Maldives moves to keep President Yameen in power

The Maldives government yesterday ordered police and troops to resist any move by the Supreme Court to arrest or impeach President Abdulla Yameen over his refusal to release political prisoners.

Police detained two opposition members of parliament as they returned to the country yesterday, as the political crisis in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation deepened.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said its MPs tried to stage a meeting in defiance of a weekend order suspending parliament, but were pushed back by armed troops.

Security forces have been deployed inside the parliament since March last year when Mr Yameen ordered them to evict dissident MPs.

The president’s crackdown on dissent has tarnished the Maldives’ image as an upmarket holiday paradise and sparked calls from the United Nations and several countries to restore the rule of law.

The Supreme Court last week ordered the authorities to release nine political dissidents and restore the seats of 12 legislators who had been sacked for defecting from Mr Yameen’s party, ruling the cases were politically motivated. But the government has so far refused to comply, resisting international pressure to respect the decision.

In a national television address yesterday, Attorney General Mohamed Anil was defiant. “Any Supreme Court order to arrest the president would be unconstitutional and illegal,” he said. “So I have asked the police and the army not to implement any unconstitutional order.”

The Supreme Court reinstatement of the dozen MPs gave the opposition a majority in the 85-member assembly, putting it in a position to impeach Mr Yameen.

But authorities shut parliament indefinitely on Saturday to prevent such a move and Mr Yameen sacked two police chiefs after the court decision.

Atul Keshap, the US ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, has led international criticism of the government’s refusal to respect court orders.

“What security risk prevents the #Maldives #Majlis from meeting tomorrow? Why are MPs pepper sprayed in the streets and arrested on arrival at airport?” he tweeted.

Exiled former president and opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed described the government’s refusal to obey the supreme court as a coup.

Nasheed, who was convicted on a terrorism charge and jailed for 13 years in 2015, urged police and troops to uphold the constitution.

“Statements made today by AG Anil ... to disobey SC orders is tantamount to a coup. They, and President Yameen must resign immediately,” he tweeted on Sunday.

“Security services must uphold the constitution and serve the Maldivian people.”

The country’s first democratically elected leader, Nasheed was toppled in 2012 and barred from contesting elections after his 2015 terrorism conviction, which was internationally criticised as politically motivated. He has been in exile since 2016, when he left on prison leave for medical treatment. He is currently in Colombo, meeting Maldivian dissidents.

Why are MPs pepper sprayed in the streets and arrested on arrival at airport? ATUL KESHAP US ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives