British MPs’ defence of Maldives regime stirs controversy
Three British MPs who defended President Abdulla Yameen’s regime against calls for sanctions during a government-sponsored visit to the Maldives have been accused of “deliberate manipulation of facts” by the opposition.
20 Feb 2016, 9:00 AM
Three British MPs who defended President Abdulla Yameen’s regime against calls for sanctions during a government-sponsored visit to the Maldives have been accused of “deliberate manipulation of facts” by the opposition.
Speaking to the press in Malé on Thursday, Sir David Amess, the chair of the interest group, British All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Maldives, said that the Maldives has been portrayed in a “rather unfair fashion.”
Opposition claims of 200 Maldivian militants in the Middle East and 1800 political prisoners were overblown, he said, adding that it would be “most unwise” for the UK to encourage sanctions against the Maldives.
“If there were international sanctions, it wouldn’t damage the president or his cabinet, it would damage you, the ordinary people of the Maldives.”
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