Insights into the Baaghee mind: CoNI interview with a policeman who mutinied
Fawaz: Why?
P: Because obeying unconstitutional orders. Orders can be of any kind. Orders include the unconstitutional kind.
Fawaz: Do you accept that while you assess whether or not an order is legal, you may neglect your obligations, losing you control of the situation?
P: If that’s the case, that night it was an unconstitutional order which led to the situation
Fawaz: Is it your belief that the command to leave the Artificial Beach was an unconstitutional order?
P: Yes!
Fawaz: Why?
P: Because it created the opportunity for fighting between two sides.
Fawaz: Why certain? How can you say that?
P: Certainty—based on what they were shouting, and the way they were acting. That’s the reality I could see. It’s based on what had happened in the past, and on who were there.
Fawaz: But it is possible that they had been asked to leave [the Artificial Beach] because a worse situation had risen elsewhere, isn’t it?
P: No, when the order came to leave, nobody said anything about an incident somewhere else in Male’ and to go there. If so, that command should come, I think. For example: there are some people fighting in a particular part of Male’, or doing something; that place is more important than this. Even then, the entire squad does not have to be removed, does it?
Fawaz: You spoke, at the very beginning, of crying because you couldn’t go. Probably, the other guys there must have been feeling some strange emotions too. Do you believe that it was those emotions, that anger, among the guys who couldn’t go [to Artificial Beach] that was meted out on MDP’s afternoon of 8th?
P: That day, I don’t know. I didn’t come that day. I got there at 7:00 after sunset. After all the things that happened at Republic Square, I was on duty that night too and went home only the next morning. Because I was fairly tired, I slept and didn’t wake up to any phone calls. So I returned very late.
Fawaz: Generally speaking, we hear it on the news and also other actions we see suggest it is possible S.O. works against MDP’s activities and the demonstrations MDP holds. Why is that?
P: Maybe that’s the way they see it.
Fawaz: Now, MDP’s Haruge has been destroyed. Yes?
P: Yes.
Fawaz: On the next morning, the two sides were still continuing protests at the Republic Square. Here, too, MDP people were being attacked. Even in this attack, on MDP members bodies, police were…that attack ended. On the 8th, again something similar. On the 8th, too, you ended up attacking [‘thalhaiganevunee’] MDP people who joined their protest. I don’t know if something this huge happened although 22 nights had passed [of Opposition Coalition protests]—I’m not saying some people didn’t receive some minor injuries. But, when you look at all of them, they all target MDP people directly. Why is that?
P: Those who stay calm are different than those who are violent. That’s the difference, I think.
Yasir: We very clearly saw this demonstration…no, not demonstration…police protesting [Ihuthijaaj] at Republic Square. That’s what we heard then. But most police are denying it was even a protest! There were commanders, though. Commanders were obeying commanders [sic], we know very well. We even saw some in plainclothes, too. How did orders of the commanders change then? How do you think it happened? You should know this.