Azima surprised at others’ shock over the level of Indian influence on the Maldivian government

Former Prosecutor General Azima Shukoor has expressed surprise that certain individuals are only just learning or becoming aware of the level of influence India wields over the current Maldivian government.

She made the statement in a Facebook post published on her personal account at a time when a lot of people aligned with the ruling coalition parties are coming out publicly against the plans to establish an Indian Consulate in the city of Addu. In her statement Azima noted that it is surprising to her that the senior officials within the ruling coalition who seem to have been unaware of the level of Indian influence over the Maldivian government include even former parliamentarians as well as those who have previously been involved in shaping the nation’s foreign policy.

She then questioned who they thought would believe that they were thus far blissfully unaware of this fact; going on to give examples as to why it is obvious that India exerts significant influence over this incumbent administration.

As such, Azima noted that the incumbent Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid is a man who was among those that – during the Yaameen administration – brazenly appeared on Indian television, calling for India to launch a military invasion on the Maldives. The President of ruling MDP, Mohamed Nasheed is another such person, she said. In fact former President Nasheed went on to publicly claim that removing President Yaameen from power would not have been possible without India’s support and assistance.

In addition, Azima highlighted that the financial strength required to fulfill nearly all the pledges made by the Solih administration is being provided by Indian banks. Moreover, Foreign Minister Shahid’s current campaign to be elected as the next President of the United Nations General Assembly was only possible due to India’s backing, not to mention the fact that the expert appointed to advise Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer is also an Indian national.

Given these situations, Azima stated that it is laughable that anyone would believe that anyone, politicians or not – allied with the ruling coalition or not – would be surprised to know that India wields significant influence over this government. She called on political figures to at least be honest unto themselves, if they couldn’t be true to others.