The government of Maldives has stated that India and China has not put any pressure on the Maldives over the May Day incident.
In an interview to Sunday times of neighbouring Sri Lanka, Ambassador-at-Large of the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Naseer said that China has always respected the sovereignty of the Maldives.
He said that that a wrong picture has been portrayed over the May Day arrests.
“Naseer, who was in Sri Lanka last week to brief foreign diplomats based in Colombo with regards to the incident, said that the Maldives police acted in accordance with the law after being provoked. US Secretary of State John Kerry had raised concerns over the arrests when he visited Sri Lanka recently and had talks with the Sri Lankan Government,” Sunday Times reported.
Naseer however said that Sri Lanka had not spoken on the issue and the Maldives will seek Sri Lanka’s support in the face of international criticism.
Naseer insisted that the May Day protest could have gone ahead if it was peaceful. He said that the organisers of the protest had initially assured the police that the protest will be peaceful but had later protested with the motive of seeking support to overthrow the Government.