Falah says Chagos letter could warrant life imprisonment for Solih
The government has announced plans to review the matter and pursue steps to reclaim the maritime area.
Ibrahim Falah, parliamentary group leader of the ruling People’s National Congress, said on Sunday that a decision by the previous administration to send a letter to Mauritius concerning maritime boundaries could amount to an offence punishable by life imprisonment.
Falah made the remarks during a debate in the People’s Majlis on a report prepared by the Committee on Foreign Relations regarding the nomination of a non-resident ambassador to Armenia by Mohamed Muizzu.
During the debate, members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party stressed the need to appoint capable individuals to diplomatic positions. Responding to the comments, Falah accused members of the previous administration of agreeing to surrender part of the Maldives’ maritime area.
Falah said the Constitution defines the territory of the Maldives to include its land, airspace and seabed within archipelagic baselines. He said any change to that territory must receive approval from parliament.
According to Falah, the former administration agreed to surrender part of the maritime area without approval from the People’s Majlis.
“These individuals surrendered a large area of Maldivian waters without the consent of the People’s Majlis,” Falah said. “Surrendering maritime territory through a letter is an act of treason against the state. Such an offence warrants life imprisonment.”
The issue relates to a letter sent on 22 August 2022 by former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.
In the letter, the Maldives recognised Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago while a dispute over overlapping exclusive economic zones was under consideration by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Members of the current administration, who were then in opposition, have argued that the tribunal’s ruling on maritime boundary delimitation issued on 28 April 2023 was influenced by the letter.
Since taking office, the government has announced plans to review the matter and pursue steps to reclaim the maritime area. President Muizzu has also formed a committee to investigate the decision and consider legal action against those responsible.
The letter made public by the government states that the Maldives would support Mauritius at the United Nations General Assembly on the issue of the decolonisation of Chagos from the United Kingdom. The document does not explicitly state that maritime territory would be surrendered.
