President Ibrahim Mohamed has denied that his party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had ever called for tourism boycotts.
He made the statement in a press conference held on Wednesday.
The statement came in response to a question posed by a journalist. The journalist questioned on why freedom of speech was narrowed so much under this administration, when MDP had previously carried out intensive international campaigns to boycott tourism.
In response, President Solih said that MDP, under his leadership, has never called for tourism boycotts.
“Under my leadership, MDP had never engaged in tourism boycotts. There was no such campaign while I was serving in a senior role,” he added.
The President said MDP would never compromise the country’s economy.
While President Solih was firm in his belief, MDP had conducted mass international campaigns calling for tourism boycotts. The campaigns was the most intense between 2013 and 2018. At the time, President Solih was serving as the leader of MDP’s Parliamentary Group.