Gasim appeals JP to abstain from Chagos dispute protest
He said he would not go on a protest on the Chagos issue but could have decided the case through more diplomatic principles.
By
Aminath Shifleen
Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim on Tuesday urged his party members not to participate in an upcoming opposition led protest against the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) verdict in the delimitation of the territorial waters between the Maldives and Chagos.
JP opposes the government’s decisions pertaining to the Chagos case, but Gasim said that he decided not to take part in the rally led by the opposition alliance based on past experiences.
In a message sent Tuesday afternoon to the party’s WhatsApp group, he said he would not go on a protest on the Chagos issue but would deal with the case through more diplomatic principles.
The Maamigili MP also said JP had decided not to participate in the May Day protest during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's regime as he knew its significance and consequences. At the end of the protest, the predicted outcome and the result were completely different, he said.
He added:
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The party leadership should remain committed to ensuring that the country does not go into turmoil in such a turbulent time
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Everyone must work wisely and with the advice of international experts to find all possible ways to overturn ITLOS' decision
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The real result will be achieved in that manner
"Therefore, it is my appeal that the party leadership and members should not participate in the protest," he wrote in the message.
At JP's last council meeting, Gasim said he had written a letter to ITLOS before the tribunal gave its verdict on the case. JP is now in the process of preparing the documents to appeal the verdict, he added.
