and fisticuffs at the drop of a hat. While this may be highly entertaining on cable TV, it certainly does not say much for PPM's capacity to form a government in 2013. If anything, PPM's podium tirades, excessive adulation of its interim leader Gayoom and comic antics on the parliamentary floor only prove that it lacks the political strength, intellectual capacity and experience to form a government in 2013.

Gayoom's position as PPM interim leader is propped up three key people: his half brother Abdulla Yaameen who brought in funds for the new party; his brother in law Ilyas Ibrahim, another financier of the party possibly in the interests of his nieces and nephews (his sister Nasreena and Gayoom's children), and the frontline activist Umar Naseer, rallying and holding together Gayoom's grassroots following in Male' and the islands.

This structure of PPM puts Gayoom into the tight position of having to choose a leader to contest the elections, of course assuming that Gayoom will have the intelligence not use this as an excuse to contest the elections himself, thereby dragging the fledgling PPM into the mud and mire of another thrashing.

PPM's future rides on Gayoom's decision on this issue. It will be a lost cause were Gayoom to contest himself, and even were he to select the wrong candidate. In the light of past history in Gayoom's DRP, there is no doubt that the candidate will be selected, and not elected by democratic means.

PPM can only turn itself into a potential winner if Gayoom can rally in an experienced and popular team from his previous government to lead the way for a younger line of succession. PPM is perhaps the only party that has such a solid line of experienced members although in the shadows at the moment.

However, whether PPM's current young upstarts will see beyond their own ambitions to step aside for such a team, and whether Gayoom can overcome his fear of being overshadowed by his team remains to be seen.

#Maldives Presidency 2013: Why President Nasheed fears opposition New Maldives

2012-01-14T07:24:00.000+05:00

Male' Maldives

President Nasheed's crackdown on the top leadership of Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) is ample evidence of his fear of the New Maldives camp for Presidency 2013. Continuing his persecution of political opponents, Nasheed focused his efforts in the last three days to control the increasingly popular Dr. Hassan Saeed and Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, leaders of the New Maldives movement.

Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Deputy leader of DQP, was summoned and interrogated by Nasheed's police force on January 12th, on the grounds of investigating public statements by Jameel about Nasheed and his government. ex-Sandhaanu write Ahmed Didi (Ahammaidi), a fellow member of DQP, was summoned along with Dr. Jameel and later incarcerated in Nasheed's detention centre for dangerous criminals, Dhoonidhoo Island. Abdul Matheen, another Deputy Leader of DQP, was also incarcerated at the same time, arrested by the police outside police headquarters where he was leading the civic protest against the detention of Dr. Jameel in police headquarters. Both were released after their lawyers submitted the issue of their illegal detention to the courts yesterday.

President Nasheed's attacks on opposition leaders is following a very systematic route. He began with an attack on his strongest single opposition leader, ex-President Gayoom who commands a strong personal following, greater than Nasheed's as seen by public polls. Gayoom's youngest son, Ghassan Maumoon, was arrested arbitrarily and incarcerated at Dhoonidhoo until a court order secured his release. Ghassan Maumoon, a young man who has built up a strong youth following in his own right, is seen by MDP as Gayoom's candidate for political leadership.

Nasheed's next attack was on Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim, closing down Gasim Ibrahim's Flyme airline and spas on his resorts. Gasim Ibrahim, a respected businessman and philanthropist with a substantial public following, is seen by many as a viable candidate to lead warring opposition parties to victory in 2013.

A week after that, Nasheed zoomed in on Adhaalath Party, possibly the most cohesive of his political opponents. Adhaalath Party, is a significant player in the opposition, most importantly because its large membership base is built on religious grounds and not affiliation to an individual leader as almost all other parties. this gives the Adhaalath Party more cohesion and depth than parties which are coalesced around single individuals.

There is no doubt that Adhaalath Party played a substantial role in bringing Nasheed to power in 2008, although Adhaalath and Nasheed combined were unable to beat Gayoom in the first round of the presidential elections 2008. Interestingly, Nasheed's attack was on Adhaalath's spokesperson, Muslim scholar and charismatic orator Shaikh Mohamed Shaheem, possibly because he is seen by some as a potential Adhaalath candidate for Vice President in any opposition coalition bid to which Adhaalath is party to.

