Opposition asks UN Secretary-General to mediate ‘all-party’ dialogue

The allied opposition parties have asked Secretary-General António Guterres to mediate dialogue between them and the government, in order to ensure credibility.

The opposition announced this in a statement on Thursday, though they had not specifically named Secretary-General Guterres, but the authority of his office.

At a press conference earlier, the opposition had also denounced the government’s call for inclusive dialogue, calling it a move to delude the international community.

A panel of parliamentarian-level representatives from the Maldivian Democratic Party, Jumhooree Party, and the Adhaalath Party said that they do not believe an environment conducive to constructive dialogue is present in the country at the time.

A statement released by the Maldivian Democratic Party, also on Thursday, says that they believe only ‘internationally mediated’ talks are acceptable.

A translation of it appears on the party’s website, where the party refers to themselves collectively as the ‘Joint Opposition’, and puts forth for conditions that must be met before such an environment can be guaranteed.

• To enforce the Supreme Court ruling of 1st February, issued unanimously by a full bench of judges.
• To release Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed, who were arrested on the night of February 5th, after the state of emergency currently in action was declared.
• Toelease President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, MP Faris Maumoon, MP Abdulla Sinan, MP Ilham Ahmed, and their families, including Mohamed Nadheem and Siyad Qasim, and all others detained as part the ‘government’s purge of the opposition’.
• To withdraw the military from parliament, and allow it function.

The party further described the government’s call for dialogue as an attempt to ‘buy time’ in order to ‘consolidate his illegal grip’ on the state.

The United Nations has been vocal about its discontentment with the ongoing state of emergency, and has been part of the international chorus of concern over Maldives' political conflict.

The UN Security Council has been briefed on two occasions now; on the arrest of Supreme Court justices and on the treatment of detainees and the obstruction of their rights.