This is not the time to organize demonstrations, says Assistant Police Commissioner.
Ahmed Fairoosh said this via Twitter on Monday, following a protest held near the People’s Majlis premises in the morning.
Organized by Navaanavai -a movement to empower citizens socially, economically and politically- the purpose of the demonstration was to raise concern over the lack of efforts by the parliament to ensure the rights of those who have lost their jobs and been forced to evacuate their homes due to the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. A small group took part in the protest that started at 8:30am.
A number of police officers were active in the region, and some protestors were carried away from the area.
Noting that the country is still in the middle of a pandemic, he said that “this is not the time to organize demonstrations”.
The assistant police commissioner further called to refrain from gathering in groups of more than three people, and asked to express concerns “and support in another way except gathering on the streets”.
Responding to him, Meedhoo constituency MP and chair of the parliament’s committee on independent institutions, Rozaina Adam stressed that she believes that demonstrations must be allowed “with social distancing, masks and guidelines the Health Protection Agency provides” so long as there is no lockdown imposed.
“Freedom of expression and assembly is a constitutional right. Would have been better if police provided a guideline to follow for protesting safely”MP Rozaina Adam
Anti-corruption NGO, Transparency Maldives said that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right enshrined in the Maldivians Constitution and in a number of international agreements such as Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. It further called on the police “to not recourse to force and obstruct peaceful assembly”.
While a number of officers were active in dispersing the participants of the Navaanavai protest, another protest held the same day, was handled very differently. Thee opposition held a protest on Monday as well, however, police were not seen intervening to disperse the crowd.
