No anti-India demonstrations in Maldives- Shameem

State Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ahmed Shameem has said that there are no anti-India demonstrations held in Maldives and therefore India should not be worried over a non existent matter.

Shameem said that he believes that the recent statement of the Official Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, regarding the current situation in Maldives was based on false information that the Indian government received.

“No demonstrations have been held in Maldives against India. No anti-India sentiments were expressed in any of the demonstrations held,” he said.

Shameem said that the issue raised is regarding a company which is owned by some Indians but is registered in another country and is a company which does not pay their taxes to India. He said that this matter is not related to India or the Indian government.

“Some of the shareholders of this company are from Malaysia. We do not see the Malaysian government raising concern over it. We have not seen any statements issued by the Malaysian government. No Malaysian diplomats in Maldives have met officials of the Maldivian government or members of the Peoples’ Majlis regarding the matter,” he said.

Shameem emphasized that the recent demonstrations held by the people are not demonstrations held against India but are held to demonstrate that the people do not want the damages to the sovereignty of the Maldivian nation and its economy to continue with the lease of the Ibrahim Naisr International Airport to GMR Infrastructure by the former regime. He added that the people simply want this to end and they want to reclaim the airport back to Maldivians.

“We have no issues with India. We have no issues with any Indian citizens in Maldives and likewise we have no issues with any of the employees of GMR. The issue is with the agreement made by the former government with GMR. All we want is to annul that agreement,” he said.

Shameem noted that this was clarified even in the Friday night’s rally of the National Alliance. “Sheikh Imran and other than him who spoke at the event stated this very clearly. They clarified that there is no threat to any Indian citizen in Maldives,” he said.

Shameem said that the Indian government is misinformed of the reality of the situation by a people in Maldives. He urged the Indian government to seek authentic information about the situation Maldives directly without contacting a third party.