23 Dec coalition gives pledge of
allegiance to VP and calls the military to do the same
23 December Coalition, the
coalition of the Civic Society Coalition and opposition political parties has
given their pledge of allegiance to the Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan
Manik and has called the military and the Police to give their pledge of
allegiance to the Vice President.
The 23 December coalition
alleged that the Vice President has said that he will take full responsibility
of the continuous anti-government protests held in the capital city.
After a short while since
the start of the last night’s episode of the anti-government protest, the
steering committee of the network of opposition political parties and NGOs held
an emergency meeting at 23:20hrs at the office of the main opposition Dhivehi
Rayyithunge Party (DRP). The meeting was chaired by the President of the
opposition Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdullah. After concluding the meeting
the participants met with the Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed at his residence
Hilaaleege.
The meeting held with the
Vice President was concluded at 1:04hrs. Spokesperson of the coalition Abdullah
Mohamed informed the media that the meeting with the Vice President was held
because the coalition realized that Maldives is currently in a state of legal
vacuum because of the opposition of the President to the constitution and law.
“The constitution is very
clear on the responsibilities of the Vice President. In this state it is the
responsibility of the Vice President to uphold the law. Therefore we have
informed him that we have given him our pledge of allegiance. We urge the
military and the Police to give their pledge of allegiance to the Vice President
and obey his orders,” he said.
Abdullah said that the Vice
President is ready to take his legal responsibilities. “I excuse myself from
giving any more information regarding this for now,” he said.
Speaking to the media,
General Secretary of the opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) said that this
step taken by the coalition is praiseworthy. He said that the Vice President’s
assurance to save the nation from the current legal vacuum has given the
coalition new hope.
“The Vice President is
ready to do whatever he has to do in his capabilities to uphold the constitution
and law. The Vice President is very worried and concerned about the current
situation. The thinking of the Vice President is very different from that of the
President. When all of the political parties aside from the ruling Maldivian
Democratic Party (MDP) observed the same story, the Vice President very keenly
listened to the coalition. This means that in our work we have come to a totally
new phase of development,” he said.
Meanwhile, last night’s
protest was dispersed by the riot police with force. The Police used pepper
spray to disperse the protesters. A journalist from the local TV station, VTV
said that the Police deliberately sprayed pepper spray on him. A journalist from
MNBC was badly hurt and was taken to the hospital. It was also reported that a
woman was badly beaten by the Police.
A group of thugs armed with
kitchen knives who were apparently against the 23 December coalition were seen
outside the DRP office when the meeting of the coalition was going on in the
office. Another group entered the ranks of the protesters causing unrest in last
night’s episode of the opposition protest against the government. However, they
were sent away by the Police.
A number of arrests were
also made last night. MP Ahmed Nihan was released from Police custody at
Dhoonidhoo last night. He said that he was treated good but the cause of his
arrest was doubtful.
Last night’s protest was
dispersed at the Artificial Beach area. The protest turned violent and some
protesters threw stones and crude oil towards the masked riot Police. The
protesters said that they were peacefully protesting and that the Police sprayed
pepper spray and used force and therefore instigated violence and unrest.
Journalists from Aljazeera
and Reuters were present with the media to cover the protest. DRP Deputy Leader
Ibrahim “Mavota” Shareef spoke to the media in English on the claims of exposing
the truth about President Mohamed Nasheed to the international community.