Will sue President Solih over Chagos issue: Nazim

President of the Maldives National Party (MNP) and Dhangethi MP, Mohamed Nazim, has announced that they will sue President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih over the "losses" suffered by the Maldives in the demarcation of the maritime boundary with Mauritius.

Speaking at a ceremony held by the opposition coalition formed by the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC) with other political parties, held last night at the Malé Carnival area, Nazim said that President Solih lacks the "moral authority" to remain in power and that the opposition leaders will not rest until they "regain the lost ocean territory."

"...We will file a lawsuit against the President. The Constitution gives us that power," MNP's presidential candidate and former Defense Minister Nazim said.

He called on the President to retract his letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius. He said that the president could not be forgiven and that Maldives must work towards obtaining the Chagos region.

"We cannot remain silent after the loss of forty-four square kilometers. We must raise our voices for this. We have to raise [our voices] on the streets and at podiums and wherever necessary to win this," he said.

Nazim, who served in the army for 18 years, alleged that while fishermen had safeguarded the seas even in the absence of a Coast Guard, the sea had been "sold" for a few dollars.

In addition to Nazim, former home minister Umar Naseer and two former attorney generals, Dr. Mohamed Munavvar, Aishath Azima Shakoor, Jumhoree Party's (JP) Kendhoo MP Ali Hussain, PNC President Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who is temporarily in charge of the PPM/PNC coalition, and The Democrats Inguraidhoo MP Mohamed Waheed also spoke at the event.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) awarded 47,232 square kilometers of the disputed 95,000 square kilometer territory to the Maldives, with the remaining 45,331 square kilometers allocated to Mauritius, after granting each country a 200-mile continental shelf.

However, the opposition has criticised the government and claimed that the ITLOS decision was influenced by the President Solih's letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius. The opposition has decided to submit a petition to the President, urging the withdrawal of the letter.