Ex-Pres Nasheed in Colombo in anti-Govt move

By our Political Desk

Former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed who had secretly flown in to Colombo this week is said to be meeting dissidents here and garnering support in an attempt to oust strongman President Abdullah Yameen and overthrow the government, Sunday Observer reliably learns.

Sources in Colombo told this newspaper that the former President was here to discuss how incumbent President Yameen may be unseated by ‘legal means’. Sources in Maldives confirmed that security had been tightened following the reports of Nasheed’s activities. It is however unclear how Nasheed may make a formal attempt at legally toppling the government or impeaching the current president.

Ibrahim Shihab, the International spokesperson for the Maldivian government in Male said that the government was aware of Nasheed’s visit through various media reports. He added that the government may come to know in due course about the nature of the meetings that the former President is having. When asked if Nasheed is allowed to host political meetings while serving a sentence, he said that it was something the government would be looking into.

Meanwhile, an official from the Maldivian High Commission said that the diplomatic mission had not received any official directions from Male over the former President’s visit to the country.

Two months ago Nasheed formed a new coalition in opposition to Yameen called the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) which was launched in London. It was widely reported that Nasheed had been in London along with two other associates from The Maldives founding of the MDP.

Nasheed was granted asylum by the United Kingdom in April last year after he was allowed to leave Male, where he was under arrest on alleged terrorism charges since March 2015.