Maldives Snubs India Again, Says Political Crisis Internal Matter

New Delhi: A day after India reiterated that Maldives must implement the order passed by its Supreme Court on February 1 that overturned the convictions of political prisoners, the island nation has said that it was an internal matter that should be resolved internally.

“The Government of Maldives firmly believes that the recent political developments is an internal political matter and therefore should remain as a matter to be resolved internally,” the Maldives foreign ministry said.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday welcomed Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen lifting the state of Emergency after 45 days but also reiterated that the island nation must implement the Maldivian Supreme Court’s February 1 order.

The February 1 order of the Maldivian Supreme Court overturned the convictions of political prisoners, including that of its exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

“We call upon the Government of the Maldives to restore all Articles of the Constitution, to allow the Supreme Court and other branches of the judiciary to operate in full independence, to promote and support the free and proper functioning of Parliament, to implement the Supreme Court's Full Bench order of 1 February 2018 and to support a genuine political dialogue with all opposition parties,” the MEA statement on Thursday said.

The Maldivian foreign ministry further said that public statements made without genuine regard to facts and ground realities of the situation in the Maldives “are not helpful at all to ensure a stable, peaceful and prosperous Maldives that meets the aspirations of its citizens.”

At a press conference held in Male earlier this month, Mohammed Shainee, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture and also chairperson of the all-party talks committee, had said that India must stay away from the political crisis as it was as ‘internal matter.’ He added that Maldives didn’t intervene in the Kashmir matter for the same reason.

This is not the first time that the MEA has asked the Maldives to implement the February 1 order. The first time that that Yameen imposed Emergency and after that extended it, MEA had voiced its concerns over the non-implementation of the order. This time around too, it further said that it was important for the Maldivian government to ensure “credible restoration of the political process, as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year.” Maldives goes to polls later this year in September.