Military removed MPs upon request, claims parliament secretariat
The military acted upon request to forcibly remove opposition lawmakers from the Majlis building, the parliament secretariat has said, insisting that the unprecedented action Monday afternoon was within legal bounds.
25 Jul 2017, 9:00 AM
The military acted upon request to forcibly remove opposition lawmakers from the Majlis building, the parliament secretariat has said, insisting that the unprecedented action Monday afternoon was within legal bounds.
“Upon receiving credible reports that some Honourable Members and political activists had broken through a police cordon, scaled the perimeter walls of the Majlis and engaged in unconstitutional and unlawful acts in the confines of the People’s Majlis, security forces were instructed to ensure that law and order was restored and additional measures taken to guard against further unlawful acts in the Majlis,” reads a statement issued last night.
The Maldives National Defence Force was asked to “beef up security in and around the Majlis” in response to the opposition’s call for direct action to back MPs as they sought to force a vote to impeach Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed.
The secretariat stressed that MPs were notified last week that the no-confidence motion has been “adjudged as invalid” and that no sittings or committee meetings would take place until July 31 due to “enhanced security arrangements in the capital for the Independence Day festivities”.
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