Nasheed and Clooney charmed Number TenTHE low-lying Maldives may be inundated by a political storm. At the centre stands the archipelago’s president, Abdulla Yameen, scion of a powerful clan. The jailing this week of a former ally, and questions about missing money, are bringing the crisis to a head.
One agent of Mr Yameen’s troubles is Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected president, who was ousted in what was in effect a coup in 2012. He then contested (and eventually lost) the last election, before facing overblown charges of terrorism. But foreign pressure recently secured his passage to London for medical treatment. There he has loudly highlighted his country’s democratic shortcomings.
He is supported by a high-profile lawyer, Amal Clooney, who has helped strengthen the backing of Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, for the cause of Maldivian democracy. The islands’ government is furious with Mr Nasheed. Ministers have come to London to prevent the Commonwealth from suspending the Maldives’ membership and to fight off European calls for targeted sanctions unless political prisoners...Continue reading
from Asia http://ift.tt/1QohVHh
EmoticonEmoticon