World Affairs
Male People to Solve Problems with no Foreign Intervention
Crisis continues in Maldives with no sign of its resolution in near future .
On Feb1 st , 2018 , the Maldives Supreme Court nullified the govt ’ s imprisonment of Male ’ s Vice President and the arrest warrant against Mohammed Nasheed , the ex-President of Male . It ordered the release of other political leaders and reinstated 12 members of Majlis ( Parliament ), whom the govt . has disqualified last year . The Court also ordered the govt . to convene the Majlis .
But the Male President Abdul Yameen has refused to comply with the Court orders . The Govt . stormed the Supreme Court premises on Feb 5 th , 2018 and arrested the Chief Justice and another Judge . On the same night , the President has declared a state of emergency . A day later , the govt . has also arrested the Chief Justice and all the political leaders in the Opposition including Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who ruled Male for 30 years . All these out and out autocratic and suppressive moves have triggered off mass protests and plunged the country in turmoil . The crisis brought a vertical division among the Male ’ s ruling classes .
Maldives is an archipelago of nearly 1200 small islands with a population of 4 , 27,000 . It is starved of economic resources and it excessively depends on revenues earned from tourism . As an island located near key shipping lanes , Male occupies a
10 strategic place in the Indian Ocean .
Male was under the dictatorial rule of Maumoon Gayoom for 30 years . Only in 2008 , Mohammed Nasheed became a first elected President . He came into clash with the Chief Justice and had gone to the extent of arresting him . He was forced to resign in the face of police mutiny . He suffered defeat in 2013 elections and Abdulla Yameen became the President . Nasheed was jailed on the charge of terrorism . He is in exile since 2016 to evade the arrest .
Thus the ongoing crisis is a manifestation of an intensified contradiction and power struggle between the two sections of ruling classes , one led by Yameen , who heads the govt . now in Male and another led by Nasheed who leads the opposition in Male from exile .
In terms of international relations , the present Male govt . is closer to China . It preferred China to India in developing economic , political and strategic relations . On the other side , Nasheed is appealing for India ’ s intervention in Male ’ s crisis . He even called for a military intervention . He is trying to impress upon the Indian rulers that an end of present Yameen ’ s regime in Male will be in India ’ s interests too as it helps to end China ’ s growing influence in Male and turn the situation more favourable for India .
So , Male ’ s crisis is essentially an internal problem . How to protect the interests of the country , lives and rights of people is the main concern of the people and democratic forces in Male . The sections of ruling classes who are locked in a dog fight for power are only complicating the problem and diverting the people ’ s attention from the real issues .
Here another question is : Cannot a small and weak country like Male survive and live in peace and tranquillity without subordinating itself to one or other big or powerful Country in the present world situation ? Is looking for or relying on a foreign intervention advisable or unavoidable for a small and weak country when it is faced with an internal crisis like Male ? Is the male ’ s Opposition leader Nasheed is representing the sovereignty , interests of his Country and people when he is seeking India ’ s intervention in Male ’ s affairs in return for his tacit commitment to take care of the interests of Indian rulers ?
In the context of present crisis in Male , the Indian govt . has strongly criticised the autocratic moves of Yameen govt . It did not stop here . It provided all avenues for Male ’ s opposition leader Nasheed to campaign and mobilise support against the Male govt . It paid a favourable hearing to his appeals for India ’ s intervention in crisis .
Two factors are a matter of concern here : I ) The Indian rulers had established enough record of interventions – political as well as military into the affairs of other countries in the South Asian region . In 1971 , the Indian rulers
Class Struggle