Honeymoon destination in disarray
President’s power grab worries U.S.
A honeymoon destination known for its azure seas, pristine beaches and romantic over-water bungalows is in disarray as the government locks up the president’s opponents, defies the orders of its supreme court and suspends its constitution.
How did the Maldives, an archipelago made up of more than 1,000 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, unravel?
Allegations of corruption
Political opponents of President Abdulla Yameen petitioned the supreme court Jan. 29 to investigate allegations of corruption and human rights abuses and to remove him temporarily from power. Opposition leaders accused Yameen, elected in 2013, of stealing more than $1 million of state funds. Yameen denied the allegations.
Add to the roiling pot a family feud. Yameen, 58, is the estranged half-brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, 80, who sided with the opposition and was arrested a week later.
A few days later, the supreme court threw out the convictions of nine of Yameen’s political opponents and the terrorism conviction of another former president, Mohamed Nasheed, further threatening Yameen’s hold on power.
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney, went to bat for Nasheed in 2016, lobbying in London for him to be freed from jail and in Washington for sanctions against the Maldives.
Nasheed said recently that Yameen “has illegally declared martial law and overrun the state. We must remove him from power.” He asked India to send in its military to oust Yameen.
The president fights back
Yameen said the opposition is “seeking to overthrow a legitimate government,” according to Al Jazeera.
Up for re-election this year, he issued a 15-day state of emergency. This month, Yameen started arresting supreme court justices, including Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed. Yameen’s actions prompted an international outcry.
On Feb. 6, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that Yameen “has systematically alienated his coalition, jailed or exiled every major opposition political figure, deprived elected Members of Parliament of their right to represent their voters in the legislature, revised laws to erode human rights, especially freedom of expression, and weakened the institutions of government.”
Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein, the United Nations’ top human rights official, said Yameen’s actions are “tantamount to an all-out assault on democracy.” He called on the Maldivian government to lift the state of emergency.
On Tuesday, the country’s parliament extended the state of emergency 30 days, citing a national security threat and constitutional crisis. The opposition boycotted the vote and the Maldivian prosecutor general declared the extension unconstitutional, Reuters reported.
The honeymoon’s over
After Yameen arrested the judges, the State Department issued a travel advisory calling on visitors to exercise caution “due to terrorism and civil unrest.” In 2016, nearly 1.3 million tourists visited the Maldives, and the government said tourism and hospitality account for 23% of the archipelago’s GDP and make up a third of the government’s revenue.
Hundreds of hotel bookings have been canceled every day since the state of emergency began. The government still says come on over, the water’s fine at the resorts away from the capital, Malé, Reuters reported.
What happens next?
The country’s electoral commission said the first round of presidential elections will be held in early September. A second round, if needed, would be held within 21 days of the election, the Maldives Independent reported.