Maldives court  to impeach president for contempt
MALE 4 Feb (ANA) - The Supreme Court in the Maldives is trying to impeach President Abdulla Yameen for not obeying its order to release jailed opposition leaders, the attorney general said on Sunday, warning of further instability in the Indian Ocean nation.

Best known for its luxury resorts, the Maldives has been in a political crisis since the top court threw out terrorism convictions last week against former president Mohamed Nasheed and others who have been trying to oust the president for years.

Yameen has faced calls at home, and from the United States and India, among other nations, to heed the court decision on Nasheed, the island’s first democratically elected president, and the others, but so far has dug in his heels.

Home to about 400,000 people, the Maldives has also been drawn into a regionwide tussle for influence between India - with which it has longstanding political and security ties - and China, which opened an embassy in 2011 and has offered technical and financial assistance to build infrastructure.

Attorney General Mohamed Anil said the government had received information the Supreme Court was preparing to fire Yameen, but such a move would be illegal and resisted by government law enforcement authorities.

“We have received information that things might happen that will lead to a national security crisis,” Anil told reporters in the capital, Male.

“The information says the Supreme Court might issue a ruling to impeach or remove the president from power,” he said, adding that government bodies had been given instructions not to carry out such an order.

Meanwhile, Parliament Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed, who is politically neutral, suddenly resigned on Sunday, citing personal reasons a day before the opening session of the body.(ANA)
FA/ANA/4 February 2018------