updated by Ramiz

Office of President Mohamed Nasheed
G. Nilaaveli
Male’, Maldives

16 November 2012

OFFICE OF PRESIDENT MOHAMED NASHEED CONDEMNS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED ARRESTS OF SENIOR POLITICIANS AND REITERATES CALL FOR EARLY ELECTION

Press Statement

The Office of President Mohamed Nasheed strongly condemns the politically motivated arrests of Senior Politician Hon. Ibrahim H. Zaki, Hon. Hamid A. Ghafoor MP, International Spokesman of MDP, Hon. Abdulla Jabir MP and others today.

Hon. Zaki has been very vocal recently and had publicly criticised the present Government’s handling of Indo – Maldives relations and the February 7th coup, when the elected Government was violently overthrown.

Hon. Hamid & Hon. Jabir supported the amending of Parliament Standing Orders to accommodate a secret vote in no confidence motions taken in Parliament. There had been a no confidence motion of Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, the Home Minister under whom the police operate which had been withdrawn pending outcome of the amendment to voting in no confidence motions in Parliament. A no confidence motion of President Waheed is pending in Parliament.

‘It is such a coincidence that whenever the Waheed Government wants to frame those critical of their Government, they come up with trumped up charges and very often it is something to do with alcohol’ says President Nasheed’s Spokesperson Mariya Didi (MP). ‘Such accusations have led one of our MP’s to submit a Bill to Parliament totally banning it’s importation’, she added.

The Office of President Nasheed calls on the Government to stop harassing Senior Politicians and MP’s & reiterates it’s call to have early elections in the country so as to get the country on track to democratic governance.