Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, today intensified his systemic campaign to persecute and crackdown on the opposition. Following his party’s massive defeat in the country’s parliamentary elections on May 9th, Nasheed immediately began a coercion and oppression campaign, taking vengeance on a public which had said a resounding NO to him. On 16th May, he established a so-called Presidential Commission to allegedly investigate embezzlement of state funds and resources. This is a premeditated move by the disintegrating Nasheed government to counter the fact that his chamchas in the so-called independent institutions, the Anti-corruption commission and the Auditor General, are slated for sacking by the new parliament.
Nasheed appointed his long time henchman, Ali Shiyam, as the Chairman of his Witch Hunt Commission. Shiyam currently also occupies the glorified post of Economic Advisor to Nasheed. Other members include MDP militants, Minister of State, Principal Collector of Customs Mohamed Aswan (the MDP mole inside the police force under the previous government), and lawyers Idham Muiz Adnan, Abdulla Haseen and Shabab Rasheed. The very next day saw him appoint Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, the homosexual President of the fundamentalist party Adhaalath, as Joint-Chair, as Adhaalath scrambled to join Nasheed’s witch hunt to cannibalise dissenters.
The opening salvo by Nasheed’s Witch Hunt Commission was its request to the criminal court today to issue arrest warrants for five persons on alleged charges of embezzlement of state funds. These five persons are reported to include Opposition Leader (former president) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and four others including top opposition leaders. However, sources report that the commission would start its dirty work by victimising smaller fry and then build up to the repression of opposition leaders. Coming within three days of its establishment, it is obvious to the public that the true mandate of Nasheed’s Witch Hunt Commission is to persecute and silence the opposition.
Nasheed has given his pet dogs in the commission the authority to summon, interrogate and take statements from any person alleged to have misappropriated state funds and resources. They also have been given the authority to restrict movement of “suspects” including confiscation of passports and freeze bank accounts. Top legal experts in the country challenge the constitutional legality of the Witch Hunt Commission, which has been arbitrarily given the constitutional mandates of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor General and the Prosecutor General, thereby undermining the powers of these democratic institutions.
In this context, Nasheed’s action has the second objective of protecting the filthy pasts of his top people in his government. As is well known by all Maldivians, his government’s top political posts are filled with known ex-cons, fraud artists, racketeers, gang lords, terrorists who have attacked the Maldives with armed personnel, porn stars and swindlers. Amongst numerous others, these include Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki (infamous for his swindling of seven resorts while Tourism Minister), Nasheed’s close cousin State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kerafa Ahmed Naseem (infamous for his unabashed soliciting of bribes from potential foreign investors when he was head of the Foreign Investment Board), Personal Secretary Ziyad (known drug lord and gangster), Defence Minister Amin Faisal (leader of the attempted military coup to support Nasheed’s uncle Bodu Sikka’s joint attempt with the LTTE to overthrow the then government), State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Shafeeq (publicly known as Goathi Vagu, or Home Thief for taking home plots in his own name while head of the Selected Islands Development Unit), State Minister for Trade Adil Saleem (lead actor of the infamous porn movie), Thimarafushi Musthafa (well known gangster and loan shark) and State Minister for Home Affairs DB Shahid (one of the leader of Nasheed’s uncle Bodu Sikka’s joint attempt with the LTTE to overthrow the then government). President Nasheed himself comes from a background of corruption and embezzlement of state funds, typified by the well known and proven case of his father Kerafa Abdul Sattar’s embezzlement from the government company, MITE.
Nasheed’s use of the police force to intimidate and harrass dissenters and his indefensible persecution of opposition leaders are clear signs that he himself knows that his days as president are numbered.
Nasheed appointed his long time henchman, Ali Shiyam, as the Chairman of his Witch Hunt Commission. Shiyam currently also occupies the glorified post of Economic Advisor to Nasheed. Other members include MDP militants, Minister of State, Principal Collector of Customs Mohamed Aswan (the MDP mole inside the police force under the previous government), and lawyers Idham Muiz Adnan, Abdulla Haseen and Shabab Rasheed. The very next day saw him appoint Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, the homosexual President of the fundamentalist party Adhaalath, as Joint-Chair, as Adhaalath scrambled to join Nasheed’s witch hunt to cannibalise dissenters.
The opening salvo by Nasheed’s Witch Hunt Commission was its request to the criminal court today to issue arrest warrants for five persons on alleged charges of embezzlement of state funds. These five persons are reported to include Opposition Leader (former president) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and four others including top opposition leaders. However, sources report that the commission would start its dirty work by victimising smaller fry and then build up to the repression of opposition leaders. Coming within three days of its establishment, it is obvious to the public that the true mandate of Nasheed’s Witch Hunt Commission is to persecute and silence the opposition.
Nasheed has given his pet dogs in the commission the authority to summon, interrogate and take statements from any person alleged to have misappropriated state funds and resources. They also have been given the authority to restrict movement of “suspects” including confiscation of passports and freeze bank accounts. Top legal experts in the country challenge the constitutional legality of the Witch Hunt Commission, which has been arbitrarily given the constitutional mandates of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor General and the Prosecutor General, thereby undermining the powers of these democratic institutions.
In this context, Nasheed’s action has the second objective of protecting the filthy pasts of his top people in his government. As is well known by all Maldivians, his government’s top political posts are filled with known ex-cons, fraud artists, racketeers, gang lords, terrorists who have attacked the Maldives with armed personnel, porn stars and swindlers. Amongst numerous others, these include Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki (infamous for his swindling of seven resorts while Tourism Minister), Nasheed’s close cousin State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kerafa Ahmed Naseem (infamous for his unabashed soliciting of bribes from potential foreign investors when he was head of the Foreign Investment Board), Personal Secretary Ziyad (known drug lord and gangster), Defence Minister Amin Faisal (leader of the attempted military coup to support Nasheed’s uncle Bodu Sikka’s joint attempt with the LTTE to overthrow the then government), State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Shafeeq (publicly known as Goathi Vagu, or Home Thief for taking home plots in his own name while head of the Selected Islands Development Unit), State Minister for Trade Adil Saleem (lead actor of the infamous porn movie), Thimarafushi Musthafa (well known gangster and loan shark) and State Minister for Home Affairs DB Shahid (one of the leader of Nasheed’s uncle Bodu Sikka’s joint attempt with the LTTE to overthrow the then government). President Nasheed himself comes from a background of corruption and embezzlement of state funds, typified by the well known and proven case of his father Kerafa Abdul Sattar’s embezzlement from the government company, MITE.
Nasheed’s use of the police force to intimidate and harrass dissenters and his indefensible persecution of opposition leaders are clear signs that he himself knows that his days as president are numbered.