Malé, Maldives — President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih states that the incumbent government has been keeping a close bond with all the journalists and mentioned that the government has a special bond specifically with the journalists who criticize the government.
President Solih gave this statement during an interview he gave to an Indian media outlet, “The Hindu”.
When President Solih was asked about how he would evaluate his performance after completing two years in his office, President Solih stated multiple things the administration had achieved including how the government has repealed regressive legislation such as a defamation act that criminalized speech critical of the government.
President Solih mentioned that the incumbent government has showed genuine willingness to engage with journalists, especially those who are critical of the government.
President Solih further mentioned that during his elections in 2018, he had vowed to meet journalists at least once a month, however, he said that he could only meet the journalist two times the previous year, on March and on June. President Solih mentioned that since then, he did not hold any news conference.
Although President Solih mentioned that the government has a close bond with the journalists, several complaints have raised saying that the government does not respond to certain questions asked by the journalists. Along with this, the media has also noticed that the incumbent government and certain committees and commissions tend to avoid facing journalists as much as they can.
