Britain is due to vote in June on whether to remain a member of the 28-member EU.
Opinion polls show that the campaign to remain within the EU is slightly ahead, but its lead over the "leave" campaign has narrowed in recent months ahead of the referendum.
In an interview with the UK-based Telegraph newspaper, Nasheed said UK should not leave because Europe would become more fractured and it would damage relations between Britain’s old colonies and the EU.
“The UK in the union gives a voice to Commonwealth countries, able to forge stronger ties with countries such as Estonia,” he said.
The UK-educated former human rights activist said it was in the "best interests of the Commonwealth" for Britain to remain within the union because of its ability to provide a link between the multinational bodies.
"If the UK is not in the European Union, there is no way we could speak to countries such as Estonia. As a former British colony, as a former British protectorate, as someone who can speak English, we would not be able to articulate [our positions] or have a conversation,” he said.
Nasheed was jailed to 13 years in prison in March for the arbitrary detention of then chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency.
Nasheed had sought permission to go abroad for a surgery on his back, but Correctional Service had repeatedly denied the request insisting that the microdiscectomy surgery could be done in the Maldives.
However, in an apparent U-turn, government had in January allowed Nasheed to travel to the UK for his treatment.
Nasheed left the Maldives on January 18 and arrived in London on January 21 after being granted 30 days of leave from the government for spinal cord surgery in a deal brokered by Sri Lanka, India and Britain.
The ex-president has sought a two-month extension of his leave but the authorities are yet to decide on granting the extension.
Nasheed, since his arrival in the UK, had already secured several victories, including meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.
The jailing of former president Nasheed and other politically motivated trials have made the Maldives the subject of mounting international criticism.
International pressure was further fuelled after a UN panel ruled Nasheed's incarceration illegal.
The former president’s lawyers have stepped up their efforts to impose targeted sanctions against the Maldives and its leadership, following the ruling by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention late September declaring his imprisonment as arbitrary.
Nasheed’s legal team had submitted a list of individuals they wanted to see sanctioned to the US and UK government.
Opinion polls show that the campaign to remain within the EU is slightly ahead, but its lead over the "leave" campaign has narrowed in recent months ahead of the referendum.
In an interview with the UK-based Telegraph newspaper, Nasheed said UK should not leave because Europe would become more fractured and it would damage relations between Britain’s old colonies and the EU.
“The UK in the union gives a voice to Commonwealth countries, able to forge stronger ties with countries such as Estonia,” he said.
The UK-educated former human rights activist said it was in the "best interests of the Commonwealth" for Britain to remain within the union because of its ability to provide a link between the multinational bodies.
"If the UK is not in the European Union, there is no way we could speak to countries such as Estonia. As a former British colony, as a former British protectorate, as someone who can speak English, we would not be able to articulate [our positions] or have a conversation,” he said.
Nasheed was jailed to 13 years in prison in March for the arbitrary detention of then chief criminal judge Abdulla Mohamed during his presidency.
Nasheed had sought permission to go abroad for a surgery on his back, but Correctional Service had repeatedly denied the request insisting that the microdiscectomy surgery could be done in the Maldives.
However, in an apparent U-turn, government had in January allowed Nasheed to travel to the UK for his treatment.
Nasheed left the Maldives on January 18 and arrived in London on January 21 after being granted 30 days of leave from the government for spinal cord surgery in a deal brokered by Sri Lanka, India and Britain.
The ex-president has sought a two-month extension of his leave but the authorities are yet to decide on granting the extension.
Nasheed, since his arrival in the UK, had already secured several victories, including meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.
The jailing of former president Nasheed and other politically motivated trials have made the Maldives the subject of mounting international criticism.
International pressure was further fuelled after a UN panel ruled Nasheed's incarceration illegal.
The former president’s lawyers have stepped up their efforts to impose targeted sanctions against the Maldives and its leadership, following the ruling by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention late September declaring his imprisonment as arbitrary.
Nasheed’s legal team had submitted a list of individuals they wanted to see sanctioned to the US and UK government.
source- http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/67273?e=en_mn
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