India's decision to fall back on an Islamic and authoritarian government to protect and promote its interests is a sad commentary on its neighbourhood policy, says T P Sreenivasan.
Maldives' new government has commended India for the way it dealt with the political upheaval in the country, saying New Delhi was not "fooled" by Mohamed Nasheed's claims of a coup and was "correct" in its reaction.
Refusing to give up his political ambitions despite an arrest warrant against him, 44-year-old Nasheed kept up the heat on new President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, who was his deputy just three days ago, and demanded that he step down to pave the way for fresh elections.
As the crisis in Maldives deepened, India on Friday sent its special envoy to Male to assess the situation in the island where former President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in a coup. M Ganapathi, secretary (west) in the external affairs ministry left for Male with a brief to assess the situation in the Indian Ocean atoll, which has plunged into a crisis after the ouster of Nasheed. "I have sent an envoy to Maldives to assess the situation," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
Ousted Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has said he will be approaching the country's Supreme Court for justice following a coup, which he claims was engineered by then Vice President Dr Mohammed Waheed Hassan.
Mohamed Nasheed, 45, the first democratically elected president of the Maldives who was ousted in a coup in the early hours of February 7, has been in Delhi for the last few days. He is lobbying the Indian government for support to hold elections in the Maldives by the end of 2012, instead of 2013 when elections are due anyway. He tells Jyoti Malhotra that India should take a leadership role in the Indian Ocean
India hoped on Monday that engagement with all the stakeholders in Maldives will help bring stability there as former President Mohamed Nasheed met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi to seek intervention to ensure early elections in his country.
In unusual comments at the SAARC forum, Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday talked about strained relations between India and Pakistan, saying that he hoped that tomorrow's meeting between the two countries' Prime Ministers will lead to resolution of their differences.
India on Saturday voiced "deep concern" over the developments in the Maldives, a day after former president Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court of that country under anti-terror laws.
Maldivian President Mohammed Waheed on Wednesday said that all the three candidates for the country's controversy-ridden presidential election have reached a consensus on holding the poll on November 9.
Describing climate change as one of the most serious security challenges the world is going to face, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, on Friday called for urgent United Nations reforms and making India and Brazil as permanent members of the Security Council.
'I am also concerned over Chinese ambitions in the Maldives and wider Indian Ocean,' former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed tells Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma in an exclusive interview.
Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, who witnessed opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, hailed the arrangements for the sporting event and dismissed the criticism that preceded it as creation of "old and established" media, which failed to judge "new" India.
'Several Maldivians have been arrested by Pakistani authorities after they crossed into Pakistan from India. The recruitment of Islamist radicals takes place in the Maldives and their channel of movement is all the way up to Pakistan.'
Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as angry protesters stormed the prime minister's office in Colombo, hours after president Gotabaya Rajapksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet, amid the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
In a significant decision, which may escalate the political turmoil in Maldives, the country's supreme court on Tuesday declared as null and void the first round of presidential polls in which former president Mohammed Nasheed emerged as the winner.
The claim was filed on Friday before an Arbitration Court in Singapore and a final order in the matter is likely to come out by end of March next year.
Two foreign journalists, including an Indian national, working for French news agency AFP who were arrested by the Maldivian police for violating immigration rules, have been ordered to leave the island nation facing political turmoil.
India issued an advisory to its nationals on Monday, asking them not to undertake non-essential travel to the island nation.
Mohammed Nasheed, sentenced to 13 years in jail under anti-terrorism laws, will have a furnished air-conditioned prison.
Maldives' former president said he DIDN'T authorise any arrest in a criminal court in Male
Prime Minister Modi will be conferred with the Maldives' highest honour "Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen".
President Yameen declared the emergency on February 5 after the Supreme Court ordered the release of a group of opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials. Among them was exiled ex-President Mohamed Nasheed. The court said his 2015 trial had been unconstitutional.
'Now is the time for India, our biggest neighbour and oldest friend, to bring the full array of international policy instruments to bear.'
Exiled ex-Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Thursday declared that he would return to his country and run for presidency in elections next year, as he asserted that India will be "mindful of assisting democracy".
In a major development, former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed was on Friday night sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court in Male under the anti-terrorism laws.
In the face of pressure from the world community, Mohamed Waheed has stepped down as president of the Maldives on the eve of the second round of the country's controversy-ridden presidential polls.
The action against the two journalists came as a privately-owned television station in the Maldives went off the air, citing threats during the country's current state of emergency.
Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has asked the international community to respect the ruling on Nasheed.
As the international community focuses its attention on the presidential elections, front runners Nasheed and Abdullah Yameen have warned of poll time violence, reports Shubha Singh
Anti-Corruption Commission rules out graft.
Terrorism is not just a threat for a country but to the entire civilization, Modi said.
George Joseph
The Maldives government on Tuesday defended the arrest of former president Mohamed Nasheed.
"The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," MEA said.
'Of course, Maldives is chicken feed for the Indian armed forces. And an intervention in the Maldives may serve the purpose of creating jingoism in an election year.' 'But from the foreign policy perspective, any such move will be a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter,' warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
'Without doubt, General Bajwa has deliberately snubbed India.' 'But why did he do that?' 'The Male leadership is simply fed up with Indian interference,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Abdulla Yameen, half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, on Saturday clinched an unexpected victory in the presidential run-off elections by defeating former President Mohamed Nasheed, who had led in two recent aborted polls.
China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.
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