Am indebted to the people, will not repeat mistake: Qasim
Qasim had, back in 2015, joined the opposition briefly
Qasim Ibrahim is the founder of Villa Group
Leader of Jumhooree Party (JP) Qasim Ibrahim says that he is in “debt” to the people, and then he will continue to say no to this “tyrannical” government.
He made the comment while speaking at an all-party rally held on Friday night, a few hours after entering into a coalition agreement to work together to reform the government. In addition to Qasim; Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom; Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader, former President Mohamed Nasheed; and Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla had signed the agreement ‘to work jointly and together both in parliament and in the political environment.”
Prominent figures from the parties took to the podium on Friday night, where Qasim said that he is “indebted to the people,” adding that he will remain with them.
The Maamigilli MP assured the public that he “will never again say yes to this tyrannical government.”
“Look, are we supposed to drain the people? Are we supposed to vote for Yameen Abdul Gayoom so he can do that? No. We do not have to vote [for him]. Where is the justice,” he questioned.
Furthermore, Qasim assured that they “will not repeat the same mistake”, adding that political parties will remain together in the reform work.
“Let’s learn from the past, lightening never strikes twice in the same place,” said Qasim.
Qasim, who has opted to remain away from the public eye since 2015, on Thursday said that he will not support President Abdulla Yamen again, "even if they hang me upside down, chop me up and feed me to the crows".
READ MORE: Will not support Yameen again "even if chopped up and fed to the crows", says Qasim
As soon as he made a public appearance criticizing President Yameen and his government, court hearings over his Thaa Elaa contract dispute were reconvened and carried in a rush, with the High Court overturning a lower court ruling in favour of Villa, and declaring that government’s cancellation the agreement was lawful. This is not the first time that authorities have directed their attacks towards Qasim’s businesses. Back in 2015, Villa Group’s accounts were frozen after Qasim joined the opposition temporarily.
- JP was the main coalition partner of the current government.
