PO: Opposition alliance created to spew hate against govt.

The alliance by opposition parties over the delimitation of the disputed maritime area between Maldives and Mauritius was formed to create hate against the government, says the President’s Office.

In a press conference Thursday, President’s Office spokesperson Miuvaan Mohamed said the opposition parties are not united in their opinion on the issue of delimitation, but in their need to create hate against the government and desire to get elected to office.

“There is just one thing they agree on. They all want to rule, but they are unable to reach an agreement on how they will rule, whether it will be united or separate. Therefore, they are allied to create hate against the government among the general public,” he said.

Unhappy with the decision of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Speaker Mohamed Nasheed’s Fikuregge Dhirun faction and the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhoory Party (JP), and Maldives National Party (MNP), have formed an alliance.

Miuvaan said the parties cannot even agree on whether Chagos belongs to Maldives or not.

“Some of them claim Chagos belongs to Maldives, while others claim, no, Chagos does not belong to Maldives,” he said.

The opposition alliance has accused the government of failure to act in the best interests of Maldives in the case, and filed a no-confidence motion against Attorney Genral Ibrahim Riffath earlier Thursday.

Though the Maldivian people had previously used the 95,563 square kilometers of disputed maritime area between Maldives and Mauritius, Maldives did not have any jurisdiction in the area. The area had not been delimited.

ITLOS awarded Maldives with 47,232 square kilometers of the disputed area, while Mauritius was awarded 45,331 square kilometers.

The opposition argues Maldives should have gotten the entire area.