The ‘India Out’ campaign led by opposition parties is the “most dangerous campaign” in the Maldives' recent history, Defence Minister Mariya Didi said, adding the hate campaign poses a “threat to the national security.” The remark came at a time when the government plans a series of measures to contain the growing hate campaign which has the potential to damage its ties with New Delhi.

For over a year now, the campaign, led by China-leaning former president Abdullah Yameen, are protesting, seeking to end what they call the presence of Indian military personnel in the archipelago.

What was initially began as a way to undermine the MDP government, led by President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih, later turned into a hate campaign targeting India, given his government's close cooperation with India, the closest ally of the country. The protests grew in intensity when Yameen was released in December last year.

On Thursday, in her testimony to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Mariya Didi said the campaign led by Yameen is one of the most dangerous activities in the recent history of the archipelago.

The campaign, she said, poses a threat to national security.

The Parliamentary Committee on National Security has constituted an inquiry, examining the threat posed by the campaign. Earlier, Home Minister Imran Abdullah testified that Yameen’s campaign has now been threatening the hundreds of Indians working the service sectors in the country.

Several hundred Indian teachers and health workers work in the Maldives, a country of over half a million people with limited trained professionals. If they choose to leave, it could jeopardize the country’s crucial service sectors.

On Thursday, the defence minister reiterated that the campaign posed a threat to Maldivian nationals living in India and foreigners staying in the archipelago.

Earlier, Police Chief Mohemed Hamid had told the committee that the Indian military personnel, even if stationed in the Maldives, pose no threat to the security of civilians in the country. [Read More]

Fearing the fallout of the campaign, the Solih government is now planning to table a bill criminalizing any activities that could pose a threat to the Maldives’ diplomatic ties with friendly nations—a move former president Yameen has criticized, terming it a means to suppress democratic protests and free speech. Mariya, however, contested his argument, recalling Yameen’s own record, when a number of journalists were either killed or went missing during his tenure to suppress critical voices.
(SAM)