Recent Developments in Maldives
- Emergency was declared in the Maldives for 30 days in November, 2015.
- There is a political turmoil since the election of Abdulla Yameen as President in 2013.
- It is said that Maldives is moving closer to China which is definitely of concern to India.
November 2015 Emergency
- Imposed by current President Abdulla Yameen, brother of former autocrat Abdul Gayoom that ruled the island nation for thirty years.
- Emergency was imposed on the grounds that some groups planning to topple the government were possessing arms on a large scale.
- The emergency measures effectively snatches away the freedoms that followed the August 2008 Constitution.
- Maldives, for the most of the years after its independence in 1965, was an autocratic nation and became a democracy only in 2008.
- With the present political turmoil, there is a threat of reemergence of autocratic polity.
Maldives
- Maldives is an archipelago (chain of islands) in the Indian Ocean.
- It is located southwest of India and Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea.
- All islands are coral islands and were formed by hotspot volcanism.
- The capital and largest city is Male, traditionally called the "King's Island".
- The Maldives is a Muslim-majority country with significant religious diversity.
Independence
- From the mid-sixteenth century, it was dominated by colonial powers: Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain.
- The islands gained independence from the British Empire in 1965, becoming a republic in 1968.
- It is ruled by a president and its government is authoritarian. The Maldivian economy is dominated by tourism and fishing.
Geography
- The islands are a part of Reunion Hotshot Volcanism which include Lakshadweep islands, Chagos Islands, Reunion Islands, Mauritius Islands etc..
- It is the smallest Asian country in both land area and population.
- The archipelago is located atop the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean.
- With an average ground level elevation of 1.5 metres above sea level, it is the planet's lowest country. (Extremely vulnerable to sea level changes)
- It is also the country with the lowest natural highest point in the world, at 2.4 metres.
Politics
- Maldives is a presidential republic, with the President as head of government and head of state.
- Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was an autocratic leader that ruled Maldives for 30-years from 1978 to 2008. Maldives was made a tourist hub under his regime.
- The dissident journalist Mohamed Nasheed challenged the autocratic rule of Gayoom.
- Mohamed Nasheed’s political activism, as well as civil unrest, pressured Gayoom into allowing for gradual political reforms.
- In 2008 a new constitution was approved and the first direct presidential elections were held.
- Mohamed Nasheed won the election and became president in 2008.
- In 2012, the Maldives military unconstitutionally arrested The Chief Justice of the Maldives Criminal Court, on charges of blocking the prosecution of corruption and human rights cases against allies of former President Gayoom.
- Nasheed ordered the police and army to subdue the anti-government protesters.
- Police came out to protest against the government instead.
- Nasheed was deposed by a military coup led by President Waheed.
- Mohammed Waheed Hassan, was sworn in as President in 2012.
- In 2013 elections Nasheed got 47% of the votes. But the opposition conspired against him and elected Abdulla Yameen (~25% votes)(half-brother of former dictator Gayoom) as president.
- In March of 2013 Nasheed was convicted and jailed for 13 years under the country's terrorism laws for ordering the arrest of an allegedly corrupt judge.
- Nasheed was dragged out of the Indian Embassy where he was taking refuge and the police arrested him.
- Since then the country is boiling under civilian unrest and political turmoil.
- In 2015, Maldives vice president Ahmed Adheeb was arrested on accusation of conspiring to kill the president.
- There is a fear that the bad old days of autocratic rule would return.
India-Maldives relations since Yameen took presidency
- Abdulla Yameen implemented a foreign policy shift towards increased engagement with China, establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
- Yameen employed Islam as a tool of identity politics, framing religious mobilization to counter Western influence.
- Islamic radicalization became a common phenomenon under him.
- More and more radicalised youths are enlisting in significant numbers to fight for Islamic State militants in the Middle East. (This is bad for Maldives as well as India)
India–Maldives relations
- Relations have been friendly and close in strategic, economic and military cooperation.
- India contributed to maintaining security on the island nation and has forged an alliance with respect to its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean (Fighting piracy and keeping China out of the game. India doesn’t want Maldives to be a pearl in the Chinese String of Pearls).
Images from https://indiancurrentaffairs.wordpress.com/2011/11/12/string-of-pearls-demystified/
Image from: http://s1106.photobucket.com/user/MonasinghX/media/SOP_zpsedee4696.jpg.html
- India and Maldives officially and amicably decided their maritime boundary in 1976.
- India and Maldives signed a comprehensive trade agreement in 1981.
- Both nations are founding members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the South Asian Economic Union and signatories to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement.
- Indian and Maldivian leaders have maintained high-level contacts and consultations on regional issues.
Operation Cactus
- In November 1988 around 80 armed militants of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam landed in Maldives
- Militants along with their allies began taking over the government.
- The plot, planned in Sri Lanka by the Tamil nationalist group was believed to be an attempt by a Maldivian businessman and politician opposed to the regime of Abdul Gayoom.
- The militants took control of the airport in Male, the national capital, but failed to capture the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,
- Maumoon Abdul Gayoom asked for military aid from India.
- The then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered 1,600 troops to aid the Maldivian government.
- In a military operation codenamed "Operation Cactus," Indian forces arrived within 12 hours of the request.
- Indian forces squashed the coup attempt and achieved full control of the country within hours.
- India's intervention was endorsed by other nations such as the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain and its neighbors Nepal and Bangladesh.
Post Operation Cactus
- Since the success of Operation Cactus, the relations between India and Maldives have expanded significantly.
- India has provided extensive economic aid and has participated in bilateral programs for the development of infrastructure, health, civil aviation, telecommunications and labour resources.
- India and Maldives established the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Male, the capital of Maldives.
- While India's exports to Maldives during 2006 were worth Rs. 3.84 billion, imports were worth less than Rs. 60 million.
Aftermath of GMR - Maldives Airport Row
- The Maldivian Government terminated the Indian company GMR contract of the Male airport on allegations of irregularity in awarding the project.
- Bilateral relations between the two countries hit an all-time low after the GMR row, 2012.
- Indian government froze its US$25 million aid to the island nation.
- Infrastructure commitments were put on the back burner.
- The real reason for New Delhi's anguish is said to be the anti-India sentiments being aired by some parties in President Mohamed Waheed's coalition.
Drinking-water crisis in Male
- In the wake of a drinking water crisis in Male on 4 December 2014, following collapse of the island's only water treatment plant, Maldives urged India for immediate help.
- India came to rescue by sending its heavy lift transporters like C-17 Globemaster III, Il-76 carrying bottled water.
- The navy also sent her ships like INS Sukanya, INS Deepak and others which can produce fresh water using their onboard desalination plants.
- The humanitarian relief efforts by the Indian side was widely appreciated in Male across all sections of people.
2015 arrest of ex-President Nasheed
- Maldives' first democratically elected President from 2008 to 2012 Mohammed Nasheed, was arrested on 22 February 2015 on terror charges.
- India and US expressed concern over Nasheed's arrest and manhandling.
- Indian PM Modi was to also visit Maldives in the second week of March as a part four nation visit to Indian Ocean neighbours. But, he later omitted Maldives from his tour.
0 comments:
Post a Comment