Ronin
FULL MEMBER
- May 2, 2014
- 213
- 0
- Country
- Location
SOURCE: EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
In a setback to the government of President Abdulla Yameen, Prime Minister Narendra Modihas dropped Maldives from his Indian Ocean sojourn next week, which now includes only three Indian Ocean maritime neighbours.
The ministry of external affairs made the official announcement for PM’s first trip this year on Friday morning, naming just Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
“On his first visit abroad in 2015, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be visiting Seychelles, Mauritius & Sri Lanka from 10th to 14th March,” said the MEA press release on Friday morning.
While India had never publicly indicated that PM was visiting Maldives, it had definitely been part of the itinerary, with officials still making preparations till Thursday evening.
The decision was taken at the highest political level, after PM’s return to the capital from his Madhya Pradesh trip.
India may have never mentioned publicly that Male was on Prime Minister’s schedule, Maldives was quick to acknowledge that it was being by-passed.
“The Indian PM’s visit has been postponed on mutual agreement to give more time for both Governments to prepare more. New dates will be announced later,” Maldives foreign ministry posted on twitter.
India had hoped that the Maldives visit, just like that to the other island countries, would be a signalling of its intent to no give up its pre-eminent position in the Indian ocean, with China having made serious inroads in this region.
Sources point out that it would have been difficult to go ahead with the visit due to the current political upheaval, with daily street protests following the arrest of former president and Maldivian Democratic Party leader Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges.
If the opposition had called for a bandh on the day of the PM’s visit, speculated an official, it would have put the logistics of the visit into difficulty. The bottom line was that India does not want to get dragged into the domestic political situation. If the PM had visited Maldives now, his trip would have taken on overt political hue, which New Delhi was keen to avoid.
Sources said that the timing of Nasheed’s arrest was precipitated as the Maldives government was worried about the February 27 rally. Despite restrictions, the February 27 rally saw a participation of around 10,000-11,000 people, despite the absence of top opposition leaders.
Meanwhile, Nasheed has had four hearings so far, with the court refusing to let him go free before the end of the trial.
The cancellation will be a big disappointment for the Yameen administration, with two ministers having travelled to India and met with Indian interlocutors about the trip. The foreign minister Dunya Maumoon was in Delhi on February 15 and met with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, while the minister in the President’s office had met with the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Feb 20.
Incidentally, the Maldives foreign ministry had announced unilaterally on February 22 that PM Modi’s “impending visit was a clear reflection of the warm friendship between India and President Yameen’s government”. This post on twitter was send out almost at the same time as the former president Nasheed was arrested on new charges of terrorism for arresting of criminal court chief justice in January 2012.
India’s only reaction on current political developments had been issued after the first court hearing, where New Delhi had expressed concern at his “arrest and manhandling”. Followed by India, US, UK, Commonwealth, Canada had expressed their strong concern at the ongoing developments. Male’ had objected and said these were an encroachment on its sovereignty.
Incidentally, Maumoon had expressed confidence that the PM’s visit will go ahead. “I do not believe that the internal affairs of Maldives will affect the relationship between both the countries and that it will influence any planned official visits,” she said on February 24.
The signs of imminent upheaval in Maldives had begun in January, with a raid on the house of the then defence minister, Mohamed Nazim, who was widely considered to have presidential ambitions. He was subsequently taken into custody and is still behind bars.
Welcoming India’s decision, MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said it regrets that “the authoritarian actions and confrontational nature of President Yameen that has resulted in the Indian PM Modi cancelling his first visit to the Maldives”.
“India has been our closest friend, and we hope that Yameen takes swift action to restore the Maldives-India relationship,” he added.
The latest schedule issued by the MEA states that PM will first travel to Seychelles on March 11. Then, he will be in Mauritius on March 11-12, when he will be the chief gust at the national day celebrations.
Followed by this, the Prime Minister will be in Sri Lanka on March 13-14, travelling to Colombo and the northern province.
“The visit of the Prime Minister to our friendly maritime neighbours is reflective of India’s desire to further strengthen our ties in the Indian Ocean region,” said the MEA press release.
