Maldives, the small island nation in the Indian Ocean, is suffering from a state of emergency. It plunged into a crisis after President Abdulla Yameen refused to comply with the Supreme Court’s verdict that quashed terrorism convictions against nine leading opposition figures. Furthermore, Yameen announced the arrest of two prominent judges of the SC and the former President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
This is being viewed as an ‘auto-coup’, because it’s believed that if Yameen had followed the SC’s judgement and released the nine individuals concerned, it would have paved the way for his impeachment. Instead, by declaring an emergency for 15 days, Yameen’s government has drawn immense flak in the international scene – from the US, the UK, the UN, the EU and India too. However, conveniently enough, countries like China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained silence on the issue.
President Yameen had tried to run a Mugabe-kind of democracy, in which dissent was supposed to be muzzled. Despite pressure from the judiciary, the opposition and the international community, Yameen is still unwilling to give up power.
Former president Nasheed has urged for a military intervention by India. However, currently, India is cautiously observing the turbulence in Male. After all, the situation in Maldives presents India with a significant diplomatic challenge.
In the past, India had intervened in Maldives’ affairs to free it from the clutches of a rag-tag
coalition of mercenaries and militants. This was the Operation Cactus during the tenure of the former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. However the present situation is different, as it involves China too. This is especially true because of the fact that China, which didn’t even have an embassy in Male till 2011, has recently emerged as a key player in the domestic politics of this tiny island nation in India’s backyard.
Not surprisingly, President Yameen, who has been frequently accused of corruption and for selling the country’s natural resources to China for personal gains, now has close ties with China. In my opinion, the present leadership in Male is backed by China which is either encouraging or persuading president Yameen to act in a certain manner – by imposing emergency and not letting democracy thrive in the country.
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