Building owners summoned by police for hanging ‘India Out’ banners

The owners of two buildings in Male’ City were summoned to the police headquarters on Friday for hanging banners linked to the ‘India Out’ movement. 

The people summoned by the police were the owners of H. Hurefaa, where the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) headquarters is located, and G. Heylhi, the residence of former Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed. 

The police took their statements and issued them a legal warning. 

Their legal representative, Mohamed Raib Ahmed said the government was operating with disregard to the constitution and the laws of the country. 

‘Hanging an ‘India Out’ banner does not obstruct any duty of the state. The government is acting with disregard to the constitution,” he said. 

Rabiu said the legal notice referred to laws unrelated to the case. 

In an interview to Channel 13, Mohamed Hussain, the father of former CP Hussain Waheed and owner of G. Heylhi, said the sole issue was the presence of Indian military personnel in Maldives. 

“It was all about the banners. We are forced to [hang] banners and wear t-shirts and stuff because Indian soldiers are stationed here,” he said. 

‘India Out’ is a political campaign led by the opposition to protest against Indian military presence in Maldives.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih issued a decree banning the ‘India Out’ movement on April 21, deeming it a threat to national security.

However, the opposition continued to put up banners and graffiti the walls of buildings with slogans linked to the movement.

President Solih said in his decree that the ‘India Out’ movement was a deliberate attempt to hinder the longstanding relations between Maldives and India, and international efforts to maintain security in the region, and that incitement to hatred against a specific country put Maldives at risk of loss of peace and stability, huge economic and social burden, and isolation in the international arena.