Maldives row: 3 opposition MPs detained, anti govt protest intensifies

Protests against President Yameen has intensified in capital Male and other cities, as joint opposition continues to maintain pressure on the government to implement the Supreme Court ruling of February 1.

Police has arrested three more Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday, including Abdulla Shahid, Abdullah Riyaz and Abdulla Latheef. So far, six opposition MPs have been arrested by the police.

Speaking to ANI, Ali Zahir, Dy leader of Adhalat Party blamed President Yameen for the prevailing unrest in the country, "For sure this is direct instruction from him. President Yameen and his government must be treated as a dictator by international community".

Police allegedly targeted family members of the jailed political leaders and brutally handled and pepper sprayed at close range.

Maldives row: 3 opposition MPs detained, anti govt protest intensifies

Protests against President Yameen has intensified in capital Male and other cities, as joint opposition continues to maintain pressure on the government to implement the Supreme Court ruling of February 1.

Police has arrested three more Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday, including Abdulla Shahid, Abdullah Riyaz and Abdulla Latheef. So far, six opposition MPs have been arrested by the police.

Speaking to ANI, Ali Zahir, Dy leader of Adhalat Party blamed President Yameen for the prevailing unrest in the country, "For sure this is direct instruction from him. President Yameen and his government must be treated as a dictator by international community".

Police allegedly targeted family members of the jailed political leaders and brutally handled and pepper sprayed at close range.

Maldives crisis: President Yameen refuses UN General-Secy's mediation offer

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has turned down UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' offer to mediate between him and the opposition in the ongoing political crisis, Guterres's Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

"He offered to the President (Yameen) UN mediation but the President conveyed that mediation was not wanted at this stage," Haq said on Wednesday.

Asked about Maldives extending the state of emergency that was set to expire on Wednesday for another 30 days, he said: "The Secretary-General is following the situation in the Maldives closely and with concern."

The crisis in the island nation began on February 1 when the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the terrorism conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed as well as that of eight other politicians on several charges.

Maldives crisis: Emergency decree 'illegal and void', says joint Opposition

The state of emergency decree passed by the Maldivian parliament is illegal, said the Joint Opposition on Tuesday.

The opposition alleged that the Speaker bypassed the constitution to pass the emergency decree in the parliament.

"President Abdulla Yameen failed to muster the required number of votes to pass his emergency legislation. And, so Yameen has ratified and extended the emergency illegally. This state of emergency is illegal and void.

All acts undertaken with emergency powers are illegal. By entirely circumventing the constitution, President Yameen has, in effect, hijacked the entire state and is ruling the Maldives like a military dictator," Parliamentary group leader of the Joint Opposition, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said.

In a statement, joint Maldivian opposition said, "Article 87b of the constitution stated that 43 MPs (out of 85 MPs) should be present in the parliament during voting on a matter of public compliance. Hence, a state of emergency was a matter of public compliance."

Maldives Parliament extends emergency by 30 days; 'disappointed', says US

Maldives parliament approves extension of state of emergency by 30 days
Parliament in the Maldives on Tuesday approved a 30-day extension of a state of emergency sought by President Abdulla Yameen who cited an ongoing national security threat and constitutional crisis.
Countries including the United States, India and Canada along with the United Nations have urged Yameen to lift the emergency and restore normalcy.

Tour operators say hundreds of hotel bookings have been cancelled daily since the 15-day emergency was imposed on Feb 5 despite government assurances that all is normal in the resort islands, which are far from the capital.

Yameen imposed the emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders and ordered his government to free those held in prison.
The emergency "shall only apply to those alleged to have carried out illegal activities, it shall not apply to otherwise law abiding residents of, or visitors to, the Maldives," a statement from Yameen's office said on Tuesday.

Does BJP's polarising politics weaken India's strategic edge in Maldives?

The Narendra Modi government is currently experiencing a near-perfect storm of domestic and foreign policy setbacks. The ruling BJP has been drubbed in recent parliamentary bypolls in Rajasthan after an underwhelming result in Gujarat elections. The economy continues to struggle with the effects of demonetisation and GST, global fuel prices are high, the stock market is wobbly, the Union budget disappointed even BJP’s supporters and remarks by Modi that making pakodas (fritters) constituted gainful employment for citizens has become a source of mirth and anger.

The foreign affairs scene is not comforting either. China is reinforcing its military presence near Doklam, belying claims that India had “won” the standoff last year, Beijing is negotiating a military base in Afghanistan, and a Chinese company has formally signed the lease for the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka while experts say that Delhi has lost “all its leverage” in Nepal.

Maldives crisis: US asks President Yameen to ensure 'rule of law'

The United States on Thursday called on Maldives President Abdulla Yameen to ensure the proper functioning of the Parliament and restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions in the country.

"The US calls on President Yameen, the army, and police to comply with the rule of law, implement the Supreme Court's lawful ruling, ensure the full and proper functioning of the Parliament, and restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions of Maldives," a State Department spokesperson told PTI.

He was responding to questions on the current situation in Maldives.
The spokesperson, however, did not weigh in on former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed seeking military intervention from India.

Maldives: UN censures govt; SC crawls when asked to bend; India disturbed

The Maldives' Supreme Court late Tuesday revoked its order to release nine political dissidents, including self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

Amid the ongoing political crisis in the island nation, the Supreme Court on February 1 ordered the immediate release of the nine political leaders and also prohibited the judicial watchdog from probing any case against the top court bench.

The latest development has taken place after President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency in the country on Monday, giving sweeping powers to security forces in the country, which is reeling under political turmoil under the present dispensation.

Maldives Army occupies Parliament to block no-trust vote

The Maldives military locked down the nations Parliament on Tuesday in what opposition lawmakers said was an attempt to block a motion to impeach the Speaker of the House.

Imthiyaz Fahmy, of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), tweeted a video of what he said were security forces in plain clothes blocking representatives from entering the chamber, the Guardian reported.

Another lawmaker from the MDP, Eva Abdulla, said MPs were eventually allowed in but said that Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed was also surrounded by soldiers.

A close ally of President Abdulla Yameen, Mohamed opened the session and then immediately closed it before MPs were able to vote on the no-confidence motion, she said.

"The session was over in five minutes," she said by phone. Lawmakers said they raised the motion against the Speaker after he repeatedly refused parliamentary requests to scrutinise the government.
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