Ex-President Maumoon accuses state of threatening 'foreign leaders'
20 ޑިސެމްބަރު 2017 | ބުދަ 11:46Former President Maumoon said that the Maldives is a 'failing state'
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom speaking to the press after his arrival from Bangalore, India, earlier this years
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has described the current administration as a ‘failed state’ and accused it of threatening the international community.
Maumoon said in a post on his Twitter account that ‘threatening foreign leaders and ambassadors’ would not help sustain a state that is failing.
This post comes a week after the government announced that local councils in the atolls and outer lying islands need prior permission before speaking with any representatives of any foreign diplomatic service or organizations.
The decision has been heavily criticized by the joint opposition, with the Maldivian Democratic Party releasing a statement condemning it and describing it as ‘attempt at centralizing power’, and violated.
The entirety of the Gaafu Alifu Atoll council had been suspended after they met with Indian ambassador Akhilesh Mishra, and Malé City council, which has a majority of members aligned with the opposition, met with United Nations officials.
UK Ambassador James Dauris, who was in Thinadhoo island when the decision was made, had described it as the ‘latest unfortunate step in the Maldives’.
US Ambassador Atul Keshap had since soon called it a restriction of 'democratic values and trasparency'.
