President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Qayyoom has appealed all not to use economic issues as political issues and called to cease the politicization of such issues.
He made the statement speaking in the ceremony held to open Ifuru Airport held last Thursday.
President Yameen stated that in a democracy political issues can be voiced out and as such, demonstrations based on political issues can take place in the country.
“I do not have an issue with that. We have seen in our administration, that there was one year of calm and now the present situation. However, in a democracy that is maturing, such issues can rise,” President said.
He added that holding demonstrations were not an issue. However, President Yameen stated that there were things that can be done in a protest and things that cannot be carried out in a protest.
President Yameen said that should certain groups call out to boycott tourist industry that was a grave concern and should not be done so. He added that such calls affected the whole of the nation, not just members of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).
“There are resort workers from all strata of the society. Every single person is a direct contributor to the welfare of their families and society. When we look at the islands we can see the direct effect of these contributions, in the form of beautiful homes. This is evident in all the islands not just the larger atolls,” the President said.
“We can see the benefits of the entire sector on the entire nation. Therefore, we have to reflect on what we are really calling for,” he added.
President Yameen stressed that those calling for the boycott of the strongest sector of the entire nation were not those who were loyal to the nation and can be classified as enemies of the nation.
“The state will not suffer from such actions. The State would work, facing such challenges. We will not let such actions hamper the economic growth of the nation. However, I am ready to negotiate with the opposition figures,” President Yameen said.
President Yameen said that there were no limitation on protesters and the number of protests they can hold. However, he reiterated that his Government would not tolerate any harm that would fall upon any Police officers in any protest that was deemed unconstitutional.
“There should not be any violence or attacks on anyone. No harm should fall on any citizen, their properties and there should not be any acts of arson. These are things our Government will not tolerate. I call on all political leaders to hold their conduct within the legal limits. If they act lawfully, there would be no issues and the Government would welcome such parties,” President Yameen said.
President Yameen stated that when the next Government assumes power, and if they act unlawfully, voices must be raised against that. However, he added that, should any opposition seek to further their interest by spreading false rumors, call for economic sanctions andboycott the national industries that was detrimental to the whole nation both in the short term and the long term.
He concluded by repeating that no citizen should allow such actions.
“Do not politicize economic issues”: President Yameen
