pushes ’
jitender gupta
Who paid them to overthrow the government ? We don ’ t know , but some arrests have been made and there are various allegations . But the SC had clearly undermined the constitution . What about parliament ? Why isn ’ t parliament with the government on this ? The parliament session starts when the president delivers his address for the new year . Normally , this happens in February . I don ’ t think there is time for that now . When do you think there will be time to do that ? The government has clearly announced that the state of Emergency will be lifted after 15 days . We are confident that by then normalcy will be restored . What is India ’ s image in Maldives like ?
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Supreme Court judges tried to stop bribery investigations against them . Some were also bribed to overthrow the government .
not advocate what another country will do . But a country ’ s response should be responsible and based on exact knowledge of what is going on in Maldives . Just sitting in some corner of the world and giving prescriptive solutions doesn ’ t solve anything . One has to visit Maldives to see what is happening . What is keeping them away ? Maybe they think we are a very small country . If they thought we are important we should also be made to feel important , rather than making us feel like a small kid on the streets . Were Indian security concerns discussed when your foreign minister visited Delhi in January ? Yes , as were engagement between our defence forces and the trilateral exercise between India , Sri Lanka and Maldives coast guards . We have been holding meetings of security agencies of our countries specifically to discuss the security of the Indian Ocean . So Maldives is cognizant of Indian security concerns ? Of course . As I said , we sit right in the middle of the Indian Ocean . We will be
We are brotherly , friendly allies . The prescriptive definitions by the so-called non-actors have made the narrative such that it gives the impression that Maldives is not sensitive to Indian Ocean security . Why wouldn ’ t we ? We sit right in the middle of the Indian Ocean , we are surrounded by the ocean . Shouldn ’ t we be thinking about Indian Ocean security more than anyone else ? Are India-Maldives ties strained ? I have been here for three years and communication channels are always open . There are no strains from the Maldives government side , though I can ’ t speak for another country . If there are sanctions from New Delhi on Male what will be their impact ? Again , my response will be similar : is there any need for sanctions ? We canfools to jeopardise our own security . What role does China play in Maldives ? China is a development partner . It has been with us since the early ’ 80s , when they were providing us development assistance for social housing programmes . It is funding infrastructure projects in Maldives , like the longest road proje cts — 21 kms — along with Kuwait , Saudi Arabia , the Islamic Development Fund etc . Is it building naval bases ? I read in the media that China has been given 17 islands , but I would love to see someone list those islands for me . Chinese companies , like Indian ones , are investing in the tourism industry . Not every island in Maldives can have a naval base ; for that you need islands that range from three to nine hectares . There are very few islands of that size , none of those has been given to any country . The Chinese are also building the main bridge that con nects Male and the international airport . Then why are Chinese investments not discussed in public ? If you are talking about the free trade agreement , it was discussed for two years . I don ’ t know why some people miss that . It started in 2015 and conclu ded in 2017 . Peo ple of Maldives have aspirations and ambitions for development . If someone is willing to finance that and if we believe it is not sensitive to the security of the Indian Ocean , what is the problem ? Who is a better judge of that than us ? If others want to have the same stakes , they must promote themselves in Maldives . Is Islamic fundamentalism a serious concern in Maldives ? It is a concern the world over , as also in Maldives . It is also a fact that a number of people from Maldives had gone to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS . But being a small country , statistics is always stacked against you . When the denominator is small , the outcome will be presented as a graver one . Extremism and fundamentalism are issues the world over and we are not immune to them . How do you see this crisis ending , through internal initiatives or by nudges and pushes from external forces ? This is not the first crisis Maldives has faced since the new constitution came into force . I am sure Maldivians will show the same willingness and capacity to come out of this crisis as in the past . For that , holding our hand is ess ential rather than nudging or pushing us . O
26 February 2018 Outlook 15