Diplomacy can't be done with lies: Maldives's Muizzu mocked over U-turn on India

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, who is currently in India, was mocked by his country's opposition leaders, who said that his administration had now realised that diplomacy could not be done through "lies and deceit".

In Short

• Mohamed Muizzu, on India visit, slammed over sudden overtures to Delhi
• Ties between India, Maldives soared after Muizzu came to power last year
• Muizzu led 'India Out' campaign, withdrew Indian military personnel

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, who is currently in India, was schooled by the Maldivian opposition and social media users from both countries over his sudden overtures to New Delhi. The Maldivian opposition said Muizzu's "naive and inexperienced" administration realised that diplomacy cannot be conducted through "lies and deceit".

Muizzu, considered pro-China, had assumed office in November last year riding on the back of an aggressive 'India Out' campaign. After taking charge, he had asked India to withdraw its military personnel from the three platforms in the Maldives. Following a mutual agreement, around 90 troops were withdrawn from the island nation on May 10.

Abdulla Shahid, the president of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), expressed happiness to see "the age-old ties between the Maldives-India being revived". He thanked India for remaining "steadfast and resolute with the Maldivian people".

"What we are seeing is the current administration coming to the realisation that international relations cannot be conducted based on lies and deceit. What we are seeing is the administration's naivety and inexperience in diplomacy," Abdulla Shahid, the former Maldivian foreign minister, wrote in a long post on X.

He said he was encouraged to see projects and initiatives launched during the tenure of pro-India President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih "have come to fruition and are being continued". He listed many other initiatives undertaken during the Solih administration.

"Hoping that this current trajectory in the relationship with our closest neighbour, friend, and partner, continues," Shahid further said.

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed voiced Shahid's sentiments and described India and the Maldives as natural partners while referring to Muizzu's meetings with Indian leaders in Delhi.

Nasheed, widely considered to be the architect of strengthening India-Maldives relations during his term, said he was happy about the turn of events, adding that "the relationship has been fixed".

"India and the Maldives are natural partners with so much in common: music, films, food, culture, history and geography. We should always remain friends. So happy to see things fall into place and the relationship fixed. Congratulations to PM Modi and President Dr Muizzu," Nasheed tweeted.

MDP Chairperson Fayaz Ismail said Muizzu's anti-India rhetoric caused significant economic and political fallout with India. He said the Muizzu government's "careless tactics" caused a blow to Maldives's reputation. He called for leaders of the administration to be held accountable for the damage caused.

"President Muizzu’s inflammatory rhetoric and needless alienation of our closest ally has come at a huge economic and political cost. It has jeopardised our nation’s ability to overcome financial difficulties during a time we needed assistance, and lost our credibility in the financial markets affecting our ability to raise finance," he tweeted.

"Dr Muizzu lacked the foresight to see this reality, and their careless tactics have done huge damage to our nation’s international reputation, with consequences ordinary citizens have had to face. The leaders of this administration must be held accountable for the damage caused due to the blatant lies made in their bid for power," Ismail said.

Ties between the two South Asian countries came under severe strain when three Maldivian officials made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he posted photos of his visit to Lakshadweep in January. The controversy prompted several Indian tourists to announce a mass boycott of the Maldives, leading to a slide to number six spot in mid-2024 from the number one spot in post-Covid years.

Muizzu responded to the controversy by suspending the three officials - Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid. Earlier this month, Mariyam Shiuna and Malsha Shareef resigned last month before Muizzu's India visit.

INDIA COMES TO AID OF THE MALDIVES

As the Maldives is grappling with a financial crisis, India extended vital budgetary support to the Muizzu government with the rollover of a USD 50 million Treasury Bill for another year.

In Delhi, Muizzu met President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar among others.

A 'vision document' issued after the bilateral talks between PM Modi and Muizzu agreed that India will support Maldives with defence platforms and assets to augment the capabilities of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

In an interview with The Times of India, Muizzu said that his country's 'Maldives First' policy will not impinge on its longstanding relationship with India, particularly in terms of security interests.

SOCIAL MEDIA SCHOOLS MUIZZU

Muizzu's diplomatic U-turn on India was also a chatter among Indian and Maldivian social media users, with several of them accusing the Maldivian President of "hypocrisy" and "spreading lies" about India.

"It is crystal clear now that #IndiaOut was a shameless lie used by @Mmuizzu to deceive us into voting for him and to spread lies about @ibusolih's presidency. Now Muizzu is copying Ibu’s leadership style and foreign policy because Muizzu knows nothing about leading a country," one user wrote on X.

Another one wrote, "You don't bite the hand that feeds you—especially when it's your country's bread and butter. Maldives President Mohd Muizzu's sudden U-turn from disdain to admiration for India is a striking display of hypocrisy."

"India-Maldives relationship had never been bad and didn't become so because of the India-out slogan chanted by Muizzu and his party campaign for the election. We knew no sooner than he feels the warmth of the chair, it would be India in. So it is," a third user said.

"Ye kya? (What was that?) Muizzu makes a U -turn. But good for him to consider India as a partner again," another user tweeted.

Muizzu is on his first state visit to India from October 6 to 10.

(with inputs from PTI)