The Indian Military Must Leave The Maldives: Yameen

The leader of the opposition, former President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayyoom has said that there was no need for the Indian military to maintain the safety and security of the Maldives, and that the Indian military must leave the Maldives.

Speaking at an opposition rally held at the Carnival area in Malé City, the former President said that the Maldives was not an Indian town and that the President of the was not its governor.

“ The Indian military will have to leave the Maldives”, declared the former President Yameen. “The Indian military has no place in the Maldives. I am declaring this officially. I speak as a former President of the Maldives. I speak as the President of the PPM and the PNC. And I speak as the leader and representative of thousands. I do not want a single soldier or a single pair of boots of the Indian military to remain on this soil”.

He said that the current Chief of Defence Force, Maj Gen Abdullah Shamal was his nephew. He noted with disapproval Maj Gen Shamal’s prior comment that the Indian military helicopters could have been removed from the Maldives had the former President wished to do so. Former President Yameen stated that all the evidence of his efforts to remove India’s military presence would be clear for Maj Gen Shamal to see.

Addressing the Maldivian military, he said that each and every soldier was a Maldivian citizen, and each of them had sworn an oath.