UN envoy calls for dialogue in Maldives

Herald Globe (IANS) Friday 10th February, 2012

A day after a court ordered the arrest of ousted Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, UN special envoy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco Friday called for dialogue to resolve the political turmoil.

The UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs arrived Friday on a three-day visit for talks with political leaders, Haveeru online reported.

Fernandez-Taranco said the current unrest in the Indian Ocean atoll nation "would not be an ideal environment for constructive dialogue".

The UN delegation is scheduled to have meetings with government officials, opposition leaders and members of the civil society.

Three weeks of opposition-led protests were capped by a police mutiny that led to the dramatic resignation of Nasheed Tuesday.

A day later, violence quickly spread to other parts of the country after Nasheed took to the streets along with thousands of his supporters.

The crisis deepened Thursday with the Criminal Court ordering Nasheed's arrest.

Nasheed's wife Laila Ali has fled to Sri Lanka.

The UN envoy said he had been invited by Nasheed when he was still the president to help end a standoff with opposition parties over the arrest and detention of a judge, Abdulla Mohamed.

Fernandez-Taranco, however, made it clear he was not in the country to dictate how the political upheaval should be resolved.

"There can be no externally-generated solution to something that can be solved by Maldivians themselves," Fernandez-Taranco said.

Haveeru said the new government of President Mohamed Waheed was under international pressure not to risk another wave of unrest by arresting the ousted president.