Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was assisted to flee Sri Lanka on 13 July 2022 during the height of the people’s movement (‘Aragalaya’) to prevent the possibility of a Sri Lankan President from being lynched and killed, undermining the island’s long-preserved democratic credentials, says one-time Maldivian President and Speaker of the People’s Majlis Mohamed Nasheed, who facilitated Rajapaksa and his wife to seek temporary refuge in a Maldivian resort.

Nasheed’s facilitation of Gotabaya to leave the island has been severely criticised by some and viewed as a move that undermined the public sentiments to have Rajapaksa ousted from power. In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Morning, Nasheed spoke about his attempt to diffuse the heightening political tension in Sri Lanka at the time by assisting Rajapaksa’s departure, paving the way for his resignation and an opportunity for the people to find a ‘different political arrangement’. 

Nasheed also spoke about his new role in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and opportunities for the Global South to create prosperity plans instead of getting into cycles of debt with multinational donors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without being able to achieve debt sustainability. He also spoke about climate finance models and Sri Lanka’s ability to rise above the fog. 

Following are excerpts:

You have survived a bomb attack as well as countless physical attacks. You were dragged through the streets of Malé, the Maldivian capital, and forced to resign from the presidency. Now that you are no longer in active politics, do you feel safe?

I survived a bomb attack three years ago. Unfortunately, our Government is yet to find the underlying cause. They found the shooter but not those who funded it and planned it. It is incorrect for me to say I am completely safe. Even though I feel safe, others do not appear to share my opinion. 

The Maldivian authorities have attached two persons for my security. I am often targeted by social media. The authorities do not think I should be left alone. Irrespective of my security status, it should not restrict me from doing the things I should do. I will also die some day and I hope to die of old age. I should be cautious based on security advice. Even Colombo assigned me special security. They might have information that I do not have.

You have always been in the thick of things. You started off as a journalist, then became an activist, and transitioned to being a politician. Now you serve as the Secretary General of the Accra-based CVF – a group of countries disproportionately impacted by the consequences of climate change. Does this new role come with restrictions, unhappy adjustments, and having to give up on the hustle and bustle of national politics?

It was beneficial to have served as a president at a point of time. Being in government has assisted me to do the work I now do. I can directly ring presidents and prime ministers and cut the meaningless red tape to get through to the core. It makes things easier. Firefighting is not what I am doing now as I did then. I don’t have to worry about nurturing a constituency or face an election. But the planet is burning, temperatures are rising, and our climate has changed. This is a global emergency. 

In a way, it is similar to my previous work. I still get to serve the Maldives. It seems I had to leave the Maldives to try and save the Maldives from climate impacts. 

My children say that I show withdrawal symptoms from politics. I like to have an impact on public policy and, to achieve that, one should be in politics. I think politics is honourable work. In my time, I have been accused of many things, but not of embezzling public funds. I am glad to be considered clean.

Many Maldivians say you were giddy with power. Are there decisions you regret?

Yes, power does go to your head, and it is addictive. While I have no regrets, I was sad that to convince the people of my ability to protect the State, I was expected to demonstrate how strong and brutal I could be. That’s not what I believe in. I wanted to be humane. I did not get into that tit-for-tat game either. Not striking back at President Gayoom was considered a weakness. I wanted to build social cohesion and the economy, not to pick personal battles.

Are you still a sitting Member of Parliament (MP)? If so, how do you hold a position in CVF concurrently?

We had elections last week. The new batch of MPs will take oaths next week. I started working for CVF in February. I stopped taking my MP salary from January onwards. I am technically a legislator until the new House is constituted. 

Why did you part ways with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and create The Democrats, viewed as an MDP avatar? Was it painful to leave a party you co-founded?

It hurt me immensely. We created a political party with specific political principles and we should abide by those values. During our second term, I saw our party moving away from the founding principles. It became difficult to be with them. I personally have no position in The Democrats. But I felt it was necessary to float it as a reminder of MDP’s original core principles.

When we moved out, the MDP lost the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. There is no point of winning elections if you are not in sync with promises made to the people. It is sad and I find it very hurtful that we lost both the elections. Our defeat should teach us a lesson.

We came into Government promising to probe the corruption of the previous regime. We didn’t do that. We promised to restructure our debt. Instead, we took another loan to repay previous debt. I consider it irresponsible governance. They lost sight of the manifesto. Instead of doing what was promised, we were investing in vanity projects that only increased our debt burden. I simply could not stick around.

With all this, I ended my relationship with my childhood friend of over 50 years who is married to my sister. It is not easy.

Do you still harbour political aspirations?

I have not ruled it out. But right now, I am quite happy with the work I do. It is meaningful and it benefits my people. I hope it benefits everybody. I believe we can save the planet. I don’t think we should give up.

