City Council sends letter asking court not to issue order to dismantle Usfasgandu

Male’ City Council has sent a letter to Criminal Court, asking them not to issue a court order to dismantle Usfasgandu as requested for by the Police.

The letter sent to Criminal Court by Male’ Mayor Maizan Ali Manik (Alibe) says that even though the Police had made this request, City Council had not been notified of this by Criminal Court, and that City Council should be represented before an order can be issued on an issue concerning the Council.

“…especially, no such order can be issued without informing the Council or allowing it to represent itself; and because the defendants are not summoned when orders are issued by Criminal Court, and because emptying Usfasgandu is a civil problem, Criminal Court should not issue an order in relation to this. We would like to inform that this order cannot be issued by Criminal Court especially in the absence of this Council,” reads the letter.

The Police requested yesterday for Criminal Court to issue an order to dismantle Usfasgandu. Home Ministry had asked the Police to take over the area, following City Council’s non-compliance with Housing Ministry’s repeated requests to hand over Usfasgandu to the government.

The cabinet indicated that City Council had violated the agreement with the government, and thus made the decision to take Usfasgandu from City Council and hand it over to Housing Ministry.

City Council has said that handing over Usfasgandu to MDP for political activities is not a violation of the agreement, and that the Council will soon commence developing the area.

Usfasgandu is leased to MDP for political activities until June 2012.

MDP first put up camps at Lonuziyaaraiy kolhu following the fall of President Nasheed’s government on 7 February. The Police raided and dismantled the camps on 19 March.