Maldives praises Rajapaksa’s role in ending political stand-off

Maldiveson Friday praised the role of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for helping end a stand-off between the government and the opposition-led parliament that had forced the Cabinet to resign en masse on June 29.

 

 

The ministers were reappointed as Rajapaksa undertook a one-day goodwill visit to Maldiveson July 7 to help mediate in the political crisis.

 

 

“We thank Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and also the role played by diplomats from other countries in overcoming the stalemate. A way was found to commence negotiations on the political crisis,” Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed told reporters here.

 

 

A high-level Maldivian delegation comprising cabinet ministers and other top officials is in Sri Lankato assure the large Maldivespopulation of stability in the country, which is undergoing a difficult transition to democracy after decades of autocratic rule.

 

 

President Mohamed Nasheed 13-member cabinet quit last week saying the parliament was blocking all its efforts to govern the nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims.

 

 

The cabinet ministers submitted their resignation late last month protesting against constant intervention by some Opposition members in Parliament that had made their functioning difficult.

 

 

During his visit, Rajapaksa met his counterpart Nasheed, Opposition leader Ahamed Thasmeen Ali, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the Majilis and Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

 

 

Besides holding meetings with leaders of various political parties, Rajapaksa also met some of the leading members of the business community in the country.

 

 

“President Rajapaksa engaged in this initiative as a friend and a neighbour of the Maldiveswho offered his assistance, in accordance with the wishes of the Government and the Opposition of the Maldivesin initiating a dialogue to resolve the current crisis,” a joint statement by the Maldivesand Sri Lankan government said.

 

 

The government and the opposition agreed, in the presence of President Rajapaksa, to constitute a committee of six members of the parliament to address the political problem in Maldives, which is 800 kilometres southwest of Sri Lankain the Indian Ocean.

 

 

The panel would commence and carry forward a dialogue addressing such pressing issues as the appointment of Cabinet ministers and the smooth functioning of the legislative process.

 

 

Under the Maldives’ system of government, the president handpicks his cabinet and each name must be approved by parliament, which can later seek to remove a minister through a no-confidence vote.

 

 

The cabinet had resigned to pre-empt a move by the opposition in the parliament to move a no-confidence motion against the education minister.

 

 

Nasheed was elected in October 2008 for a five-year term while the parliament was elected in May 2009, also for a five-year term.

 

 

The government in Maldives has charged some “fringe” Opposition members of trying disrupt the work of the government as they were opposed to a large-scale privatization measures proposed by the President.

 

 

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party has only 32 seats in the country’s 77-member Parliament. The opposition coalition led by DRP has 36 seats. Others are independent members.

 

 

In reply to a query on foreign intervention to resolve its domestic crisis, Shaheed said his country’s democracy was at a nascent stage after nearly 30 years of dictatorship.

 

 

“We resolve the domestic problems ourselves but take suggestions from friendly nations in this regard,” he said. – (PTI)