Maldives' oppn, ruling parties thank India

Male, Feb 17 (PTI) Ousted Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed's MDP party has said that it was grateful to India for its "timely intervention" to help resolve the political impasse here, a view shared by the new regime as well. "It has been a positive movement, a forward movement. India's role was very much important in ensuring that political and democratic process is on," Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, a senior MDP leader and close aide of Nasheed, told PTI here. "We are grateful to India for the timely intervention," Zaki, the then Special Envoy to Nasheed, said. New Maldivian President Mohammad Waheed Hassan too thanked India for its efforts aimed at ending the political crisis here. "I wish to personally thank the Indian Foreign Secretary for his good offices in facilitating this agreement which needed all sides to put aside partisan interest for the sake of the country," a statement released by the President's office said. The new government, which had been insisting that the polls would be held only in 2013 as scheduled, appears to have changed its strategy following hectic parleys that India's Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had with all stakeholders here, including Nasheed. Mathai said India's understanding was that elections "would be held as early as considered feasible by all concerned". Winding up his hectic visit with a round of meetings with President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Nasheed and all other stakeholders on Thursday, Mathai announced that consequent to his discussions all the parties have agreed on a formulation to get the country out of the more than week old crisis. Mathai said there was a degree of convergence on how matters should be taken forward and the parties agreed to the need for maintenance of Constitutional order. Mathai who also met Abdullah Yameen of the PPM, Thasmeen Ali of the DRP, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Speaker of the People's Majlis, reiterated India's belief that there is need for a Maldivian-led process for reconciliation and resolving political differences through constitutional means. Under the agreed formulation, the government of national unity will hold discussions with all relevant parties to conduct elections by an early date. The government of National Unity will work towards the conditions that will permit such elections to take place including any necessary constitutional amendments, Mathai said. Maldives was hit by a deepening political crisis last week when 44-year-old Nasheed, the first democratically-elected President, resigned, after which he claimed he was eased out of power in a coup. PTI