Mohamed Asim, till recently Maldives’ High Commissioner to Bangladesh, has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On Wednesday morning, at the office of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom in Male, Dr. Asim, who holds a Ph. D. in political science and international relations from the Australian National University, Canberra, was administered oath of office by Supreme Court judge Abdulla Areef.
In September last year, Dr. Asim was made the High Commissioner. In 1982, he joined the government service and served as his country's envoy to Pakistan and the United Kingdom during 2004-2008. He succeeds Dunya Maumoon, who resigned from the Cabinet last week, citing opposition to the government’s plans to implement the death penalty.
Power struggle
Ms. Maumoon became the Foreign Minister when the present President took office in November 2013. In recent months, there have been reports of power struggle between the President and Ms. Dunya’s father and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
On the day she quit, her brother and Member of Parliament Faris Maumoon was expelled from the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) as he was said to have voted against a bill on tourism in Parliament. Early this week, the President ratified the legislation, which would facilitate formulation of guidelines of leasing of islands, land or lagoons for tourism development without a bidding process.
Death penalty
The decision to implement of death penalty is another issue that is being debated intensely in various forums including social media. This has assumed relevance in the wake of reports of the plan to execute the 22-year-old Hussain Humaam Ahmed, who was sentenced to death in 2014 for the alleged murder of a former Member of Parliament and religious scholar, Afrasheem Ali, in 2012.
Addressing the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr last week, the President justified the move, which, he said, to be carried forward “with a heavy heart and scrutiny from international community.” However, he believed that it would serve “the greater good for the safety and protection of our society.”
A few weeks ago, four U.N. human rights experts urged the government of Maldives to halt the execution and go for a fresh trial, which would be in compliance with international standards. They further urged the Maldivian authorities to uphold an “unofficial moratorium” on capital punishment in force for the last six decades, according to a release of the Office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
