BEIJING :The political struggles in Maldives are supposed to be internalaffairs, and New Delhi has no justification to intervene in Malé’s affairs.
The Maldives must be under huge pressure from India and its sovereigntyshould be respected and the political unrest should be left to theMaldivian people to address, according to an editorial of Global Times,China’s one prestigious newspapers on Wednesday.
“We urge all sides in the country to exercise restraint and end the crisisat the minimum cost, striking the correct balance between legal andgovernmental authority,” it added.Maldivian President Abdulla Yameendeclared a 15-day state of emergency on Monday. Last week, the country’sSupreme Court ordered the release of nine opposition leaders includingformer president Mohammed Nashed.India reacted strongly to the unrest.
“It is imperative for all organs of the government of Maldives to respectand abide by the order of the apex court,” the Indian Ministry of ExternalAffairs said. The US and the UN also urged Malé to respect laws anddemocratic institutions, but using milder rhetoric.
Tensions simmer on the archipelago. Former president and opposition leaderMaumoon Abdul Gayoom, Yameen’s half-brother, was arrested on Tuesday.With apopulation of 400,000, the Maldives is best known as an island paradise. Itshared the same history with India as being a British colony.
With the legal systems and the system of civil servants, as well as thetourism and fishery as its pillar industries, the Indian Ocean nationshouldn’t be so hard to govern.But for a long time, the Maldives has had tochoose between being manipulated by India or its independence as asovereign state.