Maldives condemns opposition politician's call to attack Indian High Commission

The Maldives government on Saturday condemned the call given by a particular political party to target the Indian High Commission in the capital city of Malé.

Condemn incitement, will investigate the threat: Maldives government

The Maldives Government, in its statement, said: "The government of Maldives strongly condemns the incitement of arson and terrorism targeted at the High Commission of India in Maldives."

"The Govt is investigating this threat very seriously and all necessary precautionary measures have been taken by the authorities." the statement further added.

Opposition leader had called for attack

Earlier on Friday, a member of the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Abbas Adil Riza called for an arson attack on the Indian Mission in a tweet. Abbas, tweeting in Dhivehi, wrote:  "The 8th February arson attacks in Addu were carried out on India's order. We haven't retaliated to that yet. I propose we start from the Indian High Commission."

During former President Yameen’s administration, Abbas was the Commissioner General of Customs. Yameen's administration was considered close to China, and ties with India under him had worsened.

Political parties condemn the statement

Three major political parties of Maldives condemned Abbas's statement.

The ruling MDP, while condemning the call for attack, called for "authorities to investigate the matter" and criticised the "opposition’s continuous effort to incite violence & hatred towards friendly nations".

Meanwhile, Maldives Third-Way Democrats also condemned Abbas's statement and said, "India is our closest neighbor & they are always there for Maldives in every time we needed."

Maldives Reform Movement, another political party in the Indian ocean country, called on authorities to investigate and take strong action against" the remarks, terming it as "hate speech".