In the light of this systematic approach to muzzling his political opponents, it is not surprising that President Nasheed's next target was Dr. Hassan Saeed and his Dhivehi Qaumee Party. One must give the Nasheed administration credit that it was smart enough not to martyr Dr. Hassan Saeed, but chose to victimize Dr. Hassan's closest aides like Dr. Jameel and Abdul Matheen. Nasheed and his police and MDP thugs would probably not have been able to control the public outcry and civic protest if Dr. Hassan had been arrested.

Dr. Hassan, although failing to show a decent following in the 2008 elections, has built up his base in the past three years by consistently making the Nasheed administration accountable through legal processes. In a time that the Maldives Parliament has turned into a comic circus, Dr. Hassan and his team have played possibly the single most important role in ensuring that citizen rights are upheld. The team has won significant legal victories for the Maldivian citizen, holding back the encroaching hands of the despotic MDP regime from citizen assets and civic rights.

Dr. Hassan's New Maldives attracted a strong followership from amongst Gayoom followers at the time of its inception. However, Dr. Hassan's personal vindictive attacks on Gayoom after his exit from Gayoom's cabinet tarnished Dr. Hassan's clean image, and possibly lost him votes in the Presidential elections 2008. Dr. Hassan and his team appear to have learnt a tough lesson from that, as their spirited defense of the Maldivian citizen has remained cleaner and within legal bounds, as opposed to some other opposition parties. In addition, Dr. Hassan Saeed remains a very attractive choice for Maldivian big business, the kingmakers in any Maldivian elections, given that he does not hail from any warring political family or business families.

Whether these positive features can provide the seeds for a successful presidential bid by Dr. Hassan Saeed in 2013 depends on how quickly he can release himself from DRP's heavy chains around his ankles and raise himself from the mire of a failed ally.

Maldives Civic Protest: Supreme Court throws out President Nasheed's petition

2012-01-12T20:07:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

The Maldives Supreme Court today threw out a petition by President Nasheed for a ruling on the import of alcohol and pork into the Maldives. The Supreme Court today said, all 7 judges had agreed unanimously that the matter did not fall into the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

In the melodrama being played out by Nasheed and his ministers for international viewers, Nasheed had petitioned the Supreme Court asking for a ruling on the import of alcohol and pork into the country and operation of spas in tourist resorts. In presenting the petition, Nasheed's Attorney General Abdulla Muizzu (younger brother of Nasheed's school mate and lawyer, Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu) said that the Government had taken the initiative because certain people were creating conflicts around these issues, but that none had officially raised the matter. Muizzu further stated that foreign investors were losing confidence in the Maldivian tourism industry as a result.

The Supreme Court decision perhaps played into hands of the Nasheed administration, which had been quick to spread false alarmist news to international media about a fundamentalist Islamic resurgence in the Maldives.

Nasheed's whole melodrama is built around the historic Civic Protest against Nasheed on December 23, 2011. The Civic Protest had demanded, amongst other things, that places of prostitution in the country be closed down and that alcohol not be sold on inhabited islands. Nasheed had twisted these demands of the Civic Protest to mean a ban on all alcohol and the closure of spa facilities in the country. He then proceeded to close down all spas and issue international press statements blaming "fundamentalist elements", leading to travel warnings in some European countries.

The political objective behind the drama could perhaps be to undermine a growing threat to his presidency, the Adhaalath Party, amongst the tourism industry and in the international fora. Earlier in his term, President Nasheed had told international media that the Maldives harboured terrorist elements which he was trying to root out.

While the tourism industry and international supporters financed Nasheed's presidency bid in 2008, it may be worthwhile for Nasheed to remember that it is the Maldivian voters and not his international financiers who cast the vote in the 2013 Presidential Elections. Over 16% of that electorate turned out to protest against Nasheed on December 23rd, 2011 in Victory Square, all lead by Adhaalath Party.

Maldives: Kulhudhuffushi South MP Nasheed - a potential candidate in 2013?

