Ministry of Defence Threatens Press Freedom

In a statement released by the Ministry of Defence today, the Ministry condemned the actions of "certain media outlets and political entities" to "defame the military".

The military, read the statement, have taken on the responsibility of maintaining national security and sovereignty. The claims being circulated accuse the military of breaking their vows, said the statement.

The statement claimed that the Ministry would "not tolerate ... the spreading of baseless propaganda aimed at the Defence Force". The statement said that such claims would "destroy the respect and trust the citizens have for the military".

The Ministry's statement had said that the high-ranking officials of the Maldives National Defence Force had served for many years with integrity, and that the Maldivian government had "full trust" in them.

The current Minister of Defence, Uza Mariya Ahmad Didi had, on a previous occasion, characterised the MNDF as "cowards", with regard to the Maldivian military response to the November 3, 1988 attacks. As Minister, she had also made comments that the Maldivian military would be "helpless" to stop an Indian invasion of the country.

However, while the Ministry of Defence has publicly shown its confidence in the military: the Anti-Corruption Commission had thrown out a case regarding bribes being taken by high-officials of the MNDF less than 24 hours after it had been submitted.