NEW DELHI: The Maldivesremains evasive on the issue of proposed Letter of Exchange (LoE) essentialfor deployment of India’s Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft in thearchipelago. This had led to a protracted stand-off between the twocountries over the issue of defence and security cooperation.
The government Thursday also hit out at the Abdulla Yameenlink>
government saying that the announcement of elections in the Maldives at atime when the democratic institutions including the Majlis and thejudiciary were not allowed to function in a free and transparent manner wasindeed a matter of concern.
“It is important that a conducive atmosphere is created for holding freeand fair elections in the Maldiveslink>” said MEAspokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
As first reported by TOI on June 5, Male had asked India to remove both itsALH Dhruv chopperslink> from the Maldivesby June 30. The machines though have stayed put in the Maldives with thegovernment saying they are still engaging Male over the issue.
Maldives ambassador to India Ahmed Mohamed said again Thursday that thedeadline for the removal of choppers was June 30.
Senior ministers in Male have publicly maintained that Maldives wants fromIndia. An agreement for Dornier could have spared India the loss of face inhaving to remove the choppers.
Official sources here said Thursday though that despite engagement over theissue there still was no clarity over Male’s position on India’s Dornieroffer. The LoE for deployment of a Dornier in the archipelago has actuallybeen pending with the Yameen government since 2016. India needs Male toapprove the LoE to allow it to not just deploy Dornier but also naval staffwhose presence is essential for maintenance of the aircraft.
The government said that it’s in touch with Male on the issue of choppersand also the ban on fresh work permits for Indians. Despite the controllerof immigration denying that Indians had been targeted, sources here saidthe “informal” ban remained in place.
The government also said that it had urged the Maldives to return to thepath of democracy and ensure credible restoration of the political processand the rule of law, before the elections are conducted.