A power struggle in the tiny nation could pull India and China into conflict.
The Maldives is a curious half-paradise, half-hell: The allure of its romantic island resorts often seems to be in inverse proportion to the sordidness of its politics. These could reach a dangerous new level if the political crisis that erupted last week is allowed to embroil India and China.
The current mess started as February began when the country’s Supreme Court unexpectedly decided to nullify sentences against nine of the many opposition figures thrown into prison or forced into exile by President Abdulla Yameen. Among those cleared was Mohamed Nasheed, a former president who won the only fair election the country has had, but was replaced by the corrupt and authoritarian Mr. Yameen.
President Yameen refused the court’s ruling, declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of two of the court’s five judges, several opposition members and his 80-year-old half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had earlier ruled the Maldives for 30 years. The remaining judges then nullified the court’s ruling.
