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The Maldives, a contested terrain for power is actually undermining democracy and goes ahead to show that all is not well in the South Asian region. China is flexing its muscle, while India issued a statement rather than any military intervention as in the past, points out Navodita, our Associate Editor, exclusively for Different Truths.
The Maldives, that has most recently become the contested terrain for power is actually undermining democracy and goes ahead to show that ‘all is not well’ in the South Asian region.
The entire show began in the year 2008 when Mohammed Nasheed became the first democratically-elected President of the country. However, a row erupted over the arrest of the chief justice following which former President Nasheed announced his resignation after a mutiny by the police. Abdullah Yameen, who came to power in 2013, defeated Nasheed in the presidential election. Nasheed was arrested on terrorism charges in February 2015 and later jailed for thirteen years. He was also granted a refugee status in the U.K. where he went for treatment, too, in May 2016. In the meanwhile, in August an arrest warrant was issued against him for failing to return. Meanwhile, Abdullah Yameen refused to comply with Supreme Court orders to release nine dissidents and restore the seats of 12 legislators. The political crisis further escalated as President Yameen sent soldiers to storm the court and arrest the judges.
In his contribution for the editorial page in the Indian Express, President Nasheed has written, “As I watch my country in exile, I fear that piece by piece, island by island, the Maldives is being sold off to China…democracy in the Maldives matters. It’s not just a question of human or civic rights…there is now a ‘state within a state’- a network of radicals lurking in the shadows, waiting to overrun the country.”
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the government in Male to lift the state of emergency and guarantee safety for its citizens, ‘including members of the judiciary’. After former President Nasheed sought India’s help, China emphasised on seeking a domestically-driven breakthrough for the Maldives. China is the number one source of tourists for the Maldives. Chinese tourists constitute about 30% of the Maldives tourist arrivals.
It is interesting to note that President Yameen has called for an election soon enough in an effort to defeat his opponents. His attorney general Mohammad Anil has warned that any action was taken against him or any demand seeking his impeachment will be quashed and will be a threat to national security. Yameen has full military and army backing of the country. Although there is a provision of removing the President through impeachment, the attorney-general of the country said that the President can be removed only by a vote in the parliament and the police and security forces will not execute orders by ‘fake powers’ that be. At the moment former President Nasheed is living in exile in Sri Lanka and is fearful of this proclamation of a ‘coup d’etat’ by President Yameen. Until there is any other major breakthrough, both the factions under Nasheed and Yameen will have to continue garnering international support for their claims.
©Navodita Pande
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