Few, Powerful Individuals Did Not Wish To See An Independent ACC: Shiuna

Mariyam Shiuna, the former president of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), has said that the efforts to dismiss her within a short period of her appointment had been part of the effort to exert undue influence over the ACC.

The Maldives Journal had acquired a copy of the letter sent by Shiuna in response to the Parliament Committee on Independent Institutions' motion to dismiss the ACC's members. In the letter addressed to Majlis Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, Shiuna stated that the members of the ACC had been targeted with criticism due to their impartial handling of cases.

Shiuna noted three attempts that had been made to dismiss her during the 2 years and 3 months she had served as president of the ACC; she stated that the ruling MDP's parliamentary group had taken a no-confidence vote against her. She had also noted that the attempt to dismiss her was based on the audit conducted largely on the performance of her predecessors. She said that the repeated attempts that had been made to dismiss her had come about as a result of a desire to control the ACC.

Shiuna also responded to the Parliament Committee's concern and discussion regarding the ACC's summoning of cabinet ministers to be questioned. She stated that no consideration is given to either the rank or position of people who are summoned for questioning during the process of an investigation. She said that it was "extremely concerning" that the Parliament Committee had considered taking action against the ACC for summoning cabinet ministers for questioning.

Shiuna further stated that it was apparent today that there were a group of powerful individuals who did not wish to see the ACC function independently.