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SUBJECT Maldives army lockdown parliament, arrests MPs
DATE 2018-02-05
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The Maldivian armed forces have sealed off the tropical nation’s parliament, arresting opposition MPs.

 

 

The lockdown happened amid a worsening crisis over President Abdulla Yameen’s defiance to abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling that he should free political opponents detained for dissent.

 

 

Maldives legislators convene at the parliament building in Male (Photo: People's Majlis)
 

 

Soldiers in riot gear surrounded the parliament building in Male on Sunday, soon after the opposition petitioned the parliament to remove the nation’s attorney general and its chief prosecutor.

 

 

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the parliamentary leader of the opposition, accused the pair of breaking the law by failing to act on a Supreme Court verdict overturning “terrorism” convictions against nine dissidents, including exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed.

 

 

Meanwhile, 12 Maldivian legislators, reinstated by the country’s Supreme Court, entered parliament despite military deployment to check their entry into the building.

 

 

These MPs had been ousted for switching sides to the opposition. But with their return, President Yameen will lose his majority in the 85-member parliament, reported AP. This can result in the legislative body function as a rival power to the president.

 

 

With the secretary-general and his deputy of the parliament having resigned yesterday, the top court’s ruling has plunged the Maldives into another round of political turbulence and dealt a critical blow to the president, who is accused of corruption and rights abuses.

 

 

By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)