Dunya: The country cannot be sacrificed for a specific person

Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon has said that the country cannot be sacrificed for a specific person.

Speaking at the press conference at the Foreign Ministry today, Minister Dunya said that the actions of the President Nasheed’s legal team, the whole country are being sacrificed for a specific person.

She said this while President Nasheed’s legal team has said that they are working on sanctions against the Maldives.

“If this is selfish I would say this is extreme.” Minister Dunya said.

The Minister said that it is not good to think it’s acceptable if no tourists come to the country and the whole country starves for the sake of one person.

Minister Dunya said that she does not believe it is just to allow sanctions against the Maldives regarding the decision made by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD).

And said that she is saddened by the talk of tourism boycotting by President Nasheed’s legal team. And she said that in such an event, the loss would be not just for the Government, but the people as well.

President Nasheed’s legal team has said that sanctions are not against the whole country but against individuals of the Government.

Minister Dunya said that a person sentenced through the Judicial System cannot be freed for an order by a specific group. And she noted that the Indian Government has not said anything regarding the decision by the UNWGAD.

She also noted that President Nasheed is not trying at all to make an appeal. And she repeated that the decision by the UNWGAD was an opinion. She said that President Nasheed’s case is in the Judicial System and the Government will not interfere.

UNWGAD made a decision and called for the release of the former President Mohamed Nasheed who is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence. But the Government has said that their decision cannot be accepted. And said that the Working Group is not a court and their decision is their opinion.