Nazim, who played a key role in maintaining order among the security forces after clashes between the armed forces and police, talking to “7 February” program on DhiTV said that a commander in chief addressing the security forces in improper language was unacceptable and that Nasheed had lost the respect of the officers due to his actions. “I would say that it would be a real challenge for him to regain even the slightest bit of trust from the forces. The reason is because of his actions. From what I hear, he had spoken to some high ranking officers using very inappropriate lingo, which would be hard for them to forget. This is why I believe that it is highly unlikely for him to regain their trust.” Nazim said. He said that Nasheed had very much lost control of the forces within his three year term because of the continued issue of illegal orders by him and had blatant “neglect” of the security forces. Nazim, who had served in the army for over 20 years, said that “the discipline of the forces had deteriorated due to the illegal orders issued to individual officers of varying ranks”. He also added that Nasheed’s administration had misused the police forces by allowing political influence to creep into the two institutions and that now it has become a real challenge to keep the forces away from politics and to restore discipline. He said that on the eve of Nasheed’s resignation, police were ordered to back down from the artificial beach area on purpose, to allow violence and conflict to erupt between the opposition supporters and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists gathered in the area. “Such inhumane orders issued to the police and armed forces could no longer be tolerated by the officers, I believe that this is what lead them to disobey orders and gather at the Republic Square.” “I do not know who were giving out orders but I’m confident that a proper investigation would reveal those behind it.” When asked if the transition was a coup, Nazim replied by saying that it was “gift from Allah” and that there was no room to label the transfer of power as a “coup”. “I see this as a victory for us, it was not preplanned and it all unfolded without realization. I would say that one thing led to another and the president (Nasheed) brought it upon himself. I believe that he resigned on his own without any duress and that it is a victory for Maldivians and the righteous.” Nazim said. Nazim also said that he did not get the opportunity to meet with Nasheed inside the army headquarters and that the he was let in to the base upon orders from the former defence minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu. He further stated that he had only met with Tholhath and had been unaware of the events that unfolded inside the army head quarters. He said that at first the officers were making very few demands, but they had failed to meet them including an audience with former police commissioner Ahmed Faseeh. At that time we saw that he had full control over the forces. Nazim said that if conflicts erupted between police and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), it would have ended in a blood bath, which is the reason why he had gone out there to prevent such a tragedy. He added that on the day of Nasheed’s resignation, he (ex-President Nasheed) had issued orders to individual officers, resulting in the loss of control over the entire forces. He also said that since his first day in office as Defence minister, his first priority was to restore the professionalism of the officers and to separate them from political influence. “I want to assure the people that the armed forces will continue to serve our nation with dignity and professionalism.” Nazim said.