Maldivian President Abdul Gayoom implicated a British-based human rights organisation in Saturday’s bombing that left 12 tourists injured, while the group suspended its tourism boycott.
Gayoom told national television after the incident that people calling for the boycott of the Maldives on the tourism front should “share some responsibility” for the incident in which eight Chinese, two Japanese and two British were injured when a homemade bomb exploded at Sultan park in the capital, Male.
Gayoom stopped short of naming any organisation but was widely believed to be hinting at British human rights group the Friends of Maldives (FOM), which was carrying out a campaign among tourists not to visit 15 resorts believed to be owned by government figures.
FOM spokesman David Hardingham, speaking from London by telephone, dismissed Gayoom’s claim, saying it was “nonsense”. He said the FOM’s campaign was focused on the poor human rights situation in Maldives. The group suspended its boycott call after the attack. Sapa-DPA
Source: Business Day
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