What does China have to do with a Maldives coup? Ask Sri Lankan tourists

Ousted Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed blames political turmoil on a Chinese land grab and calls on India to intervene. Does even he believe this, or is it just a ploy? The neighbours appear to have made up their minds

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Maldivian police remove an opposition member who tried to enter a Parliament building that closed following the state of emergency. Photo: AP

Published: 1:30pm, 5 May 2018Updated: 1:32pm, 5 May 2018

Despite great public discussion regarding recent political turmoil in the Maldives – where the president has this year jailed two Supreme Court justices and declared a state of emergency to investigate what he claims was a coup attempt – Sri Lankan tourists continue to flock to the tropical paradise.

“Everything from airline ticket sales to air cargo transport has seen an uptick in the past few months,” says Dino de Fonseka, senior partner of a travel firm in Colombo.

De Fonseka says it’s only natural to expect such an uptick – after all, the islands have a well-earned reputation as a sun-drenched holiday destination, he points out.

President Abdulla Yameen of the Maldives is surrounded by his bodyguards as he arrives to address his supporters in Male, Maldives. Photo: AP

Hardly anybody who travels to the Maldives from Sri Lanka inquires about the political situation. “Nobody is interested in that,” de Fonseka deadpans.

That might strike some as a little strange, given just how heated that situation has become. In February President Abdulla Yameen ordered a state of emergency to investigate what he claimed was a coup, involving a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the release of imprisoned opposition leaders. If that wasn’t interesting enough, Yameen said at the time that the country was not facing a “state of war”, but “something more dangerous”.