Government’s Official Position with regard to the Resignation of Mr Mohamed Nasheed on 07 February 2012, as the President of the Maldives; and any relevant Statements in this regard

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR ORAL REPLY

QUESTION NO: 17 (NO299E)

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 3-2012 OF 21 FEBRUARY 2012

MS C DUDLEY (ACDP) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION:

a) What is the Government’s official position with regard to the resignation of Mr Mohamed Nasheed on 07 February 2012, as the President of the Maldives; and

b) Whether she made any statement in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details of the statement.

 REPLY

A) The South African Government has noted that the Vice President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has been sworn in as President of the Maldives following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on 7 February 2012.

B) A statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, on 14 February 2012 is quoted below ad verbatim:

“The South African Government has noted that the Vice President of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, has been sworn in as President of the Maldives following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on 07 February 2012.

The newly-appointed President has assured that the rule of law will be maintained in the Maldives.

The South African Government has taken note of the call by the Government of Maldives on the people to remain calm and to support the efforts of the Government to stabilize the situation following demonstrations and random acts of violence.

It is hoped that the Government and people of the Maldives will work together and implement measures to bring about lasting peace and stability as soon as possible.’’

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