Maldives crisis deepens amid calls for India to step in

Exiled ex-president asks Delhi to send envoy as president imposes state of emergency

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The government of Maldives, the tourist paradise in the Indian Ocean, has imposed a state of emergency and arrested two senior judges in what the president says is a bid to foil a coup.
Security forces outside the Supreme Court in Male after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency on Monday, deepening a political crisis in the country that has pitted its leader against the nation's top court.
Security forces outside the Supreme Court in Male after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency on Monday, deepening a political crisis in the country that has pitted its leader against the nation's top court. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

MALE/COLOMBO • An exiled former president of the Maldives has urged India to send an envoy backed by military to release political prisoners after the government of the Indian Ocean nation imposed a state of emergency and arrested two senior judges.

Best known as a premium holiday destination, the Maldives plunged into crisis last week after the Supreme Court quashed terrorism convictions against nine leading opposition figures including the country's exiled, first democratically elected president, Mr Mohamed Nasheed.

Having defied the court ruling to release the detainees, President Abdulla Yameen declared an emergency on Monday and ordered security forces to seize control of the court and arrest the chief justice and another judge.

Mr Nasheed, who was granted asylum by Britain after the government allowed him to leave jail for medical treatment abroad in 2016, yesterday sought Indian intervention to resolve his nation's most serious political crisis in years.

"On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request: India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges & pol. detainees," Mr Nasheed, who is in Colombo, said in a Twitter post.

He also urged the United States to block financial transactions of Mr Yameen's government.

Since Mr Yameen took control of the Muslim country of 400,000 people in 2013, his government has faced heavy criticism over the detention of opponents, political influence over the judiciary and the lack of freedom of speech.

Addressing the nation on state television yesterday, Mr Yameen said he had acted to prevent a coup, and suggested that the judges had chosen to side with his opponents because they were being investigated for corruption.

"I declared the state of emergency because there was no way to hold these justices accountable. This is a coup," he said.

Police also held Mr Yameen's half-brother, Mr Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had ruled the Maldives for 30 years until 2008 and now stands with the opposition. Other opponents of Mr Yameen remain in prison.

India, the US, Britain and the United Nations have urged Mr Yameen to honour the rule of law and free the detainees.

Indian intervention in the Maldives would not be unprecedented as New Delhi had sent troops in 1988 to foil a coup. But any involvement by India now would risk raising tensions and intensify the rivalry with China, which has had good ties with Mr Yameen's government. A free trade agreement between the two countries was signed in December.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang yesterday said the situation was an internal matter for the Maldives.

China, the US, and India have already issued advisories against travelling to the tropical islands, which earned US$2.7 billion (S$3.6 billion) in 2016 from holidaymakers.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 07, 2018, with the headline Maldives crisis deepens amid calls for India to step in. Subscribe