Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed was arrested in Malé on Tuesday, a development seen as a serious setback to India’s efforts to ensure the political imbroglio in the archipelago settles down in the run-up to the presidential polls there in early September.
New Delhi reacted in a cautious and measured manner. In a statement issued on Tuesday evening it said that “India expects due process and the rule of law would be followed”.
It also urged “all concerned to exercise caution and restraint and not to resort to any violence or extra-constitutional means and steps which would weaken the democratic system” while stating that it is monitoring the situation.
A similar response came from the US embassy in Malé which said it was “increasingly concerned about ongoing events in Malé”. Asking that Mr Nasheed “must be accorded due process under the law regarding his pending court cases”, it also urged that the presidential elections “be free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive”.
Mr Nasheed’s arrest comes just 10 days after an India-brokered “deal” with the Maldives government headed by President Mohamed Waheed. It was only after this that the former President, the first democratically elected leader of the archipelago, left the premises of the Indian high commission in Malé after remaining there for 11 days.
However, Maldives government spokesperson Masood Imad reiterated on Tuesday that there had been no “deal” with the Indian government. He also emphasised that the law would run its course.