In the Maldives, Tourism Drives Political Decisions

On July 10th, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) criticized the parliament over the stalled laws to amend the Immigration Act to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the country. MDP legislators held a press conference on July 9th, where they pointed out that the bill is still shelved at the committee stage of the voting process after the 20th Parliament completed its tasks at an expedited pace..Maldivian Democratic Democracy Party Allegations.During the press conference, several of the MDP Members of Parliament (MP) discussed the bill and accused the ruling party, the National People's Congress (NPC), of holding up the amendment. Hussain Ziyad, Vaikaradhoo Constituency's MP, said the parliament passed a bill and sent it to the committee on the same day. Ziyad said that the committee "did not hold a single meeting" for the Immigration Act amendment, and it still "remains at the respective committee." However, the committee held two meetings "within one hour," where they signed the SAMOA Agreement, and they completed the process "on the very same day." Ziyad said the Parliament needs to decide on the bill "after starting debates at the committee." He accused the People's NPC MPs of not debating the bill after the MDP submitted the amendment to expedite its progression..Israeli Passport Ban Bill.The MDP MP for the South Galolhu Constituency, Mekail Naseem, submitted the bill to parliament in late May. The bill would amend Article Eight to ban "all Israeli passport holders regardless of their citizenship status with another country." Naseem said the purpose of the proposed amendment was to protest Israel's alleged genocide of the Palestinian people. The bill underscored a previous resolution to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the country that parliament passed during the 19th assembly. The proposal, however, pointed out that the government did not clarify a course of action on the matter or when a ban would be enforced. The bill's purpose is to have a "direct amendment" to the law to expedite the implementation of the passport ban..The bill referenced the resolution that former Villingili MP Saud Husain submitted in October 2023. The MDP, however, passed the resolution during the 19th parliamentary assembly in April 2024, after the NPC came into power. Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, however, decided to enforce the amendments to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the country after the MP submitted the bill. Reports indicate that Maldivian customs officials began to remove Israeli tourists from the country upon their arrival. Maldivian politicians, however, pointed out that the President can ban Israeli passports through a "presidential decree since there are no laws that prohibit it.".The leader of the PNC's Parliamentary Group, MP Ibrahim Falah, said the parliament will endorse the bill regardless of whether the opposition MDP submitted the amendment. The Maldivian Attorney General Ahmed Usham said that the amendments can be proceeded with at the committee "even if a new bill is not submitted." The Parliament's Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Nazim, said it is important that the parliamentary committee conduct a "full assessment on the effects that banning Israeli passports would have on the Maldives." Nazim pointed out how some Israeli citizens made reservations to visit the Maldives, and the cancellations would adversely affect the country's resort industry..Bill Illustrates Vulnerabilities Faced by Maldives' Economy and Political Parties.The committee shelved the bill to ban Israeli citizens from entering the Maldives to prevent the country's tourism industry from sustaining another major shock. However, the MDP continued to voice its concern about the stalled process, which also illustrates the political divisiveness of the law. The Maldives' tourism industry suffered a significant disruption in early January when three ministers criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's praise of the Lakshadweep Archipelago's beaches. The island chain is located about 530 miles (553 kilometers) north of the Maldives and is known for having beaches similar in quality to those in the Maldives. The ministers viewed Modi's trip as the latest action by India in an increasingly tense relationship between the two countries. India's population responded by boycotting the Maldives and spending their vacations and money at resorts in the Lakshadweep Archipelago. The boycott led to a significant decrease in Indian tourists vacationing in the Maldives, which led to a dramatic decrease in revenue for the country's economy. Furthermore, the boycott caused the Maldives to increasingly rely on China to fulfill the shortfall in the number of tourists. The Maldives also began efforts to expand its tourism industry to diversify the number of tourists from other countries..The MDP's continued efforts to get the bill ratified into law are important to highlight because they point to how the political party would use it to decrease support for the NPC. The MDP, however, hinted that the NPC-controlled Parliament was responsible for the bill facing obstacles during the July 10th meeting. The opposition party chose to indirectly criticize the NPC's failure to draw public support from the ruling party while still voicing its support for the bill. Furthermore, the MDP is limited in its criticisms because of the potential for the government and NPC to label it as pro-Israeli. The MDP understands that implementing a ban on Israeli passport holders entering the Maldives is extremely popular among the country's population. The NPC, however, has to consider the potentially negative fallout that the Israeli passport ban would have on the economy. The government understands that it has other options to enact the ban that it has already implemented. These options include a presidential decree and customs officials denying entry to individuals holding Israeli passports.