Fayyaz to Nasheed: Why did you agree with Mauritius demarcation?

Economic minister Fayyaz Ismail has come out in defence of the government's decision to recognise the Chagos islands in the south of Addu as belonging to Mauritius, throwing questions at the popular figures that criticised the government.

In the Chagos case, Fayyaz criticised the political figures that opposed the government's decision, including Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef and former Attorney General Dr Mohamed Munawwar. He had posted a series of tweets targeting them.

Responding to a petition filed by Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef condemning the sudden change in the government's policy and demanding an explanation, Nasheed said on Monday that the government's belief that Chagos islands are part of Mauritius is an agreement to forgo a part of the country's economic zone and that in his administration, he had treated the islands of Chagos as a part of the country.

In response to the speaker, who is also a former president of the country, Fayyaz asked Nasheed what was the reason for agreeing with Mauritius to separate maritime territories during his tenure, while he now claims that he had treated Chagos as a part of the Maldives.

Fayyaz was referring to Nasheed's discussions with the Mauritian prime minister during his visit to Mauritius in March 2011. During the talks, it was agreed to set up a Joint Commission of Maldives-Mauritius to discuss the territorial shelf around the Chagos islands (underwater land outside the Exclusive Economic Zone).

Fayaz also posed a question to the former attorney general.

"Why did the then Attorney General discuss separating the boundary of Chagos with the United Kingdom in 1992?", asked Fayyaz. 

Although his question was aimed at Munawwar, he took on the post of Attorney General in 1993.

Munawwar accused the government of changing its stand under Indian influence and said the decision would benefit India as well.

Fayyaz then turned to the opposition PNC leader Adam Shareef, who too has been critical of the government's decision:

Although Fayyaz says differently, in 2017 the ICJ had requested the UN General Assembly to advice on the Chagos case. The ICJ had recommended that the Chagos islands belong under Mauritius sovereignty in 2019, after this government came to power. In both of those two years, both governments of Maldives voted against Mauritius in the General Assembly. However, in 2019, when the interim government had voted against Mauritius, there was criticism from the opposition. This is where the government’s stand has changed today.

In an emergency motion tabled in parliament on Monday, Shareef said the Maldivian government's decision to vote in favour of Mauritius was "causing irreparable damage to the country". He added that the country would lose a large part of its maritime territory.

Chagos's ownership has long been in dispute between Mauritius and Britain. In 2019, on the advice of the ICJ, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the restoration of the site to Mauritius, but there was no sign that the British would follow suit.