Indian doctor ejected from a taxi: Minster Fayyaz

Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail has said that a doctor has been ejected from a taxi because he is Indian and this is an example of the high risk of anti-India activities in the Maldives.

Opposition has been protesting in several islands against the presence of Indian military personnel in the Maldives. The protesters are calling for the removal of Indian military personnel in Maldives and to terminate agreements that undermine the country's independence.

MDP's parliamentary group, which includes 65 MPs, has also submitted a bill to the parliament to stop the “India Out” campaign.

Enacting a law to stop expression against a particular country is noncompliance to freedom of expression and assembly advocated by MDP.

When asked about submitting a bill that would hinder the rights granted by the Constitution, Minister Fayyaz said the opposition movement is having a negative impact to the extent to which a solution needs to be found. He said that it was not clear that the bill was obstructing expression, but that a solution had to be found to the hostile movement.

Fayyaz said that India is concerned about the possibility of violence against Indian nationals in the Maldives.

"Recently, an Indian doctor has also been removed from a taxi. There will be a lot of danger from the conflict that is being taken from 200 protesters in the islands," he said.

Fayyaz said that the anti-India campaign is a political activity carried out by the opposition. He said that there were no military individuals in the Maldives and that there are currently those who were brought in during Yamin's administration.

Fayyaz defended the long standing relations between Maldives and India. All types of staple food are guaranteed by India and China has not yet provided this guarantee, he said.

Fayyaz believes that the campaign should be stopped by the parliament and the government.

"We are not trying to prevent any protests. However, the impact of “India out'' has begun to adversely affect the country. The economy is run by the highest number of tourists from India. And no one from China has come in the past two years," Fayyaz said.

When the economy is in a state of disrepair, the “India Out” movement which is based on something misleading. If there was an Indian presence, there would be reasons to protest. "But everyone knows that it is not the case. It would be a complete lie to say that there are military personnel present here. There are still people from Yamin's administration."