No sign of danger to Maldives’ tourists says EU envoy

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

(euronews): Tourism and fishing are the Maldives’ major industries, but now there is trouble in paradise.
The EU’s representative in the region told euronews: “At this stage, given our information, we would not say that there has been any legal infringement of constitutional forms.”
Bernard Savage, Head of the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives said: “We are not taking sides but, as the High Representative Cathy Ashton has made clear, what we support is the constitutional order, the rule of law and the continuance of democracy, and we expect all parties to refrain from violent actions and inflammatory rhetoric in order to ensure that the democratic transition of the Maldives continues.”
Around one million visitors a year enjoy the Maldives luxury getaway resorts. What about their safety in the current climate?
From his office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Savage said: “Most tourists arrive in the Maldives into Hulhule Island, which is a separate island opposite Male, and then go from there directly to the resorts.”
“Resorts in the Maldives are all in what are classified as ‘uninhabited’ islands; there are no Maldivian nationals living there.”
“There is no indication that there is any physical danger,” he added.
“The operations at Hulhule Island are going ahead as normal. The question of the publicity that this gives to the Maldives is something which we will see in time, but clearly political unrest is never a good advert for a country.”

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