Colombo: US on Saturday asked the Maldives to
accept international offers of mediation to resolve the
political crisis in the country that has led to large-scale
protests.
The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is at
loggerheads with opposition parties in Parliament over
wresting of powers vested with the executive.
"The United States is deeply concerned about rising
tension resulting from the ongoing impasse between government
and opposition parties in the Maldives," the US Embassy said
in a statement here.
"We call on all sides to refrain from violence and to
come together to resolve disagreements through dialogue and
compromise," it said.
The US urges all parties to accept international
offers of mediation, the statement said, adding that the US
has full confidence that the democratic process in the
Maldives will allow for a peaceful resolution of these issues.
The US statement comes in the wake of protests earlier
in the week in several people were injured.
President Mohamed Nasheed, who took over as President
in 2008 after the country`s first democratic polls, has been
at loggerheads with the opposition, which controls the
Parliament.
He has been accusing the opposition of stopping his
administration from passing any legislation.
The ruling party has only 32 seats in the country`s
77-member Parliament. The opposition coalition led by DRP has
36 seats. Others are independent members.
PTI
