By IANS,
New Delhi/Male : Ruling out intervention, India’s special envoy to the Maldives returned to New Delhi Saturday evening after wide-ranging talks with key political figures in the island nation during which he stressed on pushing the political process and exhorted them to resolve “complex issues” in “an atmosphere of peace and calm.”
M. Ganapathi, Secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry, met the “widest possible cross-section of stake holders in the Maldives in view of the recent developments”, and underlined the need for taking the political process forward within the framework of the Maldivian constitution.
Ganapathi met former president Mohamed Nasheed and his successor Mohammed Waheed Hassan and impressed upon them to speed up the political process of forming a broad-based coalition government that could restore peace and stability to the island nation.
He also met other political leaders, in male, including the Chief Justice of the Maldives’ Supreme Court and new Home Minister Mohamed Jameel.
In his talks, Ganapathi ruled out any military intervention and reiterated India’s position that the present crisis was an internal affair of that country and should be resolved democratically.
“The political process will continue to evolve and we would continue to monitor the situation,” he told reporters in Male before leaving for New Delhi.
“There is no countenancing any intervention at all. It is engagement. It is for Maldivians to take charge,” he said.
“The situation is of course complex. We would like to see it resolved in an atmosphere of calm and peace so that it does not affect the common man in the Maldives,” said Ganapathi, who was sent by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday to assess ground realities and talk to key figures across the political spectrum.
Ganapathi’s visit came days after the resignation of Nasheed amid opposition protests and a police mutiny. Subsequently, Manmohan Singh wrote a letter to the new president and offered India’s help, if needed, for stabilising the situation.
Alluding to Manmohan Singh’s letter, Ganpathi said it was for “Maldivians themselves to resolve (their internal issues) peacefully and democratically within the framework of the Constitution of the Maldives.”