Nasheed’s party successfully gets amendments to Parliamentary rules
cleared to impeach the President
As
the December 7 deadline that the Maldivian government set for throwing out the
Male airport operator, the India-based multinational GMR, nears, two
developments have forced the government on the back-foot : One, a piece of
legislation that has been passed in the Majlis (Parliament), and two, the main
opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party’s reformed ways.
Parliament
on December 3 voted 41-34 to approve amendments to parliamentary rules to
conduct no-confidence votes to impeach President and members of his Cabinet by
a secret ballot. The success of the vote was the first MDP victory in several
months. It was an MDP initiative, and this time, it had the support of two
parties that had earlier thrown its lot with the government. Former President
Mohamed Nasheed’s party, the MDP, finding allies is the second development.
“We
have submitted a petition to move a no-confidence motion to remove the Defence
Minister [Mohamed Nazim] and the Home Minister [Mohamed Jameel] just a short
while ago,” MDP’s International spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor told The Hindu
over phone from Male on Tuesday evening. “With the JP and DRP supporting us in
the vote [on December 3], we are sure we will have the numbers when the motion
is taken up for voting,” he added.
Street protests
Not
satisfied with the parliamentary attack on the government, the MDP also
organised street protests on Tuesday to “protest the manner in which the
government was treating foreign investments.”
At
the heart of the tussle is the modernisation of the Ibrahim Nasir International
Airport, which was handed over to GMR after a process of competitive
international bidding overseen by a World Bank body. Last year, GMR decided to
levy a user development free of $25, which led to widespread protests. Later, a
court order stayed the charge.
After
Mr. Nasheed resigned as President on February 7, 2012, the new government, led
by Dr. Mohamed Waheed wanted to review the terms of agreement granted to GMR. A
few members of the Waheed government were openly against the airport operator
and had been demanding that GMR leave the country. The GMR investment is the
largest FDI in Maldives.
Status quo
Status
quo was ordered on Monday, on a Singapore-based arbitration. The news delighted
the MDP, and made some elements of the Waheed government defiant. “I am
delighted to hear that the Singapore courts have intervened in this dispute and
upheld the rule of law. I look forward to GMR continuing its operations and
completing the construction of a new, world-class airport terminal,” Mr.
Nasheed said after the verdict.
Ministers
Mr. Nazim and Mr. Jameel refused to back off and GMR was given seven days to
clear out. As a first step to hindering operations, Maldives Immigration
refused to renew the work visas of the foreign staffers whose visa was due for
renewal.
Double-speak
Dr.
Waheed has employed a double-speak that is central to the problems that India,
and Indian firms have faced in Maldives since the transition since February
this year. For instance, speaking at a function to mark the 47th anniversary of
establishment of diplomatic relations between Male and New Delhi, Dr. Waheed
said that Maldives would always welcome Indian investments. “International
businesses that have done well are those that are built on mutual trust and
respect… small countries are very conscious of their national pride and
sovereignty… It is not a secret that we are currently facing some difficulty
with some Indian companies, we must overcome these difficulties and adamantly
resist such difficulties from affecting our very close and brotherly
relationship.”
Dr.
Waheed has repeatedly made such commitments, and said that he believed in
solving issues through negotiations. Despite the assurances, Maldives is now
forcing India’s hand on the GMR issue.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/as-gmr-deadline-nears-waheed-regime-on-the-backfoot/article4164826.ece
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