British Parliament condemns Male' bomb attack

20 October 2007
Report: Soodh

British Parliament in a debate on Maldives relations on 17 October has condemned the appalling bomb attack on 29 September that injured 12 tourists, including two British nationals. Speaking in the debate Minister for the Middle East Dr. Kim Howells has said,

“We offer our sincere condolences to those injured some of who are still recuperating from the attack. The bombers, whoever they were, do not represent the overwhelming majority of the Maldivian people, who reacted with horror to the attack. Their reaction was not only of great comfort to the victims, but sent an unambiguous message to the perpetrators that the Maldives is united against terrorism. My noble Friend Lord Malloch-Brown wrote to Foreign Minister Shahid on 4 October to express our gratitude for the generous and effective response of the Maldivian Government, the tourism industry and the Maldivian general public for their expressions of opposition to that outrage" The Minister said.

Speaking about the democratic reform, the Minister said that Maldives aspires not just to become a more transparent and vigorous democracy, although he believed that it is that, but to feed itself and to ensure a sustainable economy. He said the transition has not been easy and there is a long way to go yet.

He further said they should not underestimate the challenges in attempting to make the transition from a political system that was based heavily on patronage and state control to a multi-party liberal democracy.. In some areas, such as freedom of expression and the media, the formation of political parties and the development of civil society, there has been good, albeit not always consistent, progress, he said.

The debate was attended by members of a Parliamentary group who visited the Maldives early in the year. Those members praised for the beauty of Maldives and expressed concern for its vulnerability to the threats of climate change.