US Assistant Secretary Blake claims political stalemate can be solved through dialogue
23 Jul 2010, 2:54 AM
United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, has urged the Maldives’ deadlocked executive and opposition-majority parliament to work “collaboratively together to end the current political impasse.”
Speaking to the Maldivian press in the American corner of the National Library after a day of meetings with government, opposition and parliamentary figures, Blake suggested it was ”time for all sides to put aside narrow partisan differences so they can resume work to serve the people, and restore confidence in the public institutions of the country.”
The former ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives claimed the current political crisis facing the Maldives “is one that is familiar to many democracies – the president represents one party while the opposition controls the parliament.”
“I told President Nasheed and [DRP leader] Mr Ahmed Thasmeen Ali that there is really only one way out – both sides must be open to dialogue and compromise. I’m very confident that both sides are capable of that,” Blake said, adding that this had been proved during the drafting of the constitution in 2007-2008.
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