Maldives army surrounds

MALE, Feb 04 (Xinhua): The Maldives army on Sunday surrounded the island's Parliament as opposition lawmakers tried to make way into the premises following the resignation of the Parliamentary Secretary General.

Local media reported that some opposition lawmakers had been allowed to enter the premises, despite the heavy military presence.

The Parliamentary Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed announced his resignation on Sunday morning without citing any specific reasons. The move came after the first parliamentary session for 2018, which was due to be on Monday, was cancelled indefinitely due to security concerns.

The Maldives has been plunged into a fresh round of political turmoil after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of jailed political leaders including self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

A Reuters report adds: A Reuters report adds: The Supreme Court (SC) in the Maldives is trying to impeach President Abdulla Yameen for not obeying its order to release jailed opposition leaders, the attorney general said on Sunday, warning of further instability in the Indian Ocean nation.

The Maldives, best known for its luxury resorts, has been in a fresh political crisis since the top court threw out terrorism convictions last week against former president Mohamed Nasheed and others who have been trying to oust the president for years.

Yameen has faced calls at home, and from the United States and India, among other nations, to heed the court decision on Nasheed, the island's first democratically elected president, and the others, but has dug in his heels so far.

An AFP report adds: The beleaguered Maldives government Sunday ordered police and troops to reject any move by the Supreme Court to arrest or impeach President Abdulla Yameen over his refusal to release political prisoners.

The tiny tourist archipelago has been plunged into a political crisis pitting the country's top court against Yameen, whose crackdown on dissent has tarnished the nation's image as an upmarket holiday paradise.

On Thursday-in a move that surprised many-judges ordered authorities to release nine political dissidents and restore the seats of 12 legislators who had been sacked for defecting from Yameen's party, ruling the cases were politically motivated.

But the Yameen government has so far refused, shuttering parliament and resisting international calls to comply.

In a national television address on Sunday Attorney General Mohamed Anil said the government remained defiant.