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Opposition
parties
in Sri
Lanka
were
trying
to
undermine
democracy
by
challenging
the
verdict
of the
people
at the
last
Presidential
election
which
resulted
in
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
comfortably
securing
a second
term,
said
Foreign
Minister
Rohitha
Bogollagama
when the
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs
of
Maldives,
Dr.
Ahmed
Shaheed
paid a
courtesy
call on
him
recently.
Minister
Bogollagama
briefed
his
Maldivian
counterpart
on post
election
developments
and
underlined
the
importance
of
preserving
democracy,
especially
in the
SAARC
region.
The
two
Foreign
Ministers
also
discussed
issues
pertaining
to a MoU
on
Intelligence
Cooperation
existing
between
the two
countries
and the
need for
the
Maldives
to join
the Asia
Cooperation
Dialogue
(ACD).
Minister
Bogollagama
also
explained
the
reasons
behind
the
arrest
of
former
Gen.
Sarath
Fonseka
by the
law
enforcement
authorities
and
stated
that he
was
apprehended
due to
inappropriate
activities
while he
served
as the
Army
Commander
and as
Chief of
Defence
Staff
and not
due to
his
entry
into
politics.
Foreign
Minister
Bogollagama
also
pointed
out that
as the
LTTE had
not been
militarily
successful
it was
now
trying
to use
its
‘white
collar’
activists
to
achieve
its
objectives.
He
cautioned
his
Maldivian
counterpart
that
countries
such as
Sri
Lanka
and the
Maldives
were
vulnerable
to such
threats
and that
it would
be in
the
interest
of the
two
countries
to share
important
information
with
each
other
and
other
member
countries
of the
SAARC.
The
visiting
Maldivian
Foreign
Minister
conveyed
his
Government’s
congratulations
on the
resounding
victory
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
enjoyed,
at the
recently
held
Presidential
Election.
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