The United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) have become the latest to join the chorus of international scrutiny Maldives has been facing since the censure motion against the parliament speaker Abdullah Maseeh.
In response to a question regarding the situation in the Maldives during the noon briefing on Friday, Stephane Dujarric – the spokesperson for secretary-general Antonio Guterres – urged Maldives to uphold democracy and human rights and said that the it is closely monitoring the situation in the Maldives.
He urged the national authorities to uphold the necessary conditions of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, in line with the country’s constitution.
Further, Duharric had reiterated the call for all political stakeholders to find common solutions through an inclusive dialogue process.
Meanwhile, the EU also released a joint statement on Saturday, in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission and the Ambassadors of Canada, Norway, Switzerland the United States on Saturday where they had all echoed the call to find political common-ground amongst the ruling parties and the opposition.
In EU’s joint statement, they had also stated that a legitimate opposition is a vital part of any healthy democracy, and that opposition politicians should be able to conduct their activities without fear of intimidation of incarceration.
“It is critical for democracy in the Maldives that the government respect fundamental freedoms, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech,” the statement read. “We will continue to monitor the respect for these freedoms, including in the run-up of the local council elections.”
While the UN and EU has urged Maldives to uphold democratic principles, and to respect the opposition, the German Embassy in Sri Lanka, on Friday had also released a statement raising similar concerns.
The German Embassy highlighted the “erosion of democracy” in the Maldives, and raised concerns about the censure motion against the parliament speaker that was voted on March 27th.
The statement also said that the news about the harassment of opposition politicians are “disturbing” and in contradiction to the democratic standards.
They had also stated that it was “disturbing” to hear the news about the ensuing harassment of opposition politicians and that it is “contrary to democratic standards.”
Regarding the censure motion, the German Embassy commented saying that the vote “clearly violated the rules of procedure of the parliament.”
The Foreign Ministry of the Maldives, in response to the international outcry, maintains that the censure motion against Maseeh was “free, fair and transparent.”