In a setback to the government of President Abdulla Yameen, Prime Minister Narendra Modihas dropped Maldives from his Indian Ocean sojourn next week, which now includes only three Indian Ocean maritime neighbours.
The ministry of external affairs made the official announcement for PM’s first trip this year on Friday morning, naming just Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
“On his first visit abroad in 2015, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be visiting Seychelles, Mauritius & Sri Lanka from 10th to 14th March,” said the MEA press release on Friday morning.
While India had never publicly indicated that PM was visiting Maldives, it had definitely been part of the itinerary, with officials still making preparations till Thursday evening.
The decision was taken at the highest political level, after PM’s return to the capital from his Madhya Pradesh trip.
India may have never mentioned publicly that Male was on Prime Minister’s schedule, Maldives was quick to acknowledge that it was being by-passed.
“The Indian PM’s visit has been postponed on mutual agreement to give more time for both Governments to prepare more. New dates will be announced later,” Maldives foreign ministry posted on twitter.
India had hoped that the Maldives visit, just like that to the other island countries, would be a signalling of its intent to no give up its pre-eminent position in the Indian ocean, with China having made serious inroads in this region.
Sources point out that it would have been difficult to go ahead with the visit due to the current political upheaval, with daily street protests following the arrest of former president and Maldivian Democratic Party leader Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges.
If the opposition had called for a bandh on the day of the PM’s visit, speculated an official, it would have put the logistics of the visit into difficulty. The bottom line was that India does not want to get dragged into the domestic political situation. If the PM had visited Maldives now, his trip would have taken on overt political hue, which New Delhi was keen to avoid.
Sources said that the timing of Nasheed’s arrest was precipitated as the Maldives government was worried about the February 27 rally. Despite restrictions, the February 27 rally saw a participation of around 10,000-11,000 people, despite the absence of top opposition leaders.
Meanwhile, Nasheed has had four hearings so far, with the court refusing to let him go free before the end of the trial.
The cancellation will be a big disappointment for the Yameen administration, with two ministers having travelled to India and met with Indian interlocutors about the trip. The foreign minister Dunya Maumoon was in Delhi on February 15 and met with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, while the minister in the President’s office had met with the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Feb 20.
Incidentally, the Maldives foreign ministry had announced unilaterally on February 22 that PM Modi’s “impending visit was a clear reflection of the warm friendship between India and President Yameen’s government”. This post on twitter was send out almost at the same time as the former president Nasheed was arrested on new charges of terrorism for arresting of criminal court chief justice in January 2012.
India’s only reaction on current political developments had been issued after the first court hearing, where New Delhi had expressed concern at his “arrest and manhandling”. Followed by India, US, UK, Commonwealth, Canada had expressed their strong concern at the ongoing developments. Male’ had objected and said these were an encroachment on its sovereignty.
Incidentally, Maumoon had expressed confidence that the PM’s visit will go ahead. “I do not believe that the internal affairs of Maldives will affect the relationship between both the countries and that it will influence any planned official visits,” she said on February 24.
The signs of imminent upheaval in Maldives had begun in January, with a raid on the house of the then defence minister, Mohamed Nazim, who was widely considered to have presidential ambitions. He was subsequently taken into custody and is still behind bars.
Welcoming India’s decision, MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said it regrets that “the authoritarian actions and confrontational nature of President Yameen that has resulted in the Indian PM Modi cancelling his first visit to the Maldives”.
“India has been our closest friend, and we hope that Yameen takes swift action to restore the Maldives-India relationship,” he added.
The latest schedule issued by the MEA states that PM will first travel to Seychelles on March 11. Then, he will be in Mauritius on March 11-12, when he will be the chief gust at the national day celebrations.
Followed by this, the Prime Minister will be in Sri Lanka on March 13-14, travelling to Colombo and the northern province.
“The visit of the Prime Minister to our friendly maritime neighbours is reflective of India’s desire to further strengthen our ties in the Indian Ocean region,” said the MEA press release.
and vegetables are not that bad...I ve started liking them like anything....I think, Vegetables, Fish and Eggs can keep u healthy..
