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.