Maldives National Party (MNP) Presidential Candidate, Dhangethi Constituency Member Mohammed Nazim has said that they will sue President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for his negligence in Maldives’ application to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) to determine the maritime territory in between the Chagos Islands and Maldives.
ITLOS supported the Maldives while concluding the dispute between the Maldives and Mauritius on the overlapping maritime boundary issue. The verdict favored the Maldives in its claim, according 47,232 sq kilometres – the larger portion of the overlapping area- to the Maldives.
However, with the ITLOS decision on the delimitation of the disputed portion of the sea between Maldives and Chagos Archipelago, it has denied Maldives the chance to gain the continental shelf it sought at the UN in 2010.
Speaking at a rally held tonight, Nazim said the President may think that he cannot be prosecuted because he is in government, but the Constitution states that he can be prosecuted. Nazim said he did not want to forgive President Solih and called on him to restore the lost part of Maldivian sea.
He also called on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to withdraw his letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius. He said the president could not be forgiven and Maldives should work to claim Chagos as well.
“The loss of forty-four square kilometers is not something we can keep quiet about. We have to raise our voice for this,” he said.
The fishermen have worked very hard to maintain the safety of the seas, but the government has sold the sea for a few dollars, he said. The people should not turn a blind eye to this and should come out against it, he also added.
In addition, the opposition parties are united today and will defeat the government by working together, Nazim said. He said the government should now be changed and the people should not back down an inch in this regard.
