Committee cancels Tuesday's meetings on media bill

The Independent Institutions Committee of Parliament on Tuesday cancelled its scheduled meetings on the media regulation bill.

According to the agenda, officials from three institutions were due to appear before the committee:

All three sessions were cancelled at the last minute. The parliamentary office has since informed the institutions and committee members of the decision. The reason for the cancellation has not been disclosed, and Parliament has yet to comment.

Although the media bill meetings were cancelled, the committee held a session at 9:00 a.m. on the same day. That meeting, conducted in secret, was focused on reviewing the Public Referendum Bill.

The committee had earlier suspended work on the media bill introduced last month, prompting criticism from MDP MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem.

The committee has already heard concerns from the Broadcasting Commission and the Maldives Media Council, both of which expressed strong reservations about the bill.

Journalists also met the committee on Monday, calling for the bill to be withdrawn and outlining several concerns. On the same day, the Human Rights Commission released a 24-page statement raising objections to the legislation.

In addition, several international organisations have issued statements opposing the bill and urging Parliament to repeal it.