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First Post
4 days ago
- Business
- First Post
Is Maldives back into India fold? PM Modi may visit Male as I-Day guest on Muizzu's invitation
While details of the visit are still being finalised, one potential date under discussion is July 26, which marks Maldives Independence Day, according to a report read more India is considering an invitation from the Maldives for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the strategically important Indian Ocean nation in July, according to a report, citing sources familiar with the matter. The move comes after Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel reaffirmed President Mohamed Muizzu's 2024 invitation during his visit to India last week. According to a Times of India report, while details of the visit are still being finalised, one potential date under discussion is July 26, which marks Maldives Independence Day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If the visit goes ahead, it would be PM Modi's first trip to the Maldives since President Muizzu took office in November 2023, added the report. According to a Wion report, the visit, if it materialises, is likely to focus on the inauguration of India-supported projects in the country with a focus on wider stability of the Indian Ocean region – where both countries have been working with each other under initiatives like the Colombo Security Conclave. Khaleel visited India last week for the third time this year, signaling the Maldives' intent to strengthen ties with New Delhi amid growing concerns in both India and the West over its relationship with China. During the visit, Khaleel and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar reviewed bilateral cooperation across several key areas, including development partnership, defence and security, and trade and investment. Following the meeting, Jaishankar reaffirmed India's commitment to the Maldives' progress and development, and expressed gratitude for Maldivian support on counter-terrorism efforts. President Muizzu has consistently said that the Maldives will not take any steps that compromise India's security interests. He has defended his decision to withdraw Indian military personnel from the country as a reflection of the Maldivian people's aspiration for sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In an interview to Ceylon Today last week, the president said the Maldives will not allow its geographical location to be misused by any country for deliberate attempts that undermine the peace and stability in the Indian Ocean region. 'Our approach will always be for regional peace and sovereignty, and fair diplomacy with everyone," he was quoted as saying. India has been a key economic and infrastructure partner for the Maldives, notably supporting the Greater Male Connectivity Project — the country's largest infrastructure initiative. The project, linking Male to Villingili, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi via bridges, causeways, and roads, is vital for the proposed Gulhifalhu Port and is expected to drive future economic growth and job creation. It is backed by a $400 million Line of Credit and a $100 million grant from India. PM Modi last visited the Maldives in 2019, shortly after beginning his second term. During that visit, he addressed the newly elected People's Majlis and oversaw the signing of MoUs in hydrography, health, and sea-based passenger-cargo services. He also pledged support for the restoration of the historic Hukuru Miskiiy (Friday Mosque) in Malé. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India has consistently acted as the Maldives' first responder—from the 2004 tsunami to the COVID-19 pandemic—and remains the largest provider of defence training for the Maldivian National Defence Force, having trained over 1,500 MNDF personnel in the past decade. With inputs from agencies
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Ties warmer, PM Modi may make 1st Maldives trip of Muizzu era
Ties warmer, PM Modi may make 1st Maldives trip of Muizzu era NEW DELHI: India is favourably considering an invitation by the Maldives for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the strategically important Indian Ocean country in July, TOI has learnt. This follows a strong reiteration of President Mohamed Muizzu's 2024 invitation to Modi by Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Khaleel during his visit to India last week. While it's too early to talk about the programme or agenda, it is learnt that one of the dates being considered for Modi's visit to the archipelago is July 26, the Maldives Independence Day. If it happens, it will be the first visit by Modi to the country since Muizzu assumed office in November 2023. Khaleel was in India last week for the third time this year, signalling an intent on the part of the Maldives to deepen ties with India amid concerns both here and in the West about its ties with China. Along with his counterpart S Jaishankar, Khaleel reviewed bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including the development partnership, defence and security, and trade and investment. Jaishankar said after the meeting that India remained committed to Maldives's progress and development. He also thanked Khaleel for the solidarity with India on the issue of terrorism. Muizzu has continued to strongly maintain that the Maldives will not do anything to hurt India's security interests and that his decision to force Indian military personnel out of the country was based purely on the Maldivian people's desire for independence and non-interference in internal affairs. In an interview to Ceylon Today last week, the president said the Maldives will not allow its geographical location to be misused by any country for deliberate attempts that undermine peace and stability in the Indian Ocean region. "Our approach will always be for regional peace and sovereignty, and fair diplomacy with everyone," he said. India sees Maldives as a key maritime neighbour and an important partner in its Neighbourhood First policy and Vision Mahasagar (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions). According to the Indian external affairs ministry, the visit was aimed at strengthening the Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership between the two countries. As Prime Minister Modi and Muizzu had said in a joint statement after the latter's visit to India in October 2024, this partnership will be people-centric, future-oriented and will act as an anchor of stability in the Indian Ocean region. Among the big takeaways from that visit was a significant decision to initiate discussions on a Bilateral Free Trade Agreement focusing on trade in goods and services between the two countries.
