6th May 2011, Colombo, Sri Lanka, The Government of Maldives welcomes freedom of expression and lawful assembly in the country, but will not tolerate violence and destruction of public and private property, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H. E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem.
Speaking to the members of the diplomatic corps and the media in Colombo, Minister Naseem stated that the government welcomed the opposition to open dialogue and noted that it is unfortunate that instead of working constructively with the government and engaging in productive discussions, the opposition is opting to create unrest and destruction to public property in the highly congested central areas of Male'.
The Minister said there were indications that the current demonstrations was a leadership fight between the two factions of the opposition DRP where Z-DRP, the recently separated faction led by former President Gayoom, was trying to muster support over its supporters and instead of holding democratic by-elections to determine the leadership within DRP, Gayoom recently declared his own faction and has opted to sort the issue of leadership out on the streets.
Mr. Naseem who is currently in Sri Lanka on an official visit, to brief the country's development partners on the Maldives' Foreign Policy and the development projects, took the opportunity to brief the international community and the media on the current political and economic situation in the Maldives. The Minister invited the international media to visit the Maldives to witness firsthand the events that were taking place in the capital.
Responding to a question by the media on the UN Panel report on Sri Lanka's accountability released last month, Minister Naseem noted that Sri Lanka was undergoing a sensitive process of entrenching peace and reconciliation in the country.
"The focus should now be on how the country can move forward. Sri Lanka is genuine in its wish to improve human rights for all, and the Maldives will fully support Sri Lanka's efforts to engage constructively with the international human rights system. Thus, as we move forward with this engagement, we ask that key international partners give Sri Lanka space to take forward the steps that it needs to take."
Additional Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Hussain Niyaaz who accompanied the Minister briefed the Group on the status of the pledges and development projects in the Maldives, following the Maldives Donor Conference in 2010. Minister Naseem also thanked Maldives' development partners for their continued assistance for its projects.
ENDS