The government on Monday attempted to mislead the public by claiming that most Islamic countries voted against a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 23, 2024, to establish July 11 as an annual day of remembrance for the massacre of thousands of Muslims in Bosnia in 1995.
The resolution was passed with the support of 84 countries. Only 19 countries voted against it but 68 countries did not vote either way. The Maldives also "abstained" by not voting in favour or against.
The government faced criticism over the move but stayed silent without an official comment. The Foreign Ministry did not respond to repeated calls from Adhadhu or make a statement in response to an outpouring of concern from the public. But the government then tried to push a false narrative.
Instead of official comments from the government spokesperson or other officials, anonymous comments were made to some newspapers. Citing unnamed government officials, some newspapers reported that the Maldives voted in line with the stand of Islamic countries.
"A lot of Islamic countries did not vote either way in this resolution because they don't want to make statements and get into the regional rivalry that has arisen over this," a government official told Mihaaru newspaper.
The Maldives abstention reflected the stance of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dhauru reported a government official as saying.
The government tried to set the narrative by including countries that did not participate in the vote to show that the resolution lacked support. But this is not how the result is counted in such votes. This narrative is an excuse to hide the truth.
Of the 58 countries in the OIC, 48 countries participated in the vote on the Bosnia resolution. Aside from Palestine, which is not in the UN General Assembly, eight other OIC countries did not participate in the vote.
Some 26 OIC countries voted in favour of the resolution, representing 54 percent of OIC countries that participated in the vote. Therefore, the vote shows that most OIC countries supported the resolution.
Along with the Maldives, 19 countries abstained. Three countries pressed the "No" button to vote against the resolution. Together with the eight OIC countries that did not participate in the vote and the total of 22 countries that did not vote in favour, the narrative by the government of this 100 percent Muslim nation to show that the Bosnia resolution did not have the OIC's majority has been exposed.
Here is the truth. Big countries in the Islamic community in terms of power and Muslim population voted in favour of commemorating the Bosnia genocide, including Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Qatar and Egypt.
Türkiye of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, hailed as the "leader of the Islamic world" by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, voted in favour of commemorating the Bosnia genocide. Saudi Arabia, home of the two holy mosques and considered by many to be the leader of the Islamic community, voted in favour of the resolution.
However, China, the country with which the current government maintains the closest diplomatic relations, voted against the resolution. Neighboring India abstained like the Maldives.
The International Court of Justice recognized the massacre of Bosnian Muslims as a genocide. On July 11, 1995, 8,372 Muslims were killed in Bosnia’s Srebrenica. The massacre was committed by a military group of Bosnian Serbs during the Bosnia war that started in 1992.
Notwithstanding the small size of the Maldives, Maldivians raised their voices to condemn the genocide. The Maldivian government at the time also raised its voice.
The government has been making misleading claims amid speculation about the real reason for the Maldives not voting for the Bosnia resolution contrary to the stance of major Islamic countries.
The truth is that most OIC countries voted to pass the resolution. While America and Britain voted to pass the resolution, it is shameful that the Maldives government lacked the courage and tried to show that the resolution lacked the support of a majority of Islamic countries.
