India helped in restoration of democracy in Maldives: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
New Delhi, Oct 28 : India played a "positive" role in restoration of democracy in Maldives by "exerting pressure" on the ruling regime, and the new government in the island nation would be "sensitive" towards New Delhi's "concerns", former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said Sunday.
Nearly a month after he was released from jail, Gayoom, who ruled Maldives for three decades until 2008, said the government of President Abdulla Yameen inflicted "huge damage" on Maldives but democratic forces have prevailed over their "enemies".
Joint opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came out victorious in the September 23 presidential election, handing a shock defeat to incumbent Yameen and capping months of political upheaval in the tourist paradise. The political turmoil was triggered by imposition of emergency in February and jailing of several of opposition leaders including Gayoom, a half brother of Yameen.
Yameen had challenged the outcome of the elections, alleging the vote was rigged but the country's Supreme Court upheld the results. The transition of power is due on Nov 17.
"The last few years did erode the credibility of Maldivian constitutional bodies as well as confidence of the Maldivian people in the state," 80-year-old Gayoom told PTI in an exclusive interview.
"However, the people have themselves taken remedial action as the election results have shown. There was huge damage done, but the constitution, the constitutional bodies and the citizen rights given by the constitution will be safe and strong under the new coalition government," he added.
Gayoom had ruled Maldives for 30 years till he was defeated in the country's first multi-party elections in 2008. He was arrested in February as part of crackdown on Yameen's political opponents.
Asked whether Yameen drew his strength from strong backing by China, Gayoom, credited with forging strong ties with India, hoped that China would respect the will of the Maldivian people.
"We value the support China has given for our development. However, we are concerned at the level of debt we have incurred in recent years, and feel this needs to be carefully reviewed and managed. I am sure that China would respect the will of the Maldivian people," he said in the e-mail interview.
Asked about India's role after imposition of emergency by Yameen in February, Gayoom said, "India did play a positive role, and along with other international partners, did exert pressure towards restoration of democracy."
"Keeping the Maldivian issue alive in international fora did result in putting pressure on the Yameen regime," the former Maldivian strongman, who was released from jail on September 30 following orders of a court, said.
India's ties with Maldives came under strain after Yameen declared Emergency in the country on February 5, following an order by the country's Supreme Court to release a group of Opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials. The Emergency was lifted 45 days later.
"I do not see the events of the last few years having a lasting impact (on bilateral ties)...I do not think these bumps and turbulence would impact decades of (our) India first policy," he said.
Describing India as the "closest and most trusted ally" of Maldives, he said it was in the interests of all of the Maldives' geographical neighbours that there is stability in the Indian Ocean region.
"I am confident that the new government will work towards achieving this. We will be sensitive towards the concerns of India as well as of other friends," he said, adding Maldives was looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Maldives "very soon".
During the crisis, India had ignored calls for military intervention from the opposition parties in the island nation.
The influence of China on Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, considered a backyard of India, has been growing and it is seen as a concern in New Delhi.
Talking about post election scenario, Gayoom said the first priority of the new government would be to unify the people of Maldives after the era of bitter politics
"Maldivians saw through attempts to muzzle democratic voice and defeated the forces who tried to undermine democracy and rule of law in the country," he said.
Asked about transition of power, Gayoom said the Maldivian Supreme Court has clearly stated that there was no grounds for Yameen to question the results of the presidential elections.
"The road is now clear for a smooth transition. The coalition government is committed to peace, stability, progress and democracy," he said.
He also talked about his efforts to bring multi-party democracy to Maldives in 2008 in sync with the aspirations of the people, adding the constitution had all the checks and balance that are required to safeguard democracy.
"It is indeed sad that these very checks and balance were abused to derail democracy to protect the vested interests of a few," he said.
"It is my hope that we learn from past mistakes and move beyond the blame game, and work together for the good of our citizens and country," he added.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
