Government not obliged to accommodate MDP: Home Minister

Minister of Home Affairs Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has said that there is no justification for the coalition government of Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik to have to accommodate Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) request to join the government.

Dr Jameel said in an interview with Sun Online that MDP’s proposal to join the government is not sincere, and that MDP should not be allowed representation in the government until they are held accountable for their disregard for the Maldivian people’s rights.

“The report of CNI [Commission of National Inquiry] states clearly that the MDP regime created violence when they were in power. There is no legal or disciplinary justification for cooperating with them, especially when cases have been filed against them to Court. How can we cooperate with criminals?” Dr Jameel said.

Dr Jameel addressed this issue on his Twitter account as well, where he said, “Majority of Maldivian will reject MD’s offer to participate in the current Government, the offer demonstrates their desperation.”

The issue has also been put on the agenda of the Leaders’ Dialogue, which has also ben criticised by Dr Jameel, who believes that there is no need to further discuss this matter.

He said that MDP’s purpose behind proposing these discussions is to allow its leaders to escape the charges pressed against them, and stressed that this should not be tolerated.

MDP has rejected the President’s repeated invitations since 7 February 2012, for the party to join the government.

However yesterday, MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik proposed that MDP be allowed to join the government.

Moosa Manik’s reason behind this proposition is that since the CNI had decided that the government was changed legally, the current government should be an MDP government.