mdpcharged
Attorney General charges alleged January 24th perpetrators
Ismail Rifau, Political Correspondent
Ismail Rifau, Political Correspondent
Male’, Maldives, 27th January 2006 (olhuala.com) – The Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed has charged the alleged leaders of the MDP-organised assembly on January 24th, in a much-anticipated and welcomed move. The Maldivian Democratic Party had been notified of the illegality of the planned event, several times by the Registrar of Political Parties.
The charges of "illegal and unlawful assembly" were brought under Section 48 of the Penal Code. More persons are expected to be charged in the coming days according to sources in the Attorney General's Office.The gathering had proved a disaster for the MDP as the expected thousands failed to materialise. Even in Male' where the biggest crowd was seen, less than 400 people bothered to come to the eastern artificial beach area: an area commonly used by children for recreation in the cramped capital. Many parents have been very vocal, demanding action to be taken against the ringleaders.
The MDP's failure was all the more worrying for party members as they had made many public statements inviting people to bring their kids and to come prepared for a lengthy stay. These have now proved to be an immense source of embarrassment.
Serious uncertainty now surrounds the future of the party. With leader Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) and other top officials expected to be implicated, and Chairman Mohamed Nasheed (Annie) fighting charges of sedition and terrorism, the party is bound to be rudderless in the very near future. Their leaders are being increasingly seen as working for their own benefit by the ordinary party members.
The vaccuum left by the party is likely to be filled quickly by other parties such as the Adhaalaath and Islamic Democratic Party. Although these parties currently lack any MPs, many MDP MPs are expected to switch allegiance in the near future.
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