After arriving from his recent visit to Florida to accept the ‘Sylvia Earle Blue Mission’ award, Nasheed told reporters that said lack of appropriate investigation is indicative of the Maldivian government being strong armed by local gangs. “We see the government’s authority diminishing” Nasheed said “Violent crimes have increased exponentially, so much so that civilians have begun fearing for their lives”. “We don’t see any of this being investigated” he continued. The former President’s statement is consistent with his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s response to Home Minister Umar Naseer’s ‘irresponsible’ comments about Minivan News’ missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan. At a press conference last week, Umar Naseer told reporters that the only way for authorities to be sure of what happened to the 28-year-old journalist is to question him ‘when he’s found’. According to MDP, this contradicts Naseer’s previous comments about how Rilwan’s disappearance is connected to local gangs. Also in response to a reporter’s question about local journalists and politicians receiving threats via SMS, Naseer said that none of the recipients were fazed by the threats. "While Umar Naseer had made a joke out of the death threats sent to high profile members of the public, he is surrounded by bodyguards hired by the state and paid with tax-money” MDP’s statement read “It was also Umar Naseer that had requested that he be issued a licensed firearm for his safety”. “The irresponsible comments, especially during a time when the safety and stability of this country has been compromised and while he’s in a position that obliges him to maintain said safety and stability, reflect on his incompetence and failure” the statement continued.