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Maldives applies to rejoin Commonwealth: president’s office
COLOMBO, Dec 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The Maldives has applied to rejoin the
Commonwealth, reversing a policy of isolation under autocratic leader Abdulla
Yameen who suffered a shock defeat in September.
His successor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, wrote to the 53-member bloc on Friday
seeking readmission two years after Yameen pulled the atoll nation out of it,
the president’s office said Sunday.
Yameen withdrew the Maldives, an archipelago of 340,000 Sunni Muslims, from
the Commonwealth after it mounted pressure on him to protect human rights and
ensure the rule of law amid a ferocious crackdown on dissent.
Solih’s office said the new president’s administration believed in the
values of the bloc, which consists mainly of former territories and colonies
of the British empire.
“The Maldives’ interest in re-joining the Commonwealth stems from a deep
conviction that the values and principles enshrined in the Commonwealth
Charter are more vital than ever,” the president’s office said in a
statement.
The 54-year-old took office last month after winning a landslide election
victory despite Yameen waging a crackdown on his political rivals and jailing
most of the opposition.
The former British protectorate faced persistent international pressure
during Yameen’s iron-fisted tenure. The strongman accused the London-based
Commonwealth Secretariat of interfering in the nation’s affairs.
During Yameen’s reign, the United States had repeatedly warned democracy
was under serious threat in the strategically-located archipelago sitting on
key international shipping lanes.
Since Solih’s election, political prisoners have been freed and opposition
figures in exile have returned home.
Solih has warned of a “dire” economic crisis in the Maldives and asked
regional power India for help. Yameen had drifted closer to China and the
Maldives saw its foreign debt balloon under his leadership.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1941 hrs