New Delhi: The Maldives government is facing scrutiny and parliamentary inquiry over the delayed evacuation of a boy during a medical emergency from an island to the capital, with the opposition questioning the cessation of Indian aircraft for ambulance services.
President Mohamed Muizzu has meanwhile also been battling pressure from a former leader of his own party, the ex-President Abdulla Yameen, who has expressed dissatisfaction with Muizzu’s government for not doing enough to expel the Indian military.
A 13-year-old boy from Gaafu Alifu Atoll Villingili, Mohamad Jaah Khalid, was placed on a ventilator in a local hospital on the evening of January 17. However, due to a delay in arranging for planes for his medical evacuation, he was only transported to Malé on the evening of January 18 and succumbed at the Intensive Care Unit of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital on the morning of January 20.
There was a chorus of outrage over the delay, with local media reporting that there were protests in the atoll once the news about the death of the boy became known.
There is heightened political sensitivity over the death as it comes against the backdrop of the Maldives government demanding the withdrawal of Indian military which is stationed in the archipelago nation to operate three donated aircrafts.
Indian defence presence
A key element of new president Muizzu’s successful presidential campaign was the demand for the withdrawal of Indian military forces. Muizzu had said that their presence was a violation of Maldivian sovereignty. Upon assuming office, Muizzu formally requested the removal of Indian defence personnel.
India had last October highlighted that 523 Maldivian lives had been saved in 500 medical evacuations for last five years by Indian personnel manning the aircrafts.
The Maldives president had last month announced the start of a new air ambulance service in collaboration with the Maldivian airlines from March 2024.
Even as both countries are currently in talks, Maldives has given a deadline of March 15 to India for removing any Indian military officers in the country.
The death of the boy has, therefore, led opposition members to claim that he could have been saved if the Indian planes had been put to service.
Opposition members also claimed that the Maldivian government has stopped the operation of the three Indian aircraft, but there is no official confirmation from New Delhi or Malé.
The spokesperson for the Maldives president asserted last month that the government had not issued an order to halt the operation of the planes. However, there has been no mention of any Dornier or helicopter operations in the Maldivian media since the new government took over.
State of affairs
Earlier, the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) used to routinely report with photographs of medical evacuation done through the Dornier or helicopters. The last such press release related to a medical evacuation through a Dornier was issued by MNDF on October 10.
In December, a Maldivian media outlet Adhadhu raised questions about why the MNDF did not deploy the Dornier aircraft for search and rescue operations when a man went missing while searching for lobsters.
Due to the rising criticism about not putting in service the Indian plane, the Maldivian defence minister Ghassan Gayoom claimed that more than 93% of medical evacuation since 2021 was done by Maldivian airlines. He also claimed that standard operating procedures did not require any permission from the President for operating emergency evacuation flights.
President Muizzu expressed condolences about the death of the boy and ordered the reform of protocols for emergency transfers of patients.
Meanwhile, the state-run health insurance company, Aasandha Company Ltd claimed that the planned evacuation flight had been delayed due to last-minute “technical issue”. The national carrier Maldivian declared on Sunday that it will prioritize medical evacuations over scheduled flights. The health ministry announced that it will review whether there was any negligence in the procedures followed before the evacuation of the boy.
With the government in a defensive mode, the opposition dominated-Parliament announced their own inquiry into the death of the boy through the parliamentary committee on human rights and gender which held a meeting on Sunday.
According to a report by Sun, opposition MP Rozaina said at the parliamentary committee meeting that strained ties with India was impacting Maldivian citizens and criticised the stoppage of use of the three aircraft donated by India.
An MDP member of parliament Meekail Naseem tweeted that “People shouldn’t have to pay with their lives to satisfy the President’s animosity towards India”.
‘Not doing enough’
While the opposition is trying to corner the government, Muizzu is also under pressure from his estranged former colleague, former President Abdulla Yameen for not doing enough to remove Indian military from Maldives.
Muizzu had got the opposition ticket for the Presidential elections, as Yameen could not contest due to his conviction. Yameen had reluctantly supported him, but after the presidential elections, both of them fell out.
The former President, who is the original architect of the ‘India Out’ campaign to demand the removal of Indian military, left the coalition and formed his own party. While he was removed from jail, Yameen has not been released as demanded by his supporters and remains in house arrest.
At a party meeting over the weekend, the former President criticised the government for slowing down its initial attempts to force India to withdraw its personnel.
Referring to a minister claiming that the expulsion of Indian military would not be easy, Yameen said that he was disappointed. “It is very disheartening to hear these words from a Minister of the President’s Office of a government that came with immense courage and resolve to remove the Indian troops from Maldives. Nothing will be easy,” he said.
Next month, Maldives is set to conduct parliamentary elections, serving as a gauge of the Muizzu government’s popularity following Yameen’s exit and its actions that may have strained relations with India.
