India’s special envoy to the Maldives, who arrived soon after the fist wave of violence in Male on February 8, returned to New Delhi, saying that the situation is “complex” and that India wants this to be resolved “in an atmosphere of calm, and peace so that it does not affect the common person.”
Secretary (West), MEA, M. Ganapathi, met the “widest possible cross section of stake holders in Maldives in view of the recent developments,” and said that the entire leadership across the board agreed that there should be no violence. “The political process will continue to evolve and we would continue to monitor the situation,” he said.
India still holds the view that this is an internal development in the Maldives which should be resolved peacefully and democratically by the people of Maldives and within the framework of the Constitution. “There is no countenancing any intervention at all,” he said.
Asked if India lost out by not supporting Nasheed at that point, given that the new defence and Home Ministers are known anti-India campaigners, he said: “This is not a cricket match. This is a serious issue where – I don’t think we look at the point of view as you make out in your question. But I think we remain to be continuously engaged with President Nasheed and his team. We have had discussions over the last two days. As I mentioned, The High Commissioner here has been talking to everyone there and this engagement has been appreciated in my meetings also with Nasheed and the other political leaders, including President Waheed.”
Asked of what happened in the Maldives amounted to a coup, he said that this has to be determined by the political leadership here if this was a coup. “I think we will go by the political leadership’s decision. And the Constitution of The Maldives,” he said.
On the safety of Indian investments, he said that India has been assured on this count. “We have been assured that nothing will be done to affect foreign investments, including Indian investments in this country,” he said.