2012-01-12T16:34:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Kulhudhuffushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed today responded to attacks on his integrity by President Nasheed yesterday. MP Nasheed said today that President Nasheed's Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair (Juha) must substantiate his statement that MP Nasheed was costing the country over 400 million rufiya due to his public statements on MDP's foreign investment projects. Juha (the elder brother of Tourism Minister Zulfa and a known drug addict) had levelled this accusation against MP Nasheed at a press conference held yesterday at the President's Office.

MP Nasheed said, that his stand on foreign investments was that Maldivians should be given equal opportunity for investments. He said that the current MDP Government's policies on foreign investment made Maldivians second class citizens, by closing investment doors to them while giving those opportunities to foreigners. "This does not in any way mean that I am xenophobic, nor that I hate foreigners", the MP said.

MP Nasheed, a respected lawyer in his own right, was very active in proposing various social reform bills in the Parliament, until President Nasheed's propaganda station MNBC One aired audio tapes of a discussion between him and Jumhooree Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim. In what was a private conversation between two individuals, MP Nasheed had requested a financial loan from Gasim Ibrahim. The attack on MP Nasheed at that time was due to his vocal opposition to President Nasheed and his militant party MDP in Parliament. Since then, MP Nasheed has been relatively quiet although standing up for his constituency and citizen rights in various parliamentary debates.

MP Nasheed, a highly popular orator and skilled lawyer, was at one time expected to be ex-President Gayyom's running mate for the presidential elections in 2008. However, he was out manouvered (as were all other contenders for the position) by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. Following Gayoom's defeat, Nasheed distanced himself from his mentor and chose to contest for his parliamentary seat as an independent. Rumours were rife at one stage that he would be either Gasim Ibrahim's or Dr. Hassan Saeed's running mate for 2013. This is possibly one reason why MP Nasheed has come onto the radar of President Nasheed's front line attack troops such as Juha and DO Sappe (Ahmed Shafeeq Moosa, notorious for his slanderous and libellous online rag, Dhivehi Observer).

MP Nasheed's counter attack against President Nasheed appears to indicate that he has not exited the presidential race yet. Nasheed's independence and record in parliament stand him in good stead amongst the public. A charismatic educated man with the oratory skills of past Maldivian leaders, MP Nasheed has the potential to build up a substantial public following were he to come out now. The fact that he has remained outside the political bickering between President Nasheed, ex-President Nasheed and DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali may make MP Nasheed a very attractive choice for Maldivians in 2013. It remains to be seen which candidate he would partner or lead.

Maldives Presidency 2013: Islam emerging as the central platform for the elections?

2012-01-12T11:15:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

Unfolding events in the Maldives show that Islam will indeed be a central platform for the Presidential Elections, 2013.

Adhaalath Party yesterday put President Nasheed in a tight fix, by requesting him to explain to them what "mid level Islam" is and what the pillars of "that religion" are. In a letter to Nasheed, Adhaalath Party's Council of Religious Scholars requested that Nasheed provide these details to them in writing before the 17th of this month.

Adhaalath Party's request was in response to an MDP campaign called "mid-level Islam", launched by Nasheed on December 23, 2011 as a counter attack on the historic civic protest against Nasheed that same day. The Civic Protest, estimated to total over 25,000 civilians, had proclaimed its objective as the defense of Islam against attacks on Islam by Nasheed and his administration.

In his speech at his failed counter rally, Nasheed had stated that Maldivians should follow the "mid-level Islam" of their forefathers. Nasheed's counter rally could not muster even a thousand followers and was quickly wrapped up that day.
Adhaalath's request has left Nasheed scrambling around for an Islamic scholar willing to provide some religious scholarly remarks to substantiate his statements on Islam. Last night's MDP rally showed that Nasheed has had to scrape the bottom of the barrel in a country rich in its religious scholarly expertise. The only candidate for Nasheed appears to be the discredited Shaikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, Nasheed's State Minister for Religious Affairs, who was recently thrown out of Adhaalath Party.

