by SUDHA RAMACHANDRAN
Maldives vice president Ahmed Adeeb was arrested for “high treason,” amid increasing speculations against his involvement in a blast on a boat carrying President Yameen Abdul Gayoom last month. In this photo, Adeeb (R) speaks during a press conference in Malé, Maldives, Nov. 11, 2013. PHOTO/Getty Images/AFP/S.Kodikara/International Business Times
The arrest of Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb on charges of “high treason” for his alleged role in a failed attempt to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen has further roiled the archipelago’s turbulent and murky politics.
If in the weeks since the abortive assassination, the Maldivian capital, Male, has been rife with rumors of coups, conspiracies and crackdowns, Adeeb’s arrest has fueled unrest and instability.
The attempt on Yameen’s life was made on September 28, when he was returning to the capital, Male, from the airport after a hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. An explosion occurred on board the presidential speedboat as it approached Male. While the President escaped unhurt, his wife and two officials were injured.
Attempted assassinations and coups are not new to the Maldives. In the 1980s for instance, there were at least three attempted coups to oust President Maumoon Gayoom, Yameen’s half-brother, who also faced attempts on his life. Ultimately, it was a democratic election in 2008 that ended Gayoom’s 30-year-long autocratic rule.
The attempt on Yameen’s life has led to a string of arrests. At least a dozen people have been detained so far, several of them in connection with a weapons cache that investigators probing the explosion found on the sea bed near the remote Baa Atoll, 130 km northwest of Male.
The arrest of Adeeb for involvement in a plot to assassinate Yameen has come as a shock to many Maldivians as he is a protégé of the President and was appointed Vice President just three months ago. Popular among Maldivian youth, Adeeb is said to have played an important role in delivering Yameen the votes of young Maldivians in the 2013 presidential election.
Why did they fall out then? Under the Maldivian Constitution, the Vice President takes charge in the event of the death of the President. Was Adeeb’s soaring ambition behind the assassination bid?
Adeeb has denied the allegations leveled against him. Indeed, many Maldivians believe he is being framed. The President’s insecurity over challenges from rivals and potential rivals may be behind Adeeb’s detention, they argue.
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