The Maldives government has cracked down on the opposition over a controversial “India Out” campaign against the Indian military presence in the island nation.
According to the reports, the Ibrahim Mohammed Solih-led Maldivian government has issued a decree banning anti-India protests citing threats to national security after certain pro-China opposition parties had started a controversial “India Out” campaign.
The decree, titled “Stopping Campaigns that Incite Hatred Against Various Countries Under Different Slogans”, mentions “India Out” protests as an organised campaign that aims to disrupt relations between the two countries and efforts to maintain peace and security in the region by inciting unrest.
President Ibrahim Solih has ordered all relevant authorities to implement the decree to end the anti-India campaign in the Maldives.
Issued in the Dhivehi language, the decree reads that the state has a duty to ensure the security of diplomats posted to the country and diplomatic missions. The presidential decree said while the government is committed to protecting the freedoms of expression and assembly, those behind the campaign were exploiting these freedoms for their own ends in a manner that would cause unrest in the Maldives and isolate it in the international community.
The Maldivian government also added that the “India Out” campaign intends “to incite hatred against India” and threaten the country’s national security, hindering the state’s capacity to maintain sovereignty while posing a threat to the safety and security of Maldivians living abroad.
Former President Abdulla Yameen led anti-India protests
Soon after former President Abdulla Yameen was ousted in 2018 due to his pro-China policies, an anti-India campaign was started in the island nation to incite hatred against the country. Former President Abdulla Yameen became the face of such protests, who claimed that India has been compromising the sovereignty of Maldives by interfering in its domestic affairs.
Yameen, during whose reign from 2013 to 2018 saw huge Chinese influence in the region, has once again picked up the “India Out” campaign to race his way for the Presidential elections. The presidential elections are due by September 2023.
On Wednesday, a huge “India Out” banner was also seen hanging out of Yameen’s residence in Male. Later, it was taken down by the police based on a court order.
According to Mohammed Aslam, who heads the parliamentary committee on national security, the anti-India protests are means to create large-scale unrest and instability in the entire country. They want to engineer an uprising against the government, he said.
Since President Solih was sworn in, Maldives has been trying to repair its ties with India, which had taken a hit during the Yameen regime. The government also declared an India First foreign policy. The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party had also earlier considered bringing in legislation to ban the “India Out” campaign.
The relationship between Delhi and Male has gained momentum, with the two countries signing a security cooperation pact. India is also helping the Maldives in fighting terrorism and extremism.
Besides, Maldives is part of the New Delhi-driven Colombo Security Conclave, including Sri Lanka and, lately, Mauritius. The mini-lateral envisages cooperation on “shared security objectives” in the Indian Ocean, where India sees itself as a first responder and net security provider.
Interestingly, not just in the Maldives, even in India, there has been considerable opposition against India’s active role in the Maldives. Three years back, when the anti-India protests broke out in the island nation, the Indian opposition parties attacked the Modi government over the rupture in the relationship between the two countries.
Rahul Gandhi had attacked the Modi govt on Maldives policy
Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi was the first to attack the Modi government over the alleged deterioration of ties between India and the island nation. Citing a news article written by the controversial far-left ‘journalist’ Suhasini Haider, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the Maldives, once one of our closest allies and beneficiary of massive aid, was cancelling Indian work visas and putting up “Not Hiring Indians” signs.
“This happens when foreign policy becomes about photo ops & “no agenda meetings” instead of strategic intent,” he had tweeted.
His tweet came after Haider, in an article written in 2018, had claimed that a downturn in ties with the Maldives had hit job opportunities for Indians. In her purported article, Haider had claimed that the companies had put up advertisements saying “Indians need not apply” as they would not be given permits to work in the Maldives.
Sharing the article, Rahul Gandhi had lashed out at the Modi government to insinuate that the ties between the two countries ruptured because of their photo ops and lack of strategic intent.
Even though the purported article written in the left-wing outlet ‘The Hindu’ had no substantial evidence to back the claims, Rahul Gandhi had chosen to trivialise national security issues by highlighting inconsequential incidents such as anti-India banners put up at a few restaurants.
Essentially, Rahul Gandhi was hinting that the ties between the two countries had ruptured only after the Modi government had come in.
However, the recent move by the Solih-led government to ban the anti-India campaign has only punctured the claims made by Rahul Gandhi three years ago.
