Yameen slams foreign meddling in Maldives
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has lashed out at perceived foreign interference in the honeymoon island's affairs, following Western pressure over the controversial conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed for terrorism.
In an address late Sunday to mark the Indian Ocean nation's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain, Yameen accused developed countries of imposing their own legal and moral standards on the atoll.
"We are disappointed that some countries, and indeed some prominent bodies within these countries, have seen it fit to interfere in domestic affairs in the Maldives," Yameen said at the event in the island capital Male, attended by neighbouring Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
They have questioned the Maldives' "judicial independence and integrity" and condemned it for not supporting "ideologies that are entirely alien to our culture, our faith and our traditions", he said.
Yameen vowed to resist threats from "outside" which were far more dangerous than those from within, according to a translation of his speech released by his office yesterday.
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