President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu agreed to a sit-down with a team of leading journalists on Thursday, as his administration faces criticism for backing a new media bill that both local and international media agencies slam as a direct threat to press freedom in the Maldives.
On August 18, Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakr, an independent lawmaker aligned with the government, submitted a bill that seeks to dissolve the Maldives Media Council (MMC) and the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom), replacing them with a single regulatory body — a seven-member Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC), composed of four members elected by the media and three appointed by the President with parliamentary approval, with the President also given the authority to appoint the commission’s head. It also empowers the MMBC to impose major penalties against media outlets as well as individual journalists, including during the investigative stage.
In an extraordinary sitting on Wednesday, as journalists demonstrated against the bill outside the Parliament, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) used its supermajority to accept the bill into the Parliament and send it to the Independent Institutions Committee for review.
Dozens of journalists later gathered outside the President’s Office and Muliaage, demanding a meeting with President Muizzu, before they were pushed back by riot police.
Sun has been informed that President Muizzu agreed to meet with a team of leading journalists to discuss concerns at 01:30 pm Thursday.
To be updated…