AFP
14-04-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Posts misrepresent Canadian ruling on Sri Lanka civil war remembrance bill
"Supreme Court of Canada says No Genocide in Sri Lanka and determined that the Bill 104 Tamil Genocide Education Week Act was not within Jurisdiction Education under Canada's Constitution," reads part of a Facebook post that Sri Lanka's retired army general Chagie Gallage published March 29, 2025 (archived link). The post includes a screenshot of what appears to be a WhatsApp message linking to the Ontario Centre for Policy Research, which describes itself as a think tank (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured March 31, 2025 claims spread elsewhere on Facebook. Local newspapers such as Ceylon Today and The Island Online, as well as several Sinhala-language outlets, also reported the court ruled the Canadian province of Ontario's law was unconstitutional. The claims emerged after the Supreme Court of Canada on March 27 junked an appeal challenging Ontario Bill 104, also known as the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act (archived links here, here and here). Enacted in 2021, the law designated an annual week in May during which "Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about, and to maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history" (archived links here). Vijay Thanigasalam, a member of the Provincial Parliament who fled Sri Lanka during the decades-long civil war when he was a child, authored the bill (archived link). The South Asian island nation's drawn-out Tamil separatist war ended in May 2009. More than 40,000 people, mostly Tamil civilians, are estimated to have been killed by government forces in the final months of the war, an allegation Colombo has consistently denied. On March 24, 2025, the British government announced sanctions against Shavendra Silva, former head of Sri Lanka's armed forces, former navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda and former army commander Jagath Jayasuriya (archived link). The Foreign Office said the four were responsible for "serious human rights abuses and violations" during the war. Claims that Canada's highest court said no genocide occurred are . Misinterpreted ruling In its March 27 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act (TGEWA) as constitutional, upholding a September 2024 decision from a provincial appeals court that said the law "constitutes a valid exercise of Ontario's powers" (archived links here and here). The appellate court said it was not asked to rule if genocide took place in Sri Lanka. "We are not being asked to decide whether the TGEWA is a wise use of government power. Our decision should not be interpreted as such," the court . "Nor are we being asked to decide if a genocide occurred in Sri Lanka. As the application judge emphasized, this case is not about whether a Tamil genocide occurred." The Sri Lankan Canadian Action Coalition said in a March 28, 2025 statement that it acknowledged the Canadian Supreme Court's ruling (archived link). "As the ruling itself clarifies, the Court was not asked to determine whether a genocide occurred in Sri Lanka," the said, adding that it remained "deeply concerned" about the decision's "broader implications for social cohesion in Ontario and ."
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Posts misrepresent Canadian ruling on Sri Lanka civil war remembrance bill
"Supreme Court of Canada says No Genocide in Sri Lanka and determined that the Bill 104 Tamil Genocide Education Week Act was not within Jurisdiction Education under Canada's Constitution," reads part of a Facebook post that Sri Lanka's retired army major general Chagie Gallage published March 29, 2025 (archived link). The post includes a screenshot of what appears to be a WhatsApp message linking to the Ontario Centre for Policy Research, which describes itself as a think tank (archived link). Similar claims spread elsewhere on Facebook. Local newspapers such as Ceylon Today and The Island Online, as well as several Sinhala-language outlets, also reported the court ruled the Canadian province of Ontario's law was unconstitutional. The claims emerged after the Supreme Court of Canada on March 27 junked an appeal challenging Ontario Bill 104, also known as the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act (archived links here, here and here). Enacted in 2021, the law designated an annual week in May during which "Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about, and to maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history" (archived links here). Vijay Thanigasalam, a member of the Provincial Parliament who fled Sri Lanka during the decades-long civil war when he was a child, authored the bill (archived link). The South Asian island nation's drawn-out Tamil separatist war ended in May 2009. More than 40,000 people, mostly Tamil civilians, are estimated to have been killed by government forces in the final months of the war, an allegation Colombo has consistently denied. On March 24, 2025, the British government announced sanctions against Shavendra Silva, former head of Sri Lanka's armed forces, former navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda and former army commander Jagath Jayasuriya (archived link). The Foreign Office said the four were responsible for "serious human rights abuses and violations" during the war. Claims that Canada's highest court said no genocide occurred are false. "Based on the available material, there is no evidence to show that the Supreme Court of Canada has said anything about a genocide in (Sri Lanka)," said Kalana Senaratne, a senior lecturer in the University of Peradeniya's law department, in an April 11 email (archived link). In its March 27 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act (TGEWA) as constitutional, upholding a September 2024 decision from a provincial appeals court that said the law "constitutes a valid exercise of Ontario's powers" (archived links here and here). The appellate court said it was not asked to rule if genocide took place in Sri Lanka. "We are not being asked to decide whether the TGEWA is a wise use of government power. Our decision should not be interpreted as such," the court wrote September 5, 2024. "Nor are we being asked to decide if a genocide occurred in Sri Lanka. As the application judge emphasized, this case is not about whether a Tamil genocide occurred." The Sri Lankan Canadian Action Coalition said in a March 28, 2025 statement that it acknowledged the Canadian Supreme Court's ruling (archived link). "As the ruling itself clarifies, the Court was not asked to determine whether a genocide occurred in Sri Lanka," the nonprofit said, adding that it remained "deeply concerned" about the decision's "broader implications for social cohesion in Ontario and beyond." Gehan Gunatilleke, an attorney specialising in international human rights law and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, agreed (archived links here and here). "The (Supreme Court) appears to have dismissed the appeal, so that would mean the previous order of the Court of Appeal and the judgment of the lower court stand," he told AFP in an April 8 email. "This means the Tamil Genocide Week Act is held to be constitutional. The post that the (Supreme Court) made some statement about there being no genocide in Canada is false."
