From: mnasheedh's blog
My meeting with the EU parliamentary delegation headed by Robert Evans happened on the day of Eid, Wednesday, 19th December 2007. At 10 am in the morning when I met them, I was not sure how it would begin, proceed or end. I had heard many stories about the purpose of the visit, the timing of the visit and the meetings that have been scheduled for the visit. Like many others I was skeptical about the delegation.
Quite contrary to what I had thought earlier, my meeting with them proved to be a rewarding experience. We touched on a wide spectrum of issues: the remaining work of the constitution; the transitional arrangements and the interim government; the scope of any transitional arrangement; the creation of the independent Elections Commission and other oversight bodies; independence of the judiciary; the creation and passage of enabling legislation; engagement with the opposition and the international community; EU monitors; economic development; drug addiction; unemployment; the expatriates working in the tourism sector; commitments on working towards an independent free and fair election in 2008; candidates of the election commission; priorities of the legislative agenda for 2008; highlights of reform milestones; immediate targets remaining to be fulfilled for reform; timelines of completing constitutional review are some areas I recall.
As the meeting progressed, I must say that the EU parliamentarians had a good idea of where we were in the reform process, constitutional review, policies of the government in relation to transition arrangements; ideas within the government as to approaching the issue of elections in 2008; government commitments on the creation of an independent election commission and anti corruption commission and priorities attached to various segments of the constitution on migrating fully into the new constitution.
I was delighted that the meeting ended as a success. It renewed our reasons for continuing the reform program and strengthened our resolve in moving ahead. I was especially delighted to see the positive note on which they ended their visit. I must caution myself and my colleagues here that we must not fall victim to complacency. The real challenges are still ahead. There is a mountain of tasks to carry out.
I cannot agree more that completing the constitution is not the end of all this. But it is a new beginning altogether. A new beginning in itself that shall take us into a new phase of work to realize the many promises the new constitution holds for all of us, Maldivians.
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