Toriq criticizes “low-quality” Stealing Paradise

Minister of Environment and Energy, Toriq Ibrahim has criticized the upcoming Al-Jazeera documentary on alleged corruption within the current Maldivian government – Stealing Paradise, calling it a low-quality production.

Minister Toriq made the comments during the SanguTV program “Khabarah Fahu” on Sunday night.

He said that the documentary was a low-quality production, and saved the worst of his criticism to Will Jordan – who is a producer for the Al-Jazeera investigative team which prepared the documentary, and used to work as the Editor of Maldivian newspaper Maldives Independent – then known as Minivan News.

“I think that these people work in the kitchens of places like Al-Jazeera. The report is of very low-quality,” said Toriq.

Toriq also accused Maldives United Opposition of being behind the documentary.

“What is going on is a group of people who have no identity of any sort have formed MUO or something outside Maldives, these people with no identity have found some money somewhere and are working with some others to defame Maldives,” he said.

Toriq said that Stealing Paradise was designed to threaten the Maldivian government, and thought that they could present the documentary as a great piece of investigative reporting to the people of Maldivian people hoping it would fuel “a great deal of things in Maldives.”

He said that accusations and allegations can be made by anyone anywhere, but that the allegations needed to be proven in a court of law to have any credibility.

He said that any and every action taken by the current administration was “a thousand times better than” former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

International Spokesperson for Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Hamid Abdul Gafoor responded to the comments, saying that Toriq’s comments showed he had no grasp of how the international media worked. And that State minister-level officials not being able to grasp such concepts was one reason why the government would fall.

Stealing Paradise is due to be reduced on Wednesday, according to the latest trailers.