While welcoming the revocation of the State of Emergency in Maldives, India on Thursday said that a number of concerns expressed by the international community still remain to be addressed.
In a statement, the Government said lifting of Emergency is one step towards addressing the issues related to the prevailing political situation in that country. “We, therefore, call upon the Government of the Maldives to restore all Articles of the Constitution, to allow the Supreme Court and other branches of the judiciary to operate in full independence, to promote and support the free and proper functioning of Parliament, to implement the Supreme Court’s Full Bench order of 1 February 2018 and to support a genuine political dialogue with all opposition parties. It is important for the Government of the Maldives to ensure credible restoration of the political process, as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year,” Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
It added that as a neighbour whose security is closely intertwined with that of the Maldives, India wishes to see a stable, peaceful and prosperous Maldives that meets the aspiration of its citizens.
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Thursday lifted Emergency in Male. In a statement his office said the State of Emergency was precipitated by a “Constitutional Crisis created by two Justices of the Supreme Court who conspired with political actors to violate both the Constitution and standard legal norms and practices in order to illegally overthrow a lawful Government, and whose actions constituted an imminent threat to national security.” The State of Emergency was annulled after a period of 45 days. It further added that the Maldives Police has made progress into investigations of corruption and other crimes relating to the Rs Constitutional Crisis’.
The statement added that Emergency has been removed to promote normalcy despite a Rs diminished threat to the national security’. During the Emergency, Maldives security forces arrested former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, two Supreme Court judges and a top judicial administrator on charges of trying to topple the government. All four were charged with terrorism on Wednesday and a Male court ordered they be held until the end of their trials.