Former President Abdulla Yameen has said he will brand a 'pass marks' on Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's administration only after the current President-elect is successful in deporting Indian soldiers and reclaiming the lost territory from the Maldivian border.
Yameen made the statements at a meeting held in the main office of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) on Sunday evening, October 30.
The former president, who wass in jail serving an 11-year sentence for money laundering and graft convictions, has been transferred to house arrest over health issues. He was granted leniencies by Maldives Corrections Service earlier that allowed him to leave his residence for crucial matters, including health checkups.
At the meeting, held without the presence of the PPM and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition's leadership, Yameen alleged Maldives regressed 15 years during incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration.
He highlighted the loss of part of Maldivian sovereign territory due to the Maldives-Mauritius boundary demarcation concluding in the latter's favor, which was the result of the Maldivian government relenting to Mauritius, Yameen implied.
According to Yameen, first order of business for Dr. Muizzu is to regain full sovereignty of the Maldives.
"First thing our government needs to do is establish its jurisdiction, which will not be done without including the lost portion. We need to register our protest with the ITLOS over the decision, for that I will be discussing with President-elect as well," Yameen said.
Besides reclaiming the lost territory from the Maldives, the second most crucial initiative, according to Yameen, is the deportation of Indian soldiers from Maldives. Speaking in this regard, the former President noted it would be a challenging endeavor with India being a close ally.
He added that the initiative should be carried out without angering the sentiments of India.
Yameen demanded the deportation efforts should be completed during the onset of Dr. Muizzu's administration commencement. He said India should be given a timeline to disengage its soldiers from the Maldives, which he asserted was for the sake of the public's rights who voted for it.
"We cannot relent in these two matters, and if both of these are achieved, it is sufficient. If that is achieved then I will extend a pass marks on Dr. Muizzu's government," Yameen said.
According to the former president, the current government has relinquished Maldivian sovereignty to India resulting in the loss of independence from few locations in the country.
"Today, we cannot say Maldives is truly independent. [Maldivian] security forces cannot enter Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) without acquiring permission [from Indian soldiers]. I am challenging [to state otherwise]," Yameen said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Muizzu on multiple occasions, both prior to and after the presidential election, assured about deporting Indian soldiers. He also revealed the issue was discussed in length with his meeting with the Indian Ambassador to the Maldives as well.
At Sunday evening's meeting, Yameen heavily criticized President Solih's government and alleged the incumbent head of state and the ruling party rigged the 2018 presidential election.
Yameen said it was a great blessing to beat a government that held significant power and control, and added the administration had stripped the authority of several government agencies in its favor.
"There were no agencies to investigate the issues. Even the trusted judiciary remained silent when things went out of hand," Yameen said.
He said it was important to probe the current government's infringement of constitutional rights, and noted if the cases were properly investigated none of the leaders would escape culpability.
"Not only Shareef [former Elections Commission's president], but everyone who were involved as well. This is not personal, or about exacting revenge. They used the entire country as collateral, and subjugated the public. Who is going to take responsibility for this?" the former president said.
While criticizing the judiciary, Yameen said that the courts remained silent at the face of injustice by the government. He stressed that the judiciary was idle while the state continued to misinterpret the law to infringe public's rights.
Yameen said his administration never influenced nor controlled the judiciary, and rather the judiciary attempted to coerce him. He recalled the Supreme Court order on February 1, 2018 as an example of this, and defended his action of imprisoning court judges.
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