The little Shaikh was marched out on to the MDP podium last night as chief guest to launch an MDP campaign called, "You cannot say that now". The Shaikh's instruction was probably to give what was hoped would be a rousing attack on Adhaalath Party's religious platform. Sadly for Nasheed, instead of giving even an adequate response to Adhaalath, the Shaikh got diverted to his favorite past time of bashing away at Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The most comic part of Shaikh Hussain Rasheed's speech was his statement that if a Muslim became an apostate, the matter would be tired in a court of law, and not amongst the public. Such allegations should not be levelled against a person on the roads, but should be taken to Shari'a, the Shaikh said. Such statements coming from the very person who ran around publicly accusing that President Gayoom was not a Muslim is indeed hilarious. It seems that Shaikh Hussain Rasheed has conveniently forgotten that he himself did the very same thing on the very same streets against the then President. The Shaikh's public allegations against Gayoom show that Shaikh Hussain Rasheed does not even now the basic teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Indeed, by these actions which contradicts the basic teachings of Islam, Shaikh Hussain Rasheed is not fit to speak on Islam in any public forum.

Leaving aside the comic relief provided by watching Nasheed and MDP hunt for a religious base, the unfolding drama puts into perspective the strength of Adhaalath Party in the Maldivian political arena today. Indeed, it also highlight the crucial importance of a strong religious support for any candidate for the Presidency in 2013. Nasheed overcame this glaring defect by entering into coalition with Adhaalath Party very early in the presidential elections run-up. However, it is remains to be seen whether he will have access to this resource again.

Even leaving aside Adhaalath Party, Nasheed's opposition all have greater strength on the religious platform than MDP at present. Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) boasts a religious scholar respected throughout the Islamic world (Gayoom) as its leader, while the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) leadership is filled with legal scholars versed in Islamic Sharia. In the case of DRP, while the leadership may not have any religious weight, it has a strong Islamic wing, which holds a position in the party council. Membership in the DRP Islamic wing includes religious scholars of the calibre of Adhaalath Party and PPM.

However, if anything, DQP is possibly in the strongest position, headed by two top class lawyers educated in Islamic Sharia and law in Malaysia, Dr. Hassan Saeed and Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed. Dr. Hassan Saeed's elder brother, the world respected Professor on Islamic Law, Abdulla Saeed, gives additional religious weight to the DQP leadership. DQP, although in coalition with larger DRP at present, has the potential to be a potent force in its own capacity, even to the extent of leading an opposition coalition into the next Presidency.

Maldives: Nasheed limits press freedom as his links to Christian missionaries are exposed

2012-01-12T00:05:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

President Mohamed Nasheed clamped down once again on press freedom in the country, threatening to close down media that reported "unsubstantiated" accusations thrown at President Nasheed by opposition politicians.

In a press conference today, Nasheed's Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair (brother of Tourism Minister Mariyam Zulfa and a known drug addict) said that the media was committing a heinous crime in presenting allegations that could not be substantiated.

This threat is the latest in actions taken by Nasheed in recent days to try and limit the public exposure of the Nasheed regime's links to Christian churches and missionaries such as David Hardingham. Yesterday, Nasheed ordered his police to investigate Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr. Jameel, the popular private TV network DhiTV and ex-Sandhaanu writer Ahmed Didi for propagating news that the Nasheed administration operated under the influence of Christian missionaries.

It is difficult to understand how the press, which reports public remarks by opposition politicians and by Nasheed himself, can be held culpable as to the veracity of the remarks by a third party. Nasheed, who came to power in 2008 lauded by some Western countries as a journalist whose freedom of speech had been compromised by the previous regime, is now doing the same thing to the Maldivian media at large today.

Perhaps of greater political interest is the extreme reactions shown by the Nasheed regime to the opposition statements on his close links with Christian missionaries. Maldivians cannot be blamed if these extreme actions and threats lead to suspicions that perhaps the Nasheed regime does have some links to Christian missionaries.

Certainly, there can be no denying that Mohamed Nasheed is closely allied to the Christian missionary David Hardingham, with David Hardingham leading MDP protests in London along with the likes of Sara Mahir under the name of Friends of Maldives. The links of Hardingham and his Maldivian compatriots to the Joshua Project have also been documented by Maldives Police.

