Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has revealed the travel advisory dated May 2, 2019 issued by US Government, which contained many factual errors, was a mistake.
Government of Maldives is in touch with the US Embassy regarding the travel advisory, adding the embassy has been made aware of the factual errors, according to Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
In the level 2 advisory issued appealing to exercise increased caution in Maldives, US State Department said wide state of emergency is in effect and security forces have been deployed in Male' to prevent public gatherings anti-government demonstrations. The advisory stated protests have also been reported in Maafushi where political prisoners are being held. The remarks were not true.
However, in light of advances in Maldives democratic system, the State Department has updated the Maldives level 2 travel advisory language to reflect the progress. The updated advisory outlined the terrorist groups may conduct attacks with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls and local government facilities.
Moreover, the US stated the attacks may occur on remote islands which could lengthen the response time of authorities. However, the Maldivian authorities have not issued any advisory and have always maintained the local military forces and law enforcement units are in place to address and counter terrorism and extremist activities.