India building bridges with ex-Maldives president Gayoom

NEW DELHI: Former President and Maldives’ dictator of 30 years Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has sought an audience with Indian leaders, including PM Manmohan Singh, amid the growing anxiety in both Male and New Delhi over the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report likely to be tabled in next week. CNI was set up to probe the events leading to the alleged coup that overthrew Mohamed Nasheed’s government in February.

Government sources here said that Gayoom sought to discuss the development in the Indian Ocean archipelago with Singh. “The former president had himself taken the initiative for a visit to India and talks are on to facilitate it,’’ said an official. He added that though no dates have been finalised for his India visit.

While Indian officials speak favourably about Nasheed, Maldives’ first democratically elected president, New Delhi has also been building bridges with Nasheed’s rivals and the decision to host Gayoom is a part of that exercise. Thasmeen Ali, the leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) - the main rival of ousted Maldivian Democratic Party — met Singh earlier this month to discuss the situation in Maldives.

Former president Nasheed and his successor Mohamed Waheed have visited India after the February 7 ‘coup’. Gayoom is still a formidable figure in Maldives, looked upon by many as trying desperately to make a comeback riding piggyback on Waheed. In fact, the president himself was seen by many as Gayoom’s lackey after he accommodated many of the former dictator’s loyalists, including his daughter, in the Cabinet. Gayoom himself returned to Male barely a month after Waheed took over.

Government sources said that under these circumstances it is impossible to ignore Gayoom, who appeared before the CNI recently but went on to say that he will not accept the panel’s report if it concluded that Nasheed indeed was illegally deposed. In his interaction with Indian leaders, Nasheed has consistently maintained that Gayoom was the brain behind the plot to unseat him and that eventually he would get rid of Waheed when his purpose is served.

Nasheed led a MDP delegation to India earlier, and the party made it clear that it will settle for nothing less than reinstatement of the ousted president if CNI confirms coup.

While Indian officials speak favourably about Nasheed, Maldives’ first democratically elected president, New Delhi has also been building bridges with Nasheed’s rivals and the decision to host Gayoom is a part of that exercise. (TNN)