Dunya Maumoon shares concerns reg. father with UN; says Maldives is counting on UN to resolve the current crisis
Dunya met with Shoko Noda, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Maldives, on Wednesday
Dunya Maumoon
Former Foreign Minister and current state minister at the Health Ministry, Dunya Maumoon has shared concerns over the detainment of her father, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, with the United Nations.
In a tweet posted on Wednesday, Dunya said that it was ‘good to share’ her concerns regarding her father and ‘other detainees’ with Shoko Noda, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Maldives.
“Counting on the support of the United Nations in resolving the current crisis in Maldives,” said Dunya, adding that the Maldives values “the partnership and support for [the] development of our country”.
Former President Maumoon has been in police custody since February 5th, the same day a state of emergency was declared in the Maldives. In addition, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed were taken into custody that day as well.
Maumoon’s half-brother, incumbent President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency after refusing to implement a Supreme Court order releasing nine high-profile prisoners.
Dunya had previously shared her concerns regarding the detainees with the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) as well.
In addition to her father, Dunya’s brother, Dhiggaru constituency MP Ahmed Faris Maumoon, and brother-in-law Mohamed Nadheem are currently in police custody.
Following the criticism, she received for opting to stay with the government despite her father’s arrest, Dunya had responded that she is ready “to walk away today,” adding that she had done so before as well. Dunya resigned as the current administration’s foreign minister in July 2016, following a fall out between her father and uncle. While her father officially withdrew support for Yameen’s administration in October 2016, Dunya returned to the government as a state minister in early 2017.
On February 12 she announced that she had taken leave from the Health Ministry, however, is yet to ‘walk away’.
