Yameen slams MDP over inviting ‘foreign influence’

Attempts to invite foreign influence into civil matters damage the country’s interests, President Abdulla Yameen said Tuesday, as he criticized the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party.

Yameen was speaking in Thulhaadhoo island, Baa atoll, as the last destination of an eight-island tour that kicked off Sunday.

“Haven’t we seen the foreign minister of the MDP government Dr Shaheed tweeting that the special forces of a friendly country need to take over the Maldives because of our country’s situation back then?” he asked.

“Even now, amid the current developments, prominent political figures continue to invite foreign states and diplomats to bring foreign influence into civil matters. That is an act infringing a right of the Maldivian state.”

Yameen said the right of the state was more important more than the right of an individual or political party.

Calling for tourism boycotts, portraying the country as extreme, demanding the replacement of the education curriculum and demanding religions other than Islam also violated the country’s rights, he added.

His visit to Thulhaadhoo island, to inaugurate a new harbour, was marred by anti-government protests while pro-government supporters gathered to welcome him and delegates.