‘We Don't Need Nudges And Pushes'

Ahmed Moh­amed, Maldives’ ambassador to India, talks about the crisis and the best possible way to defuse it

- Pranay Sharma

For decades, Maldives has mostly been famous for the pristine beauty of its islands; its breathtaking atolls remain a magnetic draw for high-end tourists from the West. Since 2008, when the country adopted its new constitution and held its first, free and fair presidential elections, its political developments have also star­ted making headlines. As the country goes through its latest round of political crisis —President Abdulla Yameen has recently arrested supreme court judges and opposition lea­ders, and declared a state of Emergency—concerns have been voiced in South Asia and beyond about the future of Maldives’ nascent democratic institutions, especia­lly the beseiged judiciary. Ahmed Moh­amed, 48, Maldives’ ambassador to India, spoke to Pranay Sharma about the crisis and the best possible way to defuse it. Excerpts from the interview.

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What chances are there for foreign powers to intervene in Maldives?

A situation that warrants foreign military intervention is non-existent in Maldives. We are going through a constitutional crisis, which the state of Maldives is trying to address. There is no civil war nor a massacre, and there is hardly a situation where foreigners are in distress.

But different sections are talking about the need for a military intervention in Maldives.

Yes, it is being talked about in the media by non-actors or non-decision makers—some retired diplomats or military officials or by sections of political parties. If you compare the situation of 1988—when India intervened after foreign mercenaries attacked Maldives and the government of the day requested Indian intervention—with the situation today, it is different.  Some people are trying to put in a similar request for their self-interest.