‘India Out’: pro-China ex-president spurs on tourist boycott calls in the Maldives

The Maldives’ ‘India Out’ campaign began last year but its origins date to 2013 when Abdulla Yameen, who is currently in jail for corruption, became president

Yameen has repeatedly hit out at his successor for wanting closer ties with India – and his claims of malign intentions have been amplified by domestic media

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Abdulla Yameen, former president of the Maldives, shakes hand with China's President Xi Jinping after a meeting in Beijing in 2017. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:35pm, 19 Jul 2021Updated: 3:23pm, 20 Jul 2021

Tourists from India will once again be able to visit the Maldives from Thursday, some 10 weeks after the tropical island nation temporarily banned all South Asian tourists in a bid to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Many may not want to, however, given the virulent anti-India campaign that has sprang up on the archipelago recently, amid noisy calls on social media for the government to boycott Indian tourists altogether.

Sunjay Sudhir, New Delhi’s de facto ambassador to the Maldives, was so shaken by the “India Out” campaign that he wrote to Malé’s foreign ministry requesting extra security for his diplomatic staff and urging the authorities to take action.

An aerial view of the island of Malé, capital of the Maldives. Photo: AFP

He said in his letter dated June 24 that the “vicious and increasingly personal” attacks were aimed at inciting hatred and violence against India and its diplomats, citing provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that oblige host governments to protect foreign envoys.

“Such repeated attacks can affect the efficient performance of the functions of the High Commission and can damage the time-tested and mutually beneficial bilateral relations,” Sudhir said.