Resignation-Under-Duress

Hassan Latheef
Introduction
I thank Allah Subhaanahoo Watha’aalaa for granting me the inspiration to write this book.
This book brie�ly looks at the events that forced the Maldives’ �irst democratically elected leader, President
Mohamed Nasheed to submit his resignation under duress while his Government was overthrown
by a coup d’état.
The objective of this book is to share the information that I have on the events with the general public. It
is also important to share this information with the political analysts and the historians of the Maldives.
The information included in this book is derived from what I have heard and observed personally, as well
as information that I gathered from President Nasheed, his wife Madam Laila Ali and from those present
that witnessed the events of transfer of power on the 7th February 2012.
I believe the information on the different circumstances and the events that led President Nasheed to
submit his resignation under duress should be made available to the general public. This is because the
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) led Government that President Nasheed represented was elected by
the people and was in the process of ful�illing the pledges that were made under his Presidential campaign.
It is clear that the public would not welcome the resignation of the President before the completion
of the term to which the President was elected by them. And therefore, I consider it is most important
that the reasons that the President resigned under duress are communicated to the general public.
After researching the reasons behind President Nasheed’s resignation, I decided, with his consent, to
compile the information I gathered in the form of a book. This is partly because I have served the people
as a Cabinet Minister in President Nasheed’s administration and also because I currently work as part of
his team of lawyers. I believe that the information I have now is something that must be shared with
fellow citizens.
I believe this book will have the most signi�icance for the future generations. Therefore, I would like to
dedicate this book to my beloved children, Zara and Zeek.
23 August 2012