Maldives defies pressure

Maldivian authorities yesterday announced an indefinite postponement of parliament as President Abdulla Yameen's regime resisted international pressure to comply with a landmark Supreme Court order to free political prisoners.

The People's Majlis, or parliament, told local reporters in a brief message that the assembly will not have its scheduled sessions on Monday "due to security reasons".

No fresh date was given for the sessions.

The move followed a shock order Thursday by the country's Supreme Court to release nine political dissidents. It also restored the seats of 12 legislators who had been sacked for defecting from Yameen's party.

The reinstatement of the dozen legislators has given the opposition a majority in the 85-member assembly, and it can now potentially impeach Yameen as well as his cabinet.

The beleaguered president yesterday announced that he sacked police chief Ahmed Saudhee, who was appointed just two days ago. His predecessor Ahmed Areef was fired on Thursday, shortly after he said he will honour the court's decision.

The court had said that cases against the nine dissidents, including MDP leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed, were politically motivated and asked the government to release them immediately.

In a statement issued overnight, the joint opposition, which includes Nasheed's MDP, said there were concerns the regime would ignore the ruling and that it would trigger further unrest in the nation of 340,000 Sunni Muslims.

Nasheed, the country's first democratically-elected president, has urged the government to respect the top court's decision.

The United Nations, Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States welcomed the court's decision as a move towards restoring democracy in the politically troubled Indian Ocean nation.

Neighbouring India, in a rare statement on Friday, urged Yameen's government to comply with the ruling.

Yesterday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called upon the Maldivian government to respect the law.

Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement released overnight that the UN chief believes the Maldives' "political stalemate" can be resolved through "all-party talks, which the United Nations continues to stand ready to facilitate."

Earlier, Nasheed had said the ruling cleared the way for him to return to the Maldives and contest elections due later this year.

For its part, the Maldivian government said Friday that it had concerns about releasing those convicted for "terrorism, corruption, embezzlement, and treason".