MDP alleges “covert police action” against protesters
28 Jun 2014, 5:22 PM
Ahmed Naish
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has alleged intimidation, harassment, and “covert police action” against participants of a gathering in the capital Malé last Thursday (June 26).
The party explained in a press release yesterday that Thursday night’s rally was held “as the first of a planned series of gatherings dubbed ‘Barricade Meetings’, to protest the current regime’s mismanagement of state resources, rising costs of essential goods, deterioration of health services resulting in preventable loss of lives, and sustained influences on the judiciary to incriminate political rivals.”
The rally went ahead in spite of a warning by the Home Ministry against the planned gathering, which was the first time the main opposition party took to the streets since last year’s presidential election.
The MDP afterwards alleged that several police officers “infiltrated the rally and attempted to incite grassroots members” of the party.