Muizzu alleges Solih operated on orders from ‘foreign envoy’

MALE: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has alleged that his predecessor, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, operated on orders from “a foreign ambassador.”

Muizzu, however, neither named any country nor any diplomat. The president made the allegation when he was asked about criticism from the opposition regarding the recent procurement of military drones during an interview with the Public Service Media (PSM).

Ahead of the parliamentary elections, the main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has scaled up the attacks on Muizzu on various issues.

Earlier, it was announced that Maldives has, for the first time, acquired surveillance drones from Turkey for patrolling its vast exclusive economic zone and efforts have begun by the state to establish a drone base in Noonu atoll Maafaru to operate the military drones.

Responding to the question about criticism about drones, President Muizzu noted that the main opposition MDP, when it held office from 20182023, also held a supermajority in the Parliament.

“The party failed to protect Maldives’ independence, leaving it in the hands of a foreign country,” Muizzu said. He further said that President Solih “had operated on orders from a foreign ambassador, which resulted in extensive damage,” according to the news portal. He did not specify which foreign country he was referring to, it said. “We had lost independence in all senses of the word, including economically. They would naturally not accept our efforts to remedy all this and put the country on a track that the Maldivian people want, towards a ‘Dhiveheenge Raajje’,” he said.

Dhivehi Raajje in Dhivehi, the language of the people of Maldives, means ‘Kingdom of the Dhivehi people.’

The pro-Beijing president visited China in January and upon his return, indicated that the government was looking to acquire surveillance drones.

On March 4, Muizzu also announced that his country is working to establish a 24/7 monitoring system for the Maldivian waters this month to ensure control of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) despite its significantly large area. The president also said that no value can be attached to the independence of Maldives, and that it is in fact “priceless.”