Tag: india today

Nasheed asks for India’s protection if jailed

Former President and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader Mohamed Nasheed has expressed fears of being arrested and asked the Indian government for protection.

In an interview Nasheed with India Today, he said that he had spent half of his adult life in jail and that he did not wish to spend any more time in incarceration.

He also asked the Indian people and government to “please come and get me and take me to India,” if he gets jailed, expressing a desire to live in Bangalore.

In the interview published today (February 12), Nasheed claimed that President Abdulla Yameen is on a “witch hunt” to purge his political contenders and pointed to the example of the detention and charges against former defence minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim.

In the interview, he reiterated claims that the government is losing its legitimacy due to the exit of the Jumhooree Party (JP) from the ruling coalition, stating that the government is undermining the Constitution in an effort to consolidate power.

“..[T]hey are going back to a form of governance that they are more familiar with. They are changing all independent institutions and now the JP has decided not to back this autocratic rule and we have been able to come with it in defence of the constitution,” Nasheed told India Today.

Source: India Today

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Troubled island – Maldives descends into political turmoil, again: India Today

“A broken coalition, arrest of its own Defence Minister, sacking of the CJ, removal of the auditor general, an attempt to bar former President from contesting and repeated overtures to Beijing are bringing things in Malé to a flashpoint that can have serious repercussions for India,” reports India Today.

“Unlike the idyllic white sand beaches, turquoise reefs and reclusive resorts that define Maldives, its capital city of Male is a densely packed island, just over a kilometer wide and crisscrossed with a maze of streets, expanding vertically as its one lakh inhabitants struggle for space. No tourist really steps afoot on Malé, landing instead at the adjoining Hulhulé island airport – to be expanded shortly thanks to a generous Chinese grant – before being whisked away in luxury boats to distant resorts.

The politics on Malé Island – soon to be connected to Hulhule under an ambitious Chinese bridging project – are however on a shaky wicket soon after what many thought was a decisive election in late 2013 ending a period of uncertainty after the controversial ouster of President Mohamed Nasheed in February 2012.

Just after a year in power, the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) led by President Abdulla Yameen is staring at a crisis. A broken coalition, the arrest of its own Defence Minister on charges of treason, the controversial sacking of the Chief Justice, a questionable removal of the Auditor General and an alleged attempt to bar former President Nasheed from contesting future elections are bringing things in Malé to a flashpoint that can have serious repercussions for India, where concern is already rising over recent overtures to Beijing by the island nation.”

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)