Maldives crisis: MPs from joint opposition thrown out of Parliament

NEW DELHI: Maldives Parliament witnessed dramatic scenes on Wednesday when military personnel threw MPS from joint out of the gates of the Parliament building.

Maldives plunged into crisis earlier this month when the Supreme Court of the country called for the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, including former President Mohamed Nasheed, ruling that their trials were politically motivated and flawed

The government refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in the capital, Male, with angry clashes between police and demonstrators.
The latest incident comes a day after military personnel blocked united opposition MPs from entering into the Parliament building.

On Saturday last week, Yameen who had declared a state of emergency in the country refused to meet senior European diplomats.

Envoys from the European Union, Germany and Britain arrived in the capital after top judges and several other dissidents were arrested this week, as Yameen appeared to gain the upper hand in a bitter power struggle.

Last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, termed the Maldives' state of emergency as an "all-out assault on democracy". The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also appealed to the Maldivian government to lift the emergency soon.

Yameen sent special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia even as New Delhi politely declined to host the Maldivian Foreign Minister.

The Maldivian capital remained tense as opposition leaders across were being rounded up and placed under detention as Yameen, who has been refusing to obey SC's orders directing him to release nine prominent leaders from prison, gave sweeping powers to the security forces.