Thursday
25th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Dr.Muhammed Munnavar. Photo: TMJ
Expert on Law of the Seas and former Attorney General of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Munavvaru, who specialized in International Law, asked the government why they refused to share the letter sent by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih accepting Mauritius’ claim of sovereignty over Chagos Islands to the Prime Minister of Mauritius, if nothing else of note is in the content of the letter.
Chagos Islands share a common EEZ with the Maldives, which was why Mauritius initiated a territorial case to the International Tribunal for the Laws of the Sea (ITLOS) against Maldives.
During the ITLOS hearing, the Attorney General Riffath Ibrahim told the court that the President had expressed his acceptance of Mauritian claims in a letter to the Mauritian Prime Minister, on August 22, this year.
Many members of parliament, including MDP members, have called on the government to share the letter sent by the President without consulting the parliament, however, the government has adamantly refused to give in.
Speaking in an interview on a program on “SanguTV”, Dr. Munavvaru stated the letter to Mauritius should not contain any details other than their declaration to support Mauritian claim. Therefore, he asked why the government continued to refuse to share the letter, profusely.
Dr. Munavvaru stated that the government should not wait to react to the matter in question. He argued that the government should have responded with ferocity and emotion.
A decree was presented to the parliament to ensure whether the stand taken by the government in support of Mauritian claim of sovereignty over Chagos Islands was within its constitutional rights and at a news conference held at the President’s Office, Miuvaan stated that the government denied any wrongdoing.
However, many people have argued that accepting the Mauritian claim over Chagos Islands will eventually lead to the Maldives losing part of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Even Dr. Munavvaru had previously noted that President Solih sending a letter of endorsement to Mauritius is the same as voluntarily losing the case at ITLOS, rendering its progress moot.