Tag: india

Defence Minister visits India seeking military cooperation

Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has asked India for assistance in developing the capacity and human resources of the MNDF.

During an official trip Nazim visited the Indian military’s DEFEXPO exhibition-2012 in New Delhi, and also met military officials from Malaysia and Nepal.

Nazim met with his Indian counterpart A K Anthony, speaking about potential opportunities for Maldives’ military personnel to gain experience and training in India.

The Defence Minister was accompanied by Commandant of the Coast Guard and Director General of Intelligence Brigadier General Ahmed Shahid, and Principal Director International Defence Corporation Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Hilmee.

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Former President Nasheed schedules India visit for mid-April: Zee News

Former President Mohamed Nasheed is set to visit India later this month as part of an international tour to try and garner support for early elections in the Maldives amidst allegations that he was removed from office in a “coup d’etat”, Zee News has reported.

The proposed visit has been announced as Nasheed finishes up a visit to the US where he has been speaking to students, diplomats and popular talk shot host David Letterman about his views on the state of democracy in the country.  He has also been using the trip to promote the documentary film “The Island President”:

44-year-old Nasheed, who became Maldives’ first democratically-elected president following multi-party polls in October 2008, had resigned on February 7 in what he claims was a coup.

He said he was shocked at the US and Indian governments’ rapid move to recognise the new regime headed by Mohammaed Waheed Hassan after he was ousted from power.

“I will go to India in the middle of next month and plan to meet as many political leaders as possible,” including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nasheed said.

“I would like to ask the people of India to be with us and to not let go (of their support for us). They should not let dictatorship return to Maldives. We have to have early elections. We can come back on track again. We definitely need the support of India,” he said.
Nasheed, who is in the US for the release of a documentary on climate change, said he hopes India will “come around” and support him even though it had moved quickly to recognise the new regime in Maldives.

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India’s image tarnished in Maldives: Zee News

There is no doubt that Nasheed, the self-proclaimed great lover of India, not only helped New Delhi track down extremists but also keep an edge over China in the India Ocean, writes Kamna Arora for Zee News.

Nasheed, 44, even questioned after receiving cold shoulder from New Delhi: “My question to Indian establishment is that if they think we did not perform, do they think this is a better option?” referring to the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) of former dictator Abdul Gayoom. “Unlike PPM, we are a group of people who strongly believe in India, their role and functions in Indian Ocean and the relationship that we want with India,” he said.

The former Maldivian president went on to predict that India will lose to China under the new regime. India’s image also got tarnished in Maldives, which relies heavily on New Delhi for everything ranging from employment and education to health services and entertainment. A Maldivian friend, who declined to be named, told me that the swift recognition of the new regime has dented New Delhi’s image so much that ordinary Maldivians do not trust India anymore. What is India’s plan to regain that trust is yet to be found out.

Reports indicate that the new Maldivian regime is closer to inking a defence agreement with China. If that happens, what is India’s plan to gain an edge apropos China in the Indian Ocean region?

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Indian government offers to replace destroyed police vehicles

The Indian government has offered to replace all police vehicles destroyed during the unrest that flared across the country following the recent transition of Presidential power.

The police bore the brunt of the anger that followed former President Nasheed’s resignation, resulting in damage that the Ministry of Home Affairs has estimated to amount to Rf183million.

The majority of the damage occurred in the atolls where 16 vehicles were destroyed during February’s upheavals.

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India has “moral obligation to safeguard democracy” in the Maldives, Jameel tells PTI

India has a moral obligation to safeguard democracy in the Maldives, Home Minister Mohamed Jameel has told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Jameel said it would be a blow to India if the nascent democracy in Maldives failed to live up to its promises, PTI reported.

“It will be a moral obligation on the part of India to see that democracy is sustained at Maldives, and if not it will be a blow to India as well as it the closest ally to our country,” Jameel told PTI, thanking
Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai for brokering the roadmap negotiations.

Several political parties in the talks had accused India of interference in Maldivian internal affairs.

