MALE, Maldives: The Maldives government has declared a 15-day state of emergency amid a deepening political crisis between the president and the judiciary over its order to release a group of imprisoned opposition leaders.
Legal Affairs Minister Azima Shakoor announced the state of emergency on state television Monday evening.
A surprise ruling last week by the Supreme Court directing the release of the opposition leaders has led to a tense standoff between President Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the Supreme Court, with protests spilling into the streets of the capital, Male, and soldiers in riot gear deployed to the parliament building to stop lawmakers from meeting.
A former president is among those ordered freed by the court after trials criticized for flawed due process.
Shakoor said earlier Monday that the government doesn’t believe that the court order can be enforced.
Maldives became a multiparty democracy 10 years ago after decades of autocratic rule, but lost many of the democratic gains after Yameen was elected in 2013.
The political crisis in the Maldives has deepened as the president of the island nation said the Supreme Court had overstepped its authority in ordering the release of a group of imprisoned opposition leaders.
The surprise judicial ruling last week has led to an increasingly tense standoff between President Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the Supreme Court, with protests spilling into the streets of the capital, Male, and soldiers in riot gear deployed to the parliament building to stop lawmakers from meeting.
Yameen, in a letter to the court released by his office, said the order had encroached on the powers of the state and was an “infringement of national security and public interest.” He urged the court to “review the concerns” of the government.
Maldives government declares state of emergency
Maldives government declares state of emergency
South Korea calls for resuming dialogue with North
- President Lee Jae Myung has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North since taking office in June
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Sunday for dialogue with North Korea to resume, after Pyongyang last week shunned the prospect of diplomacy with its neighbor.
Since taking office in June, a dovish Lee has sought to mend ties with the nuclear-armed North, which reaffirmed its anti-Seoul approach during a party meeting last week.
“As my administration has repeatedly made clear, we respect the North’s system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts, nor pursue any form of unification by absorption,” Lee said in a speech marking the anniversary of a historical campaign against Japan’s colonial rule.
“We will also continue our efforts to resume dialogue with the North,” he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, describing its overtures as “clumsy, deceptive farce and a poor work.”
Speaking at the party congress in Pyongyang, Kim said North Korea has “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots.”
But he also said the North could “get along well” with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status.
Speculation has mounted over whether US President Donald Trump will seek a meeting with Kim during planned travels to China.
Last year, Trump said he was “100 percent” open to a meeting.
Previous Trump-Kim summits during the US president’s first term fell apart after the pair failed to agree over sanctions relief — and what nuclear concessions North Korea might make in return.
