The Government of Maldives’ decisions are made in the best interest of the Maldivian people

March 22, 2018

The Government of Maldives takes note of the Press Release issued by the Government of India on 22 March 2018, following the lifting of the State of Emergency in the Maldives.

The State of Emergency was declared in order to protect peace in the country and well-being of all citizens, following the events that unfolded in relation to the Supreme Court Order No. 2018/SC-SJ/01, issued on 1 February 2018; which resulted in; the disruption of the functions of the executive power and the State institutions vested with specific mandates under the Constitution, the infringement of national security and public interest, and if implemented, would have potentially lead to an undermining of the supremacy of the Constitution of the Maldives. The Government of Maldives places utmost importance to uphold the rule of law, and therefore, the Constitution is being upheld both in letter and in spirit.

Following the lifting of the State of Emergency, all constitutional rights have been restored and all aspects of life have returned to normalcy. The Government of Maldives assures the Maldivian people and the international community that the Government of Maldives’ decisions are, and will continue to be made, in the best interest of the Maldivian people.

Further, the Government also wishes to note that it has no legal mandate to implement the Supreme Court Order of 1 February 2018, since the Supreme Court, by its Court Order no 2018/SC-SJ/03, issued on 6 February 2018, nullified the Court Order of 1 February 2018. Other parts of it were suspended by its Court Order No 2018/SC-VA-J/01 issued on 18 February 2018.

The Government of Maldives has repeatedly stressed the importance of dialogue to find mutually beneficial solutions to political differences amongst the stakeholders, and to this effect, the Government has, to date issued several invitations to the political parties in the country, requesting their participation in All-Party-Talks.

The Government of Maldives firmly believes that the recent political developments is an internal political matter and therefore should remain as a matter to be resolved internally.

Furthermore, the Government of Maldives wishes to reiterate that public statements made without genuine regard to facts and ground realities of the situation in the Maldives are not helpful at all to ensure a stable, peaceful and prosperous Maldives that meets the aspirations of its citizens.

ENDS