mdpsrilankapetitions
Special Report
MDP petitions and police raids in Sri Lanka
Zacki Jabbar, Sri Lanka Correspondent
Colombo, Sri Lanka 24th February 2006 (www.olhuala.com) – Some Maldivians resident in Sri Lanka presented a petition to the Maldivian High Commission recently in support of what the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), alleges were undemocratic acts of the Maldivian government.
About a 100 Maldivians signed the petition which was handed over to a senior official of the Maldivian High Commission who assured them that their concerns would be conveyed to the Maldivian government.
The petitioners did not demonstrate opposite the High Commission in Colombo as earlier planned but sent three of its representatives to hand over the petition.
A sticking point however was that one of the three representatives was a 21 year old, on a student visa. The fact that he was a student effectively debars him from taking part in politically motivated activities.
A spokesperson for the petitioners attempted to justify the students right to protest on the grounds that he was over 18 years of age, but according to Sri Lankan law student visas do not permit one to engage in such activity.
Asked as to why they had not demonstrated as planned, the spokesperson said, “The Maldivian embassy in Colombo is staffed by very professional diplomats who have been fair in their dealings. They have always conveyed our grievances to the Maldivian government. As such we thought it was not proper for us to demonstrate outside the embassy.”
The petition itself wanted the reinstatement of “politically victimised public servants,” release of MDP Chairman Mohammed Nasheed, “Human Rights activist” Jenifer Latheef, artist Naushad Wahid and Ahmed Didi, co-publisher of the “Sandhaanu,” an end to “police brutality” and removal of Police Chief Adam Zahir,
There are about 4000 Maldivians resident in Sri Lanka presently. Most of them are either engaged in studies or business.
The fact that there were only about 100 signatures on the petition indicates that the majority of Maldivians in Sri Lanka do not want to get involved in political protests while being guests of a friendly neighbour.
The recent raid on the Colombo office of Minivan News and Minivan Radio - the official mouthpiece of the MDP by the Criminal Investigations Department, on allegations of arms being stored there and some of its employees fleeing the country did raise suspicions.
The CID officers were armed with a warrant to interrogate and search the premises for arms, arms related equipment and unlicensed transmitters.
The damage caused by Paul Roberts – said to be Minivan’s live wire in Colombo and his colleague Zaheer fleeing Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the CID raid has some what been minimised since the founding editor of Minivan News and Minivan Radio, Mohammed Zuhair continues to reside in Colombo.
“Minivan Radio broadcasts are actually aired from Germany, although the team worked out of Colombo,” Zuhair said.
Roberts according to Zuhair had received anonymous calls stating that he would be charged for visa violations which could have lead to other Asian countries black listing him.
He, claimed that Roberts left after lawyers affirmed that the case had been closed “as false allegations.”
When pointed out that Roberts and Zaheer by fleeing Sri Lanka had only added credibility to the allegation of arms and unlicensed electronic equipment being stored at the Minivan office, Zuhair said, “Well I am the editor and still here. I have had the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka over some thirty odd times, attended studies here, and have lived some two years from 2003, leading to my having better faith in your country's institutions and the right to defence lawyers. Mr. Roberts may have lacked that faith, as did Mr. Naseer.”
Asked what the justification was for the MDP to use Sri Lanka as a base for its political activities Zuhair said, ”Sri Lanka gave Maldives its first Constitution in 1932. Sri Lanka was the home for politicians who transformed hundreds of years of monarchy to republican rule in 1952. Sri Lanka is where our best cricketers honed their skills, sticky wickets and all. Sri Lanka was where we gained our independence from the British. Sri Lankan teachers have taught almost all our alumni on both sides of the political spectrum. It is no wonder that Sri Lanka today is breathing life to political trends in Maldives, ushering in political pluralism for the first time in our country's history,” he said.
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