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.

Emergency in Maldives extended by 30 days as key panel backs Prez Yameen

The state of emergency in the trouble-torn Maldives was today extended by 30 days after the a key parliamentary committee approved President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's request, a media report said, allowing him to reinforce his power in the picturesque Indian Ocean island nation.

During an extraordinary meeting of the The National Security Committee of the People's Majlis, approval was given to the Decree for State of Emergency submitted to the People's Majlis (Parliament) by President Yameen, the Sun online reported.

Deputy Speaker of People's Majlis, MP Moosa Manik confirmed the decree was approved by the Committee during its meeting today held behind closed doors.
The Committee approved the decree, and well as the request for a 30-day extension to the State of Emergency, the report said.

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: Oppn says military locked down parliament on govt's orders

The Maldivian opposition said that the military locked down parliament today on the orders of the country's president in a bid to prevent lawmakers from taking part in a vote to impeach the parliamentary speaker.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said that on the orders of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the gates of the parliament were padlocked by members of the armed forces this morning and lawmakers "were forcibly prevented from entering the parliamentary compound."

In a statement, the opposition party called Yameen's action "desperate, illegal and unconstitutional."

There was no immediate comment from the government. The government spokesmen could not be reached by telephone.

A no-confidence motion against Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed was scheduled to be taken up today.

The opposition says the motion has gained the support of 45 lawmakers in the 85-member house. However, an uncertainty arose when the election commission announced last week that the four members who supported the motion had lost their seats because they left the ruling party.
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