The current situation calls for an in depth investigation by Parliament given that the President, his administration and the state police are compromised. However, such an investigation must be by a Parliamentary committee of the whole, since the Parliamentary committee on national security is compromised and led by Nasheed's MPs.

Renewable Energy Maldives: President Nasheed's gift for elder brother Naashid

2012-01-11T23:02:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives

Maldives President Nasheed has jumped to the head of the corrupt leaders class by using his powerful position as President of the country to create a business for his elder brother, Ahmed Nashid.

From the inception of his administration, Nasheed has consistently worked at creating business opportunities for Naashid who now heads a family investment called Renewable Energy Maldives. The family company's biggest project so far is a joint venture project with the state company STELCO to provide six islands in Male' Atoll with electricity via solar power. The company's CEO is Naashid, who until then worked with Nasheed in their family business Dhivehi Meysthiri.

In addition to the STELCO project, Renewable Energy Maldives has landed other projects to supply solar panels and other renewable energy products to government agencies and companies.

President Nasheed's crony, Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam has announced in December 2011 that Naashid's renewable energy project would be implemented in a total of 29 inhabited islands in the country.

Renewable Energy Maldives, a company established by President Nasheed's family in 2007, did not engage in any substantial business activities until Nasheed came to power in 2008. Its first project was the STELCO joint venture project, which it was awarded by disqualifying the top ranked bidder. The reasons for disqualification of Naashid's competitor were alleged delays in project implementation.

President Nasheed's helping hand to his brother does not stop there. On December 18th, 2011, Nasheed announced that he would ensure that 25% of electricity supply to the capital Male' would be via renewable energy sources. The project is estimated to cost about 70 million US dollars (over one billion Maldivian Rufiyaa). And who better to handle this multimillion dollar project than Male' power supplier STELCO's current partner in renewable energy, the President's brother Ahmed Nashid?

In further actions to create business opportunities for his brother Naashid and family, Nasheed announced on 10th October 2011 that in the future he would be spending 2% of the country's income on renewable energy.

President Nasheed's assistance to family and friends is well known and would not raise any eyebrows amongst Maldivians. Over 50% of political appointments to the top heavy Nasheed administration are close family members and friends of Nasheed. Another 20% are close family members and friends of the MDP Leadership.

Additionally, the Anti Corruption Commission has reported several cases of fraud and corrupt practices in the award of contracts to the President's family and close friends. Nasheed also obstructed the work of the Anti Corruption Commission by deliberately delaying nomination of a fifth member to the commission.

As one political opponent, Dr. Hassan Saeed remarked in a public address on January 9th, 2012, the three years of the Nasheed regime have been the most corrupt three years in the country's history.

Maldives: Audit Office reports rampant corruption under Mahmood Raazee in the Economic Ministry

2012-01-11T15:51:00.000+05:00

Male', Maldives.

The Auditor General's report on the financial statements of the Economic Ministry for the year 2010 reports corruption and malpractice on a massive scale within the Ministry. However, President Nasheed has not ordered the police or his Presidential Commission to investigate the matter. The Economic Ministry is headed by one of Nasheed's closest advisors, Mahmood Raazee, a shareholder of the powerful Lintel Maldives. All shareholders of Lintel Maldives hold key positions in the Nasheed administration.

As a mere sampler of the high level of malpractice and corruption in the Ministry, the Audit report states that the Economic Ministry had consistently procured assets and given out contracts in a manner which violated the Government's financial regulations.

A contract worth Mrf 595,930 had been awarded to MS Carpentry for finishing works in the Economic Ministry's new building, without a scope of works for the contract, resulting in an additional payment of MRf 179,629 to MS Carpentry.

The Ministry had also made bulk cash payments worth Mrf. 8.2 million to five parties calling it "compensation" for losses due to the government ban on export of shark by products. These funds had not been in the budget approved by the People's Majlis (Parliament), the report noted. How the five parties were selected and how their "compensation" was assessed is not stated.

In addition, the Audit team could not find several assets which were recorded as purchased for the Ministry. This included a laptop which the Audit team was informed by Ministry officials had been lost, but the Ministry had not reported this loss to any party.

The Audit Office has rejected the Economic Ministry's financial statements on the basis of malpractice and because the Ministry had not made the mandatory disclosures nor provided substantiating documents for its financial statements.

