Ex-leader pleads for Indian intervention

Meanwhile, the Maldives High Commission in India said in a statement that it was committed to ensuring the safety of all residents in the Indian Ocean nation irrespective of nationality.

The US State Department has denounced Yameen and called on his government to “restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions of the Maldives”.

The Maldives political turmoil deepened Tuesday with the arrests of its chief justice, Abdulla Saaed, and fellow judge Ali Hameed, and then backtracking hours later by their three colleagues. India said it is disturbed by the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives.

Baffled China on Wednesday indirectly cautioned India against intervening in the Maldives, saying any military “interference” in the country’s political crisis would “complicate” the situation – a day after the exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed sought India’s military help.

The opposition leader had “humbly requested” upon India and the U.S. to ensure that political detainees are released and government finances are choked.

The government has so far refused to implement the order, saying it had concerns about releasing those who were convicted for “terrorism, graft, embezzlement and treason”.

Mohamed Nasheed, who was President of the country from 2008 to 2012, has strongly criticized the Emergency.

Early on Tuesday opposition leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was charged with bribery and attempting to overthrow the government, his lawyer said on Twitter. He could be fasting. And the fact that he is an old man of 80 years. After losing the election to incumbent president Abdulla Yameen the following year, Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2015 on charges that are alleged to have been concocted by Yameen’s government.

Allowed to leave jail to seek medical treatment overseas, Nasheed was granted asylum by Britain in 2016.

The top court had not rescinded the part of the order which quashed its anti-defection ruling ordering the country’s electoral watchdog to re-instate the dozen government lawmakers disqualified over the ruling.

“For a long time, the Maldives has had to choose between being manipulated by India and its independence as a sovereign state”, the Global Times editorial said.

The principle of noninterference is China’s hallmark when it comes to foreign policy; Beijing’s insistence that the world stand back and allow the Maldives to handle the situation is in line with its advice in a number of previous political crises, from Zimbabwe’s recent coup to the early days of the Syrian civil war. However New Delhi does not seem to be inclined to send its army for intervention.

The OIC also stressed the need for a peaceful settlement of the ongoing political crisis in line with the constitutional provisions.

Maldivian police officers detain an opposition protester demanding the release of political prisoners during a protest in Male, Maldives.

Indian intervention would not be unprecedented, as New Delhi sent troops in 1988 to foil a coup, purportedly involving foreign mercenaries.

“The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs”.

“The Maldives’ sovereignty should be respected”, the editorial added. The political unrest should be left to the Maldivian people to address.

China – the number one source of tourists for the Maldives – and neighbouring India have already warned their national to defer all non-essential travel, and the United Kingdom and the USA have warned their nationals to exercise caution in Male.