‘Deeply dismayed’ over extension of Emergency in Maldives: India
NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday said it was “deeply dismayed” by the extension of Emergency in neighbouring Maldives by 30 days.
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. (AFP Photo)
It also expressed concern over the “manner” in which the extension was approved by the island nation’s Majlis (Parliament) “in contravention of the Constitution of Maldives.”
“It is important to ensure that all democratic institutions are allowed to function in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with the Constitution,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) added in a statement.
Maldives on Tuesday extended the state of Emergency by 30 days, in the presence of only 38 MPs, despite the requirement that 43 MPs be present during voting.
Emergency will now end on March 22.
India had yesterday voiced its expectation that the Emergency declared by Maldives on February 5 will not be extended, hours before it was supposed to expire.
It had stressed that the island nation needed to resume normalcy so that “the political process in Maldives can resume with immediate effect.”
“It is important that Maldives quickly returns to the path of democracy and the rule of law so that the aspirations of Maldivian people are met and the concerns of the international community are assuaged,” the MEA had said in a statement.
It had also called for the February 1 order of the Maldivian Supreme Court – which overturned the convictions of political prisoners, including that of its exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed, and reinstated 12 MPs ousted for switching allegiance to the opposition – to “be implemented in letter and spirit.”