The Audit report further noted that there were major discrepancies amounting to millions of rupees between the Ministry's accounts and the general accounts of the Ministry kept by the Finance Ministry.

From the day of his swearing in as President, Nasheed has been harassing and persecuting his political opponents, under the guise of investigating charges of corruption. He first formed a Presidential Commission which he staffed with his close compatriots such as AAA Company shareholder Ali Shiyam, for dragging in various political opponents to give testimony before the commission.

The reports used to persecute political opponents were the fabricated reports by failed ex-Auditor general Maakun Naeem. Maakun Naeem was finally thrown out through a no-confidence vote against him due to corruption and use of state funds for private activities during his term as Auditor General.

The Maldives Police Service and the Prosecutor General's Office play a major supporting role in Nasheed's politically motivated program. However, Audit reports on government agencies during his presidency such this damning report on Minister Raazee and the Economic Ministry fall on deaf ears.

Mahmood Raazee is facing a vote of no confidence against him when the Parliament reconvenes in early March this year. The vote of no confidence was submitted to Parliament during the session that just ended. However, it could not be scheduled prior to the end of the term given the mandatory period of preparation for Minister Raazee.

Maldives: President Nasheed orders police investigation of more political opponents

2012-01-10T23:26:00.001+05:00

Male', Maldives

Maldives President Nasheed ordered his police today to investigate another three of his political opponents, alleging that they were spreading lies about him and his government.

In a directive to the Maldives Police today, Nasheed ordered the investigation of Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, ex-Sandhaanu writer Ahmed Didi (Ahammaidi) and the popular private TV network of Champa Ahmed Moosa (Soatu Champa), the DhiTV. Nasheed alleged that all three parties were spreading unsubstantiated lies that his Government was run under the influence of Christian priests.

Nasheed's intimidatory attack on Dr. Jameel and DhiTV comes hard on the heels of his intimidatory actions against Jumhooree Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim, PPM Interim Leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and Adhaalath Party leader Shaikh Mohamed Shaheem Saeed.

Gasim's three tourist resorts and aviation business Villa Air were closed by Nasheed two weeks ago, alleging illegal business practices. Villa Air was re-opened under court order which found Nasheed's actions illegal.

Gayoom's son Ghassaan Maumoon was arrested by police for "investigations" following an attack on Gayoom's residence by Nasheed's militant party Maldives Democratic Party led by MDP MPs Mariya Didi, Interim Chairperson Reeko Moosa Maniku and Nasheed's cousin MP Eva Abdulla. Ghassaan Maumoon was released only after a court order which found the police actions illegal.

Shaikh Shaheem, the charismatic spokesperson of Adhaalath Party and ex-State Minister for Religious Affairs in the Nasheed administration, was victimized by police under the guise of investigations of alleged 'sexual misconduct". Shaikh Shaheem, a popular public speaker who is a possible front runner for any Adhaalath bid for the presidency, has also been subjected to harassment by Nasheed's media propaganda MNBC which aired videos of the Shaikh and a woman holding hands.

Dr. Jameel, who served in Nasheed's first cabinet as Transport Minister, is a vocal critic of the Nasheed administration in various public fora. As spokesperson for DQP, Jameel frequently represents the DQP on political programs on private TV networks, DhiTV and VTV.

DhiTV, probably the most widely viewed TV network in the country, has been subjected to several intimidatory actions by Nasheed and his police on various occasions. Police have entered the DhiTV network offices on more than one occasion and ordered the termination of its broadcasts, in the name of protecting "national security".

In mid December 2011, Maldives Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh and Chief of Staff of the Defence forces Lt. Gen. Moosa Jaleel together held a press conference in which they threatened that any media which carried reports that could be interpreted as against national security would be closed down. This threat was repeated in a letter by the military to all media networks and newspapers. The most vocal critics of these military actions, as illegal and in contradiction to the constitution, were Dr. Jameel's party, DQP.

It is evident from these series of actions that the Nasheed regime's approach to the Presidential Elections in 2013 is to intimidate and harass political opponents using the state machinery of police, military and media.