Maldives Political Crisis

With a beautiful view of the aquamarine sea and golden sandy beaches, the Maldives is known as an ideal holiday destination. Yet amidst the breathtaking landscapes, big changes are happening in the unusually restless island.

On 2nd February, the Maldives entered a situation of political crisis, declared by the President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen, when the Supreme Court of the Maldives declared political crime charges of nine Maldives opposition figures invalid, including that of the former president Mohamed Nasheed, who was planning to run for election in his home country after a period of political exile in Britain.

After the state of emergency was declared, Supreme Judges Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Judge Ali Hameed were both arrested despite an unclear basis for charges. Their charges were followed by the arrest of Yameen's half-brother, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — who had ruled the country for more than 30 years until a transition to democracy in 2008.

Many say that the Supreme Court declared the crimes invalid due to the political nature of the crimes, and how many feel that the opponents were simply persecuted due to their political stances. However, President Yameen, who has a history of cracking down on dissent of his rule and whom many believe has undemocratic ideals, still refuses to comply. Many believe that this is because if the court's ruling had been deemed valid and the opponents were released, Nasheed would have been able to run for reelection, which would have been disadvantageous for the new president. Nasheed’s previous term of presidency was abruptly ended due to a controversial ousting, on the basis of corruption and terrorism charges. However, many of Nasheed’s supporters claim that those were fabricated unjustly.

The international community responds:

Both former leaders of the Maldives, Nasheed and Gayoom, have asked India to force President Yameen to release the recently jailed high court judges and political prisoners. This is because India has a history of intervening in Maldives politics, as the two countries had had close political ties for a long time. Previously, India sent its troops to the Maldives in 1988 to foil a coup.

Alongside India, the U.S. and the U.K. have both called upon President Yameen and his government to be more democratic, as he has “systematically alienated his coalition, jailed or exiled every major opposition political figure, deprived elected members of parliament of their right to represent their voters in the legislature, revised laws to erode human rights... and weakened the institutions of government." Furthermore, in the wake of the latest political crisis, the U.S., China, India and the U.K. have all issued advisories against traveling to the Maldives.

As the Maldives is thrown into the political spotlight, the political crisis continues, and the locals fervently pray that there would not be too much damage done by the time it is resolved.

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