Yameen Govt Complained To UN Of Indian Military's Refusal To Leave: MP Shiyam

MP Ahmed Shiyam (PPM-Naifaru) stated that former President Abdullah Yameen had submitted a complaint to the United Nations, reporting the case of the India's noncompliance with his administration's request that the military evacuate all its personnel and assets from the Maldives.

MP Shiyam said this on Twitter in response to MP Abdullah Riyaz's (MNP-Thimarafushi) claim that the beginning of the controversial Uthuru Thila Falhu agreement had been the Action Plan on Defence Co-Operation signed with India in 2016. MP Riyaz accused the Progressive Party of Maldives of having a role in the current presence of the Indian military in the country.

MP Shiyam clarified that the "Action Plan on Defence Co-Operation" had been the minutes of a bilateral conversation, and that the the former President's administration had vocally opposed the presence of the Indian military during bilateral talks. He said that the former President had opposed their stationing here, and had refused to renew their visas as he had intended to remove them from the country. The Maldivian government had submitted a complaint to the United Nations regarding the Indian government's noncompliance.

The agreement on the Indian military helicopters, which the Yameen administration had refused to renew, had been renewed within 2 months of President Solih's inauguration by Minister of Defence, Mariya Ahmed Didi.