The CVF includes resourceful but climate-impacted nations in the world. What possibilities do you see for the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Africa?

The CVF started in 2009 and in 2022 we evolved into an independent, inter-governmental body that takes stock of our climate vulnerability seriously. We are solution-focused. Early this year, I resigned from my post as Speaker and went to Accra to set up the Secretariat. Working with climate-vulnerable countries is something so close to my heart. Countries cannot be both poor and resilient. To build resilience, we need new plans that can beat poverty. 

The CVF offers technical advice to member countries on the development of Prosperity Plans and helps develop financial models. Currently we are working with Sri Lanka, Ghana, and Bangladesh on their plans. We are asking the world to take responsibility and remind everyone that the so-called poor countries are the lungs of the planet. Most forests are found in the climate-vulnerable countries; we are capturing the carbon that others are emitting. If we didn’t, the planet wouldn’t survive. If you want to breathe clean air, then there is a price to pay and that is to invest in these environments that make this world still habitable.

Carbon exchange is a mechanism that can work. Forest communities are protecting the forests. They have to be paid for it. Those countries have to be paid for it. We purify the air you breathe and there should be a price for it. It is our right to ask for this now. 

In what way can the Prosperity Plans assist climate-vulnerable countries?

Prosperity Plans are a pathway to get out of the debt trap and continue to attract investments in debt-for-environment swaps. We are likely to prosper if there is greater investment in our nature, in our backyards. According to Article 16 of the Paris Agreement, there is provision to ask countries that go beyond their nationally-determined limits to account for their anthropogenic emissions. We should ask them to pay.

Instead of looking for new models, it is outrageous that we continue to speak of IMF bailout packages as the panacea for all ills. Its debt sustainability mechanisms are all about sustaining the debt, not repayment and completion. Countries get into more debt to pay off the original debt. What’s sustained is the debt. 

This is Sri Lanka’s 17th IMF programme. How many times is Colombo expected to seek debt that can never be repaid? This austerity prescription has failed miserably. If it didn’t, then a recovery of economies would have been seen. We must urgently change the doctor and the prescription. It is unsustainable and unscientific and only bleeds our nations more. 

Let’s move to the region. There is growing resentment among South Asian nations towards neighbouring India. Many consider the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy as one of aggressive pushing of its agenda in each country without remorse. Recently, there was a diplomatic spat with Maldivian politicians reacting to Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s comments with a call to ‘quit the Maldives’. What is the impact of this rift? 

It was quite unnecessary. I do not think we should ask India to leave. India should remain, not quit. India is rapidly developing and we need to plug into that development. We need property, safety, and security and this is linked to India. 

In 1988, there was a coup to overthrow the Maldivian Government. This involved Sri Lankan rebels from the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and was thwarted with Indian assistance through Operation Cactus. A few dozen can destabilise our small island nation. In my view, we are now more vulnerable than before, after distancing ourselves from India. 

Indian Ocean countries should take care of Indian Ocean nations. There is specifically no role for China in this. I know I am politically incorrect in the eyes of many, but so be it. Indian Ocean safety should be the responsibility of us, the Indian Ocean countries. 

We have been with India for thousands of years. India is not going anywhere. It is our neighbour. It is useless to antagonise India and bring in other actors. India too should be broad-shouldered and support the smaller countries. In becoming a superpower, India should create its own model and not try to be the US or the UK.  

Also, look at the role China has played so far. China has intentionally increased the price of projects. It brings its expertise, money, material, and people and then also builds the Sinamalé Bridge linking the islands of Malé and Hulhulé with Hulhumalé. It intentionally creates business plans that fail. One can never repay those loans. It was created that way and meant to fail. This is the debt trap we must understand. 

As for India, there is no choice but to live with our neighbour. It is often a love-hate relationship. This is true for most of our countries. But India is not going to go away or play a lesser role in the region. We need to learn to work with India. I also don’t like the xenophobic, ultranationalist sentiments that drive these rifts in foreign relations. Our path to prosperity is linked to India. We are geographically, culturally, and historically linked. The more we work on our relationships, the better. The world is interconnected and interdependent. We must be big enough to see beyond our shorelines. 

You played a specific role in facilitating former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to leave Sri Lanka on 13 July 2022. Sri Lankans were critical of your role and saw it as one that undermined the public’s desire to oust him. Why did you play the role of facilitator to a fugitive President? 

Sri Lanka, unlike many other countries, has never experienced a coup. Even throughout the civil war, the island never missed an election. The country has always transferred power through the ballot. Sri Lankans have never lynched a president. They have never arrested a former president either. It was a bit like the situation I found myself in during my presidency and I didn’t want Colombo to go through the same. