Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has criticised the Mohamed Muizzu administration for not condemning Israel in the statement issued by the Maldives on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
While no group has claimed responsibility, Hamas has accused Israel of carrying out the attack. Iran, which was hosting Haniyeh in Tehran for the inauguration of the new Iranian President at the time the Hamas leader had been targeted and killed, also accused Israel.
“The Government of Maldives condemns the assassination of Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in the early hours of Wednesday morning while he was in Iran.
“The Government of Maldives calls on all nations to uphold international law and international humanitarian law and work together towards finding an urgent and lasting solution to the Gaza crisis and ensuring peace and stability in the region,” a short statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) read.
Yameen’s People’s National Front (PNF) said that the Maldives had not dared to say that Israel killed Haniyeh, questioning the independence of the Maldives’ foreign policy.
“This state does not dare to say that Haniyeh was killed or martyred by Israel, nor does it dare to condemn Israel. Then where is foreign policy? What did the President [Mohamed Muizzu] say about freedom in his Independence Day address?” said Yameen.
As the voices of Maldivians calling for a ban on Israelis entering the Maldives, because of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, had grown the Muizzu administration had earlier committed to ensuring that no one with an Israeli passport could enter the country.
Yameen,however, pointed out that the Muizzu administration had failed to follow through on the commitment and accused Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer of complicity, stating that the Minister had, at the time, visited the United States at the behest of the nation’s government — the US is seen as Isreal’s biggest champion and protector; going so far as to ignore international organisations and treaties it is party to in its shielding of Israel’s genocidal actions.