drprally10
Rally breaks Attendance records as DRP leaders pummel MDP’s recent antics
Ismail Rifau, Political Correspondent
Ismail Rifau, Political Correspondent
Male’, Maldives, 3rd February 2006 (www.olhuala.com) – Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party leaders have used the opportunity of their 10th general rally to inflict further humiliation on the Maldivian Democratic Party which is already reeling from a host of recent failures. Speakers including Justice Minister Mohamed Jameel, Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed and Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed systematically exposed the MDP’s shortcomings in a concerted and systematic manner at the rally last night.
The crowd at Imadhudhdheen School was one of the biggest ever at a political rally and showed a changed composition from previous rallies with younger faces and a more participatory attitude. This was no doubt fuelled by the ferociousness with which the speakers were prepared to taunt the MDP.
Jameel concentrated on the issue of freedom of expression and suggested that nowhere in the world does that freedom come without any responsibilities or inherent limitations for the protection of others’ rights. Using analogy, he said that even in eating and drinking, there are prescribed limitations, medically and religiously, for what foods can be used by man if he is to stay healthy.
Speaking about the Special Majlis petition signed by 61 DRP Special Majlis Members, Nasheed said he was proud to have signed the document and that he stands by his decision in the full knowledge that he and the DRP have the moral high ground on the matter. Observers noted that while this statement was supported by virtually the whole party, it was also an accusatory finger pointed at the DRP’s non-signatories who include Finance Minister Gasim Ibrahim.
Shaheed, laying into the MDP’s thinly veiled attempts at a coup d'etat, exposed the MDP’s instruction manual for revolution to be a text by Gene Sharp: a text which describes circumstances so far removed from Maldivian culture and society as to be practically worthless. The MDP were accused of having no policies and to be only interested in attaining power.
Although the crowd was boisterous and enthusiastic, President Gayoom spoke in his normal dignified and statesmanlike manner. He concentrated on the issue of gender equality in Islam and exposed the MDP and other parties’ dubious attitudes towards Islam, to ringing applause. He reinforced the view that he remains the country’s most eminent religious expert.
Other speakers such as Special Majlis President’s Member Mohamed Saleem exposed the pathetic nature of figures such as MDP vice president Ibrahim Zaki. Saleem claimed he had been in the employ of Zaki for many years and revealed several insightful anecdotes.
The crowd included a large number of indivuals who had until recently been identified on the fringes of the MDP movement but who have since rejected the party for its duplicity. While they have yet to commit to the DRP, they appeared encouraged by the performance of the party’s leadership, especially that of the younger leaders who embody the spirit of ‘New Maldives’.
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