Police on Wednesday raided the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) main camp in the capital Male over allegations of a planned protest against Saudi Arabia King, slated to make a state visit early this month.
According to the warrant, the court had sanctioned the police to search the camp over "a plan to impede a head of state's upcoming visit to the archipelago."
MDP said the police had confiscated a large quantity of material used to make banners and had attempted to seize the sound system at the camp before leaving after a nearly two hour search.
The party's secretary general Anas Abdul Sattar however, denied any move to protest against King Salman bin AbduAziz who is slated to arrive in the Maldives as part of his ongoing tour of Asia.
Sattar insisted that the banner material was to be used in its campaign for the upcoming local council elections slated for April, condemning the politically motivated search.
The search comes in the wake of opposition concerns over the announcement of Saudi led mega project in Faafu Atoll, with MDP spearheading accusations that the government were planning to sell the entire Atoll to the Saudi royal family.
President Yameen earlier Wednesday had vehemently denied the allegations adding that the staggering USD10 billion project would put the Maldives "on the map."
President Yameen had last month revealed that the Saudi government was looking to implement a 'mega' project in Faafu Atoll which would be initiated soon.
He had also said top officials of the present Saudi government are looking to establish an 'economic city' in Faafu Atoll that would be open to the entire world.
During an event to welcome over 600 members to the ruling party on Wednesday, president Yameen for the first time responded to the controversy, he revealed that the project worth more than USD10 billion would put Maldives on the map.
The President pointed out that the mega project would end the country's dependency on tourism and turn its economy to an unprecedented direction.
He highlighted the French Riviera on the Mediterranean coastline in the South East corner of France as an example for the future of F. Atoll.
President Yameen also responded to concerns of lack of transparency over the project, by insisting that the government is unable to reveal details of the deal with the Saudis as the project was still under negotiation.
"No one needs to rush to get the details. We are still negotiating the details of the project. So once we reach an agreement we would reveal all the details to the public. But we cannot do it now. We need to keep the negotiations under wraps for now because this is such a significant investment for us," president stressed. The President vowed to release the complete details of the detail as soon as all the details have been completely finalised.
