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Foreign Minister Abdul Samad Abdullah tried his best to reach out to New Delhi on behalf of President Mohamed Waheed but failed. So much so that he came to Delhi on a private visit this month after his official request was rejected and sought meetings in a personal capacity, sources said.
But he had no significant meeting as South Block gave him the cold shoulder.
It was Waheed, it is learnt, who was behind this desperate bid to reflect some normalcy in relations. India, on the other hand, was also concerned over the real motive behind these gestures. With elections expected in the next three-six months, South Block was wary about Waheed or his foreign minister wrongly projecting a meeting for domestic political gains in the name of rapprochement with India.
Waheed has lost all credibility with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he had specifically assured Singh during his visit to India last May that Malé will not rescind on the GMR contract despite political pressure.
He had said that he was the vice-president when the GMR contract was signed and knew the details well to be certain that it was in Malé’s interest to stay the course. Sources said that at no point later did he alert New Delhi about matters spinning out of control.
The call to withdraw all high-level contact with Waheed and his government also comes in the backdrop of the fact that India had decided to recognise him almost immediately after he took over despite complaints from his predecessor Mohammed Nasheed. India came to regret this because Waheed was able to ward off any challenge once he projected Indian support.
With ties reaching their lowest ebb, India has been making it difficult for Maldives. New Delhi has shown the rulebook to Malé on visas and imposed stay restrictions. Special favours to Maldivian vessels visiting Indian ports for picking up essentials have been withdrawn.
Malé, on its part, has addressed long-pending visa issues that New Delhi had. However, that has not made any headway with an extremely upset and cautious South Block.
The current government of Maldives is evidently spreading anti Indian sentiments amongst locals, once key piece is the Home Minister Jameel's urges to the Maldivian public that we dont need India for Medical purposes cause we have all other neighbours and China to go for treatments. The coup regime of Maldives also spread a vibe that it is India's loss that the ties between India and Maldives is getting loose. They seem to be speaking from two tongues, one for locals and the other for abroad.
Dear India Your favorite boy Mohamed Nasheed is not returning to run Maldives soon. If you want to see a red flag with some yellow stars then go ahead and play the part of big brother. Fact is no one in Maldives is against india in any aspect of life. But if you are still crying over GMR row then you will loose a lot. Cause Maldivian until recently were never very Nationalistic, but when you pressure the small Island state like this, you are welcoming what you don't want. MDP is a big player but you can forget a MDP tenure in the next 5 years. Your hardline on visas is hurting the Kerala capital trivandrum cause of loss of revenue which they get from Maldivian patients coming for treatment and mind you Maldivians spend a lot.
India think there are the super power and can do anything to maldives. but sorry your wrong, we kill the lion by using our own brain, take beast our side. so alternative no worries. if your still like that, your gonna lose things from us
Points to ponder; 1. Public protests against nasheed were erected sighting corruption with GMR deal. 2. Waheed offered GMR to renegotiate agreement and stay for better times - India n GMR did not agree. 3. India's stronger man attitudes are validating those who argue India is about for a slow occupation of Maldives 4. It is India's worry Maldives will start favoring China over India (Sine that is the only corner of India China does overly influence). 5. Maldives is a very small country - they will take help and offers from whoever is treating them nicely.
New Delhi is right in refusing to entertain Waheeds visit which is most certain to be a photo opportunity to be projected as good relations! Everyone in Maldives is preparing for elections and Waheed would probably have to contest as an independent as his party would not be in existance after March 2013. I am glad New Delhi has now realised what it should have on 7 Feb 2012 that Waheed is a Political Nobody and should not be trusted.
Due to limited space here : Maldives is ruled by a junta, coalition of extremists and military, guided by dictator Maumoon. Any democratic solution is not possible. Because of greed for power they allign with China, where democracy is filthy language too. The same junta uses (not : MISuses) the religion of the faithful to suppress the people, to 'unite' them against the 'common enemy', in particular "cow worshipers" and "drunk Western missionaries who destroy mosques and build churches". THAT kind of thinking is the reality of todays retarded society of Maldives. Screw them !
This article is way off the mark. This is another stunt of former pres. Nasheed. There is no division in Defence Forces. If at all there is support for Nasheed in Defence forces is negligable. FM Dr.Samad never went to Delhi after GMR issue. Please check this with Indian FM Mr.Hurshid.
Indian policy in Male must be tough, but pragmatic. Clearly, the Male Government has rubbed India the wrong way in the GMR affair. Indian policy must cultivate friendship with the people of Male, but at the same time give no quarter to the dictatorial clique that seems to run that country. India must make clear that foreign meddling in Male will be viewed by it as an unfriendly act. India must be prepared to back words with action, and deal firmly with any elements that plan to disturb the balance of power in the region.
How long will Indian's anger last? Whole week?
India needs to be extremely cautious in handling the Maldives situation and it may be better to swallow pride than retribution for the GMR loss. The division in the Maldives National Defence Forces with the removal of Brig Lilam who has given statements that had indicated that the removal of the former President from power was engineered with those disloyal to the government having mutinied and the security forces failed to provide security to Mr Nasheed or to bring the rebellious elements to book will raise another controversy that will widen the political chasm between the political leaders and the parties in the country. What is more dangerous is the polarization of the Maldives National Defence Forces which has been divided on political lines with groups supporting the Nasheed and the Gayoom faction thus makes the situation worse and any further deterioration or division within the MNDF will prove dangerous for the overall stability of the country.