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Detained Indian fishermen released

Eleven Indian fishermen have been released after they were last week taken into custody by the Maldives National Defence Force Coastguard for straying into Maldivian waters.

The fishermen were released into the care of the Indian High Commission in Male’, police reported, after a request by India’s External Affairs Ministry.

The fishermen had been detained on Kulhudhuffushi in Haa Dhaal Atoll.

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“Some dis-satisfactions” expressed over India’s participation in All Party talks: Mujuthaba

Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Ranjan Mathai has visited the Maldives for the second time in just a few weeks since ousting of former President Mohamed Nasheed, to observe the progress of the cross-party peace talks.

Mathai was a key proponent of  a ‘roadmap’ document proposing early presidential elections, with necessary amendments to the constitution and  laws to be completed within a month’s time. Minivan News understands that Mathai participated in last night’s round of talks.

The Indian High Commission has released a press statement stating that Mathai had “extensive consultations” with all parties individually.

“The objective of [Mathai’s] visit was to take forward the political process and continue India’s engagement with all parties concerned,” the statement read.

“In this connection, the foreign secretary had extensive consultations with all parties individually and collectively. All parties expressed the view that India had played a very useful role in taking the process forward as a facilitator and friend of the Maldivian people,” it said.

The statement also stated that there had been a “broad measure of agreement” during the talks between the parties, which had “identified key important principles”.

Those principles included continuing dialogue to find a possible agreement on the amendment of the constitution and enactment of legislation for institutional reform.

All the parties had recognised the need to undertake the necessary amendments and legislation within a short time period in parliament, and highlighted the importance of parties continuing consultations for a possible agreement for early elections within and out of the All Party Consultative Committee (APCC)

Local media had reported that the meeting was “heated” due to the participation of Mathai, with representatives of some parties expressing their “dismay” at the Indian government “interfering in the domestic affairs of the country and trying to rush towards an early election.”

Facilitator of the talks, Ahmed Mujuthaba, told Minivan News that he was too busy to speak about how the meetings went last night.

However, local newspaper Haveeru reported that Mujuthaba had admitted that there were some “dis-satisfactions” during the talks regarding Mathai’s intervention, but said the talks had gone well.

The roadmap document promoted by India was “not something proposed formally”, he told Haveeru, and that “the agenda of the talks has been decided by the participants of the talks.”

Former President Nasheed said this morning, amid ongoing protests calling for  early elections, that the parties in support of the current government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan had now showed hesitation towards early elections “despite agreeing on it earlier.”

MDP Parliamentary group leader and the party’s representative at the talks, MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, had not responded at time of press.

However Haveeru reported that the MDP was waiting for the outcome of the roadmap talks before deciding what stand the party would take on protests tomorrow.

President Waheed, who assumed power after the events unfolded on February 7, has called all political parties to join his ‘National Unity’ government and come to the negotiation table to discuss a peaceful political solution to the current political turbulence. MDP has refused to recognise the Waheed government’s legitimacy, and has been calling for early presidential elections.

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India should give free kick to a friend: former Indian High Commissioner

The sudden resignation of President Nasheed in Maldives on February 7 took many by surprise, writes A. K. Banerjee, former Indian High Commissioner in the Maldives, for the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

The media in India reported it as a coup, a military takeover, the President was forced out, etc. Nasheed’s description of the change as a coup gave it a particular flavour. India is allergic to coups in its neighbourhood. It has had to get used to them in Pakistan and is wary of them in Bangladesh. This reflex is rooted in its deep seated commitment to democracy with a supreme civilian authority.

Coups also imply surprises and India does not particularly care for them. In the instant case the association of the word coup with Maldives set off a reflex and a chain reaction set in thereafter. India remembered the coup attempted in Maldives in 1988 when it had to rush its forces there to restore the government’s authority. An implied threat to its own security from an unstable situation in Maldives caused the Government to take the line of least resistance ie, accept the newly sworn in President, Dr. Waheed and assure him support and treat the matter as an internal issue of Maldives, to be sorted out by them.

Overall, the message that went out of New Delhi was that while it cannot be unconcerned about happenings in that country, it is prepared to work with whoever is legitimately in power there. However, the issue of legitimacy has now come to the fore and many feel that this needs to be looked at closely. Also, by being the first country to accept the developments there as an internal matter, India set an example for others to follow [witness the US position].

Democracies are however notoriously unstable to begin with and need patience and commitment all round. Maldives is no different and its institutions have not worked properly so far. The President was getting increasingly frustrated and the opposition confronted him at every step. Nasheed, long used to agitating for change and clamouring for power, did not, it seems, grow in office and his style was quite un-presidential. One could say that he was being democratic and had the zeal of a reformer. But holding office and leading street demonstrations require different hats.

Nasheed and his supporters faced opposition from a rich business class which controlled the mainstay of the Maldivian economy, i.e., the tourism industry. The downturn in the European economies, which sends the bulk of tourists to Maldives, has negatively affected this sector, which, in turn, impacted on the domestic political dynamics.

In describing his ouster as a coup, perhaps Nasheed wanted to indirectly involve India which he felt he was justified in doing given his attempts to bring the two countries closer, apart from his genuine democratic credentials. Yet at the same time he did not want armed conflict in his country or a civil war like situation. Since his ouster he has been loudly proclaiming his democratic credentials and wants India to hear him. He has repeated that he handed over power under duress and as a democrat he hopes India will see his position and, literally, rescue him. Not only that, he wants to bring forward elections to challenge the opposition and test their legitimacy at the hustings.

What should India do? Having made the point that Maldives is a major security issue for us and bearing in mind the overall international scenario prevailing now, we should bat for a friend. Knowing how slippery the democratic playfield can be and having a sense of who actually has fouled, as a sort of friendly referee, we should award a free kick to the player who has been knocked down.

How can we do that? We should work for a unitary government and persuade all to agree to early elections. But since there are no free lunches, we should recommend that Maldivians agree to long term strengthening of democratic institutions and resolve their differences peacefully; different factions must talk to each other and work towards a modus vivendi. Above all, authorities in Maldives must be encouraged to respect human rights and avoid use of force to deal with political dissent.

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India has let the Maldives down: Headlines Today

Ousted president Mohamed Nasheed, 44, was talking to his core group of advisers at his ancestral home ‘Keenerege’ in Male when the news of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s letter of support to new President Waheed Hassan Manik, 59, came in, writes Gaurav C Sawant, for Headlines Today.

A shocked Nasheed, or Anni as he is known to friends, could not speak for several minutes. Those in the room say there were tears in his eyes. “He felt he had been let down by a friend,” said Ameen Faisal, Nasheed’s close friend and the country’s national security adviser before the alleged coup.

Nasheed had stepped out of his home on February 8 to address his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) workers when the ‘notorious’ Star Force crackdown began. The former president took refuge in a hardware store but they were found and taken into custody. Nasheed, who was the first democratically elected president of Maldives, says he was ousted in a military-backed coup and that Waheed, the vice-president, was involved.

Faisal, who was high commissioner to India-designate till the alleged coup on February 7, says India has made a strategic blunder in the Indian Ocean Region. “I was the defence minister of Maldives. I know how both China and Pakistan are desperately trying to make inroads here. We are India’s natural allies. Yet instead of supporting the first democratically elected president, India put its weight behind forces that want to make Maldives the Pakistan of the Indian Ocean,” Faisal insists.

Nasheed, too, expressed his disappointment with India’s response. “India’s stand is misguided and ill-informed. I hope they will consider a course correction,” he told India Today. Nasheed feels New Delhi is taking him for granted and India may lose its influence to China, Faisal added.

China is desperately pushing its economic diplomacy. “The Maldivian National Defence Force was keen to renew its defence agreement with Beijing. Twice they came to me when I was president. I refused,” Nasheed said.

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