President Waheed will not hold talks with Nasheed “as long as MDP protests continue”
17 Jul 2012, 12:14 AM
Zaheena Rasheed
President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan will not participate in the All-Party talks while the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) continues to back on going street protests in the capital, the President’s Office has said.
The talks were conceived as one of two internationally-backed mechanisms – alongside the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) – to resolve the political deadlock in the Maldives following the controversial transfer of power on February 7. The Convenor of the All-Party talks, Ahmed Mujuthaba, on July 12 announced that a series of “high-level” discussions will be held between President Waheed and the leaders of the largest political parties after sixteen previous attempts had resulted in “no breakthrough.”
However, President Waheed’s Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza condemned MDP’s ongoing street protests as an “act of terrorism” today, and said “political leaders do not wish to hold talks with the MDP holding a gun to their heads.”
In response, MDP Spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy said “Dr Waheed’s participation in the All-Party talks is not important to the MDP.”
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