Nasheed reiterates claim he is in discussion with Maumoon

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has reiterated his claim he is engaged in discussion with former Maldivian President and Leader of Progressive Party of Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom regarding the situation in Maldives.

In answer to a question posed by a reporter during the press conference held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, this Thursday morning, Nasheed repeated that he was engaged in discussion with Maumoon. And that he hadn’t yet seen Maumoon directly deny his claim.

“We are still engaged in discussions with President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. President Maumoon has not directly denied he is engaged in discussions, or that he does not want reform,” said Nasheed.

Nasheed said that Maumoon – as a former President, long-term servicemen to his country, and respectable individual – naturally had concerns regarding the situation in Maldives.

In response to earlier claims by Nasheed that he was engaged in discussions with the opposition, Maumoon had responded that “a lie will be a lie even if its uttered a thousand times” – but did not directly deny the claim.

However, both Nasheed and Maumoon denied the claim made by Al-Jazeera in a report that Maumoon asked for USD 100,000 to support Nasheed and the opposition, and that USD 50,000 of it has been transferred to Maumoon’s account.

Following the report, PPM issued a press statement in September, 2016 in which it denied the claim that Maumoon demanded payment to support the opposition movement, or that he received the part payment.

The statement made no comment regarding the claim he was engaged in discussions with the opposition.