Maldives which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a deep political chaos last Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".
The Yameen government refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male. Nasheed said Yameen has illegally declared martial law.
"President Yameen's announcement which declares a state of emergency, the banning of fundamental freedoms, and the suspension of the Supreme Court is tantamount to a declaration of martial law in the Maldives. This declaration is unconstitutional and illegal. Nobody in the Maldives is required to, nor should, follow this unlawful order," he said. "We must remove him from power. The people of the Maldives have a legitimate request to world governments, especially to India and the United States", said Nasheed, who is currently in Sri Lanka. Indian Government on its part In its first reaction to the crisis in the Maldives, on Tuesday said it was "disturbed" by the declaration of a state of emergency in the Indian Ocean archipelago and "continues to carefully monitor" the situation.
My father Dr. R.Sankar Ram ( paediatrics and neurology) had been deputed to Indira gandhi Hospital in male that is Capital of Maldives during 1999~2001 by Indian Government . During his stay in Male he attended President Gayoom family health care in personal and during that time my father told me Maldives president got highest regards for Indians and then Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi.
Looking back then what Indian Government did is interesting to Imbibe . Whereas the 1980 and 1983 coup d'état attempts against Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's presidency were not considered serious, the third coup d'état attempt in November 1988 alarmed the international community.
The operation started on the night of 3 November 1988, when Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft of the Indian Air Force airlifted the elements of the 50th Independent Parachute Brigade, commanded by Brig Farukh Bulsara, the 6th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, and the 17th Parachute Field Regiment from Agra Air Force Station and flew them non-stop over 2,000 kilometres to land them over the Malé International Airport on Hulhule Island. The Indian Army paratroopers arrived on Hulhule in nine hours after the appeal from President Gayoom.
The Indian paratroopers immediately secured the airfield, crossed over to Male using commandeered boats and rescued President Gayoom. The paratroopers restored control of the capital to President Gayoom's government within hours. Some of the mercenaries fled toward Sri Lanka in a hijacked freighter.
Those unable to reach the ship in time were quickly rounded up and handed over to the Maldives government. Nineteen people reportedly died in the fighting, most of them mercenaries.
The dead included two hostages killed by the mercenaries. The Indian Navy frigates Godavari and Betwa intercepted the freighter off the Sri Lankan coast, and captured the mercenaries. Swift operation by the military and precise intelligence information successfully quelled the attempted coup d'état in the island nation.
India received international praise for the operation. United States President Ronald Reagan expressed his appreciation for India's action, calling it "a valuable contribution to regional stability". British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reportedly commented, "Thank God for India: President Gayoom's government has been saved". But the intervention nevertheless caused some disquiet among India's neighbours in South Asia.
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