On August 25, the BBC reported that moves are underway by opposition leaders in the Maldives, including Mohammed Nasheed, former president and leader of Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), to oust President Abdulla Yameen.
Just around then, Nasheed, who has taken political asylum in London, visited Colombo, for what the Mihaaru website termed as “an important sit-down (with friends) over the present crisis in the Maldives.”
The BBC cited unnamed “credible sources,” but was short on details. It merely stated that President Yameen’s opponents were “looking to move against him within weeks.”
Yameen is increasingly isolated after the resignation of key ministers, one of them is foreign minister, Dunya Maumoon, daughter of former strong man Gayoom.
There has been an intense concern in the West over Yameen government’s anti-democratic methods. The US and its allies are hostile to Yameen for two reasons: one his record of human rights abuses; two his close ties to China.
Strategically located astride major sea lanes, Maldives has become a focal point for rivalry between the US and China as Washington has implemented its “pivot to Asia” and military build-up throughout the region.
Two BBC reporters visited Maldives as ordinary tourists; their dispatch based on interviews and spot reporting of protests offers enough ammunition to Yameen critics. They ‘covered’ protests though secretly, and recorded the criticism of local media.
On his Colombo visit, Nasheed was accompanied by the head of the United Opposition of Maldives (UOM), Mohamen Jameel Ahmed, who is also a former vice president. The UOM was formed in June in London on the basis of a common agenda of ousting Yameen.
Sri Lankan government neither confirmed nor denied Nasheed’s get togethers. During his weekly press briefing, Sri Lankan Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne recalled Nasheed’s political activities in Sri Lanka during the Rajapakse regime. “He must be doing the same thing even now,” he remarked with a smile.
The Maithripala Sirisena government which has succeeded Rajapakse regime had mediated Nasheed’s release and his travel last year to the UK. MDP international spokesman, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, claims that India, the US and the EU are “backing” their moves to oust Yameen’s dictatorial government by legal means.”
Nasheed is outspoken about his support for the US and India, and opposition to China.
Reports from Male say, Yameen clearly feels under siege.
Yameen government has recently brought on the statute book a tough defamation law that provides for jail terms and steep fines for journalists. The defence ministry has barred soldiers from meeting politicians and foreign diplomats, political leaders and political activists without prior permission from senior officials.
Last week fresh arrest warrants were issued for Nasheed, Mohamen Jameel Ahmed, and MDP senior official Akram Kamldeen, who are also in exile in the UK. Police raided Nasheed’s house in Male.
The ruling Maldives Progressive Party (MPP) is riven with dissensions. The party chief, and Yameen’s brother, Gayoom, who had ruled with an iron hand till Nasheed happened, is publicly opposed to the government plan to allow foreign holdings of land. This Yameen move is primarily aimed to enable China to set us economic enclaves and under that cover military bases.
In a long interview with the Bangkok based NYT correspondent, Nasheed accused Yameen of corruption. During the time he headed the State Trading Organisation of Maldives in the early 2000s, Yameen sold nearly $US300 million worth of oil to Myanmar’s military dictatorship. The sale violated the sanctions against the Myanmar junta; in fact it ended up as a bail out for the military rulers in Yangon. Nasheed believes that his accidental discovery of this scam during his presidency had prompted his ouster.
Reports in The Australian highlight the “danger” that Maldivians are joining ISIS to fight the Syrian regime. Writing under the headline, “Could a terror threat sink paradise?”, the daily said: “The country famed for white sands and laid-back locals is teetering on the edge of a coup with unrest and the threat of Islamic State terrorism set to see paradise turn ugly.”