The former Deputy Speaker and member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Moosa Manik (Reeko) has criticised the opposition coalition. He said that there is no need to provide information or to get permission from anyone for what the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) is mandated to do.
The opposition PPM/PNC coalition has criticised MNDF’s operation against extremists meanwhile increasing its alert level on Tuesday night.
Criticising his own party PPM/PNC coalition Moosa said that MNDF does not have to get approval or neither give information of its operation to anyone. Moosa further said even in the case of a state of emergency, it will be fine getting approval of the public after announcing the statement of emergency.
As per the article 241 of the Constitution of the Maldives, the defense force is not mandated to provide information and neither give information to anyone of their security operations.
In a news conference held by the opposition coalition, the Chairman of the PNC, Abdul Raheem Abdulla (Adhurey) said that while the defense force is active in various areas of the Maldives, the reason for increasing alert level is not announced and that they are concerned about this.
If such an operation is ongoing, the public should be very clearly informed of what is happening and the purpose of such an operation. Otherwise, they will panic, said Adhurey.
Adhurey said that their coalition will always be cooperative with the national security operations. However, not stating any specific reason for such operations will create fear and anxiety among the general public.
