UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged the government in the Maldives to lift a blockade of parliament where troops have barred the opposition from taking their seats. Guterres called on the government to uphold free speech, the right of assembly and “refrain from all acts that result in the harassment and intimidation of members … Read more
The Maldivian government Tuesday defended its controversial deployment of troops to block opposition legislators entering parliament, saying the move was part of security measures undertaken for a visiting dignitary. On Monday President Abdulla Yameen ordered troops to evict legislators and prevent the impeachment of his speaker, the opposition said, in the latest turmoil in the … Read more
The Maldives arrested one of the few vocal dissidents still in the country on Thursday, a day after facing censure at the UN Human Rights Council, the main opposition said. Police seized Adam Azim, the brother of jailed former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, in a pre-dawn swoop on his home in the capital island Male. … Read more
Maldives opposition parties said on Monday they would launch a fresh bid to seize control of parliament by impeaching the speaker, weeks after their first attempt failed when the president called in troops to evict lawmakers. A coalition of opposition parties said it had submitted a no-confidence motion on Sunday with the support of 31 … Read more
The Saudi king has cancelled a scheduled visit to the politically-troubled atoll nation of the Maldives because of an outbreak of swine flu in its capital, the government in Male announced Friday. The Maldives was to be the final stop in the monarch’s ongoing Asian tour that has already taken him to Malaysia, Indonesia, China … Read more
The Maldives government on Wednesday denied it was selling a cluster of small islands to Saudi Arabia, following opposition protests against such a deal, but said it was seeking foreign investment to develop the area. The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had accused the government of President Abdulla Yameen of ceding control of the inhabited … Read more