US support to Maldives increased with President’s speech- Govt

Press Secretary Abbas Adil Riza has said that the support of the United States of America to the Maldives has increased with the speech of the President on rule of law.

In an interview to Miadhu Daily, Abbas said that a country like US’s sudden interest in meeting the President Dr. Mohamed Waheed after his address at the United Nations General Assembly High Level Segment on the Rule of Law shows that the US accepts and supports the works of small states like Maldives to uphold democracy and constitutional rule.

President Dr. Waheed met US President Barack Obama during the 67th UN General Assembly that is being held in New York.

“Met President Obama tonight. He sends his best wishes to the people of Maldives,” the President tweeted in his official twitter account.

Noting that the President of the US met President Dr.Waheed in a short time after the President’s speech at the UN’s General Assembly High Level Segment on the Rule of Law, Abbas said that believes that this attention given by the US to a small state such as Maldives shows that US supports the President’s address.

Abbas said that in the meeting President Obama discussed the bilateral relations between the US and Maldives.

Meanwhile, in his address at UN General Assembly, the President Dr Waheed said that that small justice is being served to small states.

President Waheed expressed his Government’s unequivocal support and commitment to the rule of law. He highlighted the country’s road towards democracy and the number of measures taken by the Government to consolidating democratic governance and uphold the rule of law. However, he questioned the world body whether the universal principle of rule of law was applied in its true sense for the most powerful and the weakest

President Waheed noted that powerful international players had tried to coerce the Maldives to take actions contrary to its Constitution and its laws. In particular, he noted those demands were being made to end a legitimate Presidential term and hold elections even by amending the Constitution. These unfair demands and the undue labeling of the country by some international actors by placing the country on an international watch list, has resulted in the Maldives losing significant investments and financing, whilst encouraging domestic unrest and crippling the nascent democracy.