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State of emergency decree passed in Maldives parliament

Xinhua, November 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The state of emergency decree declared by Maldives President Abdulla Yameen was passed in parliament with majority votes when it was taken up for debate on Thursday.

The decree was passed with 58 parliamentarians voting in favour of the emergency while 14 voted against.

During the debate, ruling party lawmakers urged parliament to vote in favour of the decree highlighting the present situation of the island nation.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Reeko Moosa Manik, declaring his support for the decree, said that the weapons which had gone missing from Maldives National Defense Force weapon storage called for a state of emergency to be declared in the island nation. Moosa said that the Islamic State (IS) was formed by a group that stole weapons from Iraqi security forces, and said such a situation should not be allowed in the Maldives.

The Maldivian government declared a nationwide state of emergency for 30 days starting 12:00 p.m. Wednesday in view of threats to national security and public safety.

Attorney General Mohamed Anil announced this decision on Wednesday made by President Yameen, who has issued the executive decree based on advice from the national security council following the recent discovery of firearms and explosives in the island.

Over a third of the country's 340,000 Sunni Muslim population lives on the capital island Male, where authorities said the device was found. Endit