MDP lawmakers urge president to disclose Chagos letter

Some lawmakers representing main ruling MDP on Wednesday urged President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to share with the parliament his letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius, acknowledging that the islands of Chagos, south of Addu, belong to Mauritius.

Despite having voted against Mauritius regarding the Chagos islands’ dispute at the UN tribunal for years, Maldives had recently changed its stance on the matter. 

Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath revealed during the ongoing hearings on the issue of sea territory demarcation with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS), that president Solih had conveyed to the Mauritian Prime Minister in August that the Maldives would recognise Chagos as a part of Mauritius. 

The change in the government's stand and the president's letter to Mauritius are still raising concerns in some quarters.

While the issue of the letter has heated up and become a major debate, the government has maintained that they have no plans to make the letter public.

Maldives National Party (MNP) leader and Dhangethi MP Mohamed Nazim submitted a motion last week to clarify whether the government's stand was changed due to influence or money from anywhere. 

During the debate on the motion, some members said that such a stance should be changed in accordance with the constitution, which is passed after consultation with the parliament. As a result of the stance change, the country’s territorial waters will have to  be divided equally where the border lines of the two archipelagos meet, giving up a large area of the Maldivian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) down south.

MDP MP from Vilufushi constituency Hassan Afeef said that Maldives will keep an area of 200 nautical miles if the Maldives maintained that Chagos is not a part of Mauritius, as advocated in the past.

"If the President has done it in the best interest of the state or the country or the people of the country, please reveal the letter to us. Please share it with this parliament," Afeef said.

"If it was passed by this parliament, then it would not have been an issue. But why did you do it without bringing it to parliament?".

Three former attorney generals, Diyana Saeed, Azima Shukoor and Dr Mohammad Munawwar, had also criticised the government for changing its stand. Referring to those allegations made by experts on the case, MDP MP from Hulhudhoo constituency Ilyas Labeeb had said that the facts of the case need to be further investigated now.

Ilyas also expressed concern over the writing of a letter to the Mauritian Prime Minister without consulting the parliament. He alleged that the government was blaming the people for misguided reactions when it was adamant on keeping the contents of this mysterious letter secret.

"What is in a letter written by the president should be made clear to our people's representatives. Today, I am demanding that the letter be revoked [cancelled]. After that, discuss it with parliament," he said.

While some MDP MPs made the same demand, others belonging to the party said that some MPs were trying to mislead the issue. They claimed that the present government will not do anything that would harm the people.

The opposition Mahibadhoo MP Thorig had submitted looking into the letter as a separate matter, while opposition leader, former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, had also criticised President Solih for sending the letter.

Nazim's resolution states that there have been instances since 2010 that could have changed the attitude and policy adopted by the state on the issue. He pointed out in his resolution that this "sudden" change in the policy was flawed; and he seeks to clarify the following information:

Nazim proposed that a special parliamentary committee be set up to clarify the issues. He asked the committee to look into the matter and ensure people are aware of it all.