Sunjay Sudhir Requests Govt to Permanently Close Lotus Goalhi

High Commissioner of India to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir has requested the government, among several other measures, to permanently close Lotus Goalhi, a lane east of the Indian High Commission.

A Foreign Ministry official informed Dhiyares that Sudhir made his request sometime within the past week. The lane leads to Ameer Ahmed Magu from between City Garden Restaurant and Bank of Maldives (BML). It is said that the Indian High Commissioner made the request for security reasons.

Sudhir further requested the government to close off the pavement in front of the High Commission to the public and to construct concrete bollards outside the High Commission.

Of late, the Indian High Commission has been demanding the Maldivian government to ensure increased security of Indian diplomats. Recently, a person tweeted their intent to bomb the High Commission. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed the tweet was in relation to a tweet from Dhiyares. However, it was later revealed that the incriminating tweet was posted by a lead activist of the ruling Maldives Democratic Party (MDP). It could be argued that it was planned and done with a certain intent.

The Maldivian government then posted Special Operations (SO) officers to guard the High Commission. India has made several complaints as the officers are not armed, stating they will not be able to provide proper security. It is speculated that the Indian High Commission wishes to post armed officers of the Indian military outside the Commission, citing security reasons.