Miffed by power grab, India snubs Maldives special envoy

NEW DELHI: India delivered a strong snub to the Maldives government by declining a visit by a special envoy to India in the middle of the ongoing unrest in the island nation, making clear its disapproval of the Yameen government’s refusal to heed the supreme court order to free political detainees.

The Yameen Abdul Gayoom government on Thursday announced it had sent special envoys to three “friendly countries” — China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — as the political turmoil deepened in Maldives in the wake of the regime virtually assuming control of all organs of power.


Questioned about the absence of India in the list, Maldives envoy Ahmed Mohamed told TOI, “India was in fact the first stop planned and proposed for a visit of a special envoy of the President of Maldives. We asked for a visit on February 8. However, the dates proposed were not suitable for the Indian leadership.”

Behind the refusal, though is more than just dates. There is growing anger at the subversion of governance and democratic rules by President Yameen. India, sources said, has “not seen any real action on the concerns stated by the international community and India. Democratic institutions and the judiciary continue to be undermined and concerns ignored, these issues need to be properly addressed.”

There is a strong element of geo-politics at play in events unfolding in the Indian Ocean. Yameen seems to be counting on his proximity to China to ward off pressure to restore the functioning of the supreme court and allow political opponents to operate with freedom. China’s statement suggesting that outside intervention should be avoided has added to this perception. India does not seem inclined to intervene militarily but is likely to remain firm that Yameen heed the international community.

A statement by the Maldives embassy here said, “The first stop of special envoy of the President was India. Foreign Minister of Maldives Dr Mohamed Asim, the designated special envoy of the President was scheduled for 8th February 2018, to India but the visit was cancelled on the request of the Government of India.”

Sources in the Indian government confirmed a request for a special envoy’s visit was made on February 7. “With external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi leaving for a three-nation tour, we had scheduling difficulties.”

On Wednesday, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Adel Jubeir, Saudi foreign minister, held a one-on-one conversation in Riyadh where she is visiting. Sources said, Maldives was discussed in detail by the two leaders. Saudi Arabia, in recent years, has become one of Yameen’s key supporters.

Sushma also met the Saudi King Salman where “regional issues” also came up for discussion, sources said.

Meanwhile, France added its voice to the international criticism of Yameen’s actions. In a statement, the French foreign ministry said, “France is concerned by the suspension of public freedoms and by the arrests that took place following the declaration of the state of emergency in the Maldives. We call for a swift return to the normal functioning of the institutions and for respect for the rule of law.”

The international voices calling for Yameen to return to some sort of democratic rule is increasing despite China, Yameen’s primary backer, calling for dialogue between political parties in Maldives.

Beijing continued to take a soft line on Maldives, warning against foreign intervention. When asked to comment on Nasheed's call to India, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, "The international community should play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the Maldives' sovereignty instead of taking measures that could complicate the current situation." But the statement also highlighted China’s own concern that things were deteriorating rapidly in Maldives.

Reports from Male said President Yameen refused Thursday to meet senior European diplomats who were the first foreign dignitaries to visit the troubled nation since his crackdown. Envoys from the European Union, Germany and Britain arrived in Male. German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jorn Rohde, said the trio requested meetings to discuss Yameen's crackdown. "Sadly the Maldivian government refuses dialogue today with my UK/EU colleagues... Our requests were unfortunately refused," Rohde said on Twitter. "That is surely not the way forward."

"The Maldives have seen in recent years attacks on political opponents, on journalists, on civil society and human right defenders, and what is happening now is tantamount to an all-out assault on democracy," UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said on Wednesday, adding to the pressure.

On Wednesday, the international commission of jurists condemned the arrest of Supreme Court judges — “President Yameen and his Government have dealt a grave blow to the rule of law and independence of the judiciary in the Maldives,” said Ian Seiderman, ICJ’s legal and policy director. “The actions by the government are a wildly unjustifiable and disproportionate response to the decision of the Supreme Court”, he added.

Meanwhile, reports from Male say, Yameen arrested the family members of one of the judges, Ali Hameed and had his home searched.

Singapore joined the list of countries to issue travel advisories cautioning their citizens from heading to the island nation. Reacting to a spate of travel advisories, Yameen’s office stated that despite the emergency, hotels and tourist resorts would function as usual.