Maldives crisis Live Updates: Maldivian police officers detain an opposition protestor demanding the release of political prisoners during a protest in Male, Maldives, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. Supporters of political parties that oppose the Maldives government have clashed with police on the streets of the capital after the country’s supreme court ordered the release of imprisoned politicians. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sharuhaan)
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Tuesday said the emergency decree is to investigate “this plot, this coup” of Supreme Court ruling, reported AP. The president’s statement comes hours after former president Mohamed Nasheed urged India to send its envoy, backed by military, to secure the release of all political detainees and judges. He also asked the US to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks. Earlier today, Maldives opposition leader and two Supreme Court judges were arrested early Tuesday hours after the government declared an emergency in the Indian Ocean nation that has been increasingly in turmoil in the days since the court ordered several jailed politicians to be freed.
The charges against opposition leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom include bribery and attempting to overthrow the government, his lawyer, Maumoon Hameed, said on Twitter. Gayoom was president from 1978 to 2008, when Maldives became a multiparty democracy, and is the half-brother of the current president, under whose rule the archipelago has lost many of its democratic gains.
Maldives president said today the emergency decree is to investigate "this plot, this coup" of Supreme Court ruling, reported AP.
Tourism is the Maldives' biggest industry. It accounts for around a fifth of the GDP and generates billions of dollars every year in revenue. Around 1.4 million people visited the Indian Ocean archipelago last year. China is the number-one source of tourists for the Maldives. Chinese tourists constitute about 30 per cent of the Maldives tourist arrivals.
China today asked its citizens to cancel their plans after an emergency was declared by embattled President Abdulla Yameen in the island nation whose economy relies heavily on Chinese tourists. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang upgraded the travel alert, saying they should cancel their plans in view of spiralling political crisis there.
US State Department spokesperson said: "He has jailed or exiled every major opposition political figure, deprived elected MPs of their right to represent their voters in the legislature, revised laws to erode human rights, especially freedom of expression, and weakened the institutions of government by firing officials who refuse orders that run contrary to Maldivian law and its Constitution," Heather Nauert said.
"This deliberate refusal by the government to uphold the Constitution further destabilises the Maldives and wider Indian Ocean security," Nasheed said.
In a post on Twitter, Mohamed Nasheed wrote: On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request: 1. India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges & pol. detainees inc. Prez. Gayoom. We request a physical presence. 2. The US to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks.
The US strongly criticised the emergency decree, which State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said also imposes travel restrictions. Yameen has "systematically alienated his coalition, jailed or exiled every major opposition political figure" since his election in 2013, Nauert said.
In a statement issued after the state of emergency was announced on state television, Yameen said "though certain rights will be restricted, general movements, services and businesses will not be affected.''
The 15-day emergency decree issued late Monday gives the government sweeping powers to make arrests, search and seize property and restricts freedom of assembly, officials told AP.
India expressed concern over the “recent political developments” in the Maldives and asked Indians to defer all non-essential travels to the Indian Ocean nation until further notice. In an advisory, the MEA said Indian expatriates in Maldives were being alerted to the need for heightened security awareness, exercise due caution in public and to avoid public gatherings. “The prevailing political developments in Maldives and the resultant law and order situation is a matter of concern for the government. Indian nationals are, therefore, advised to defer all non-essential travels to Male and other atolls until further notice,” the advisory said. READ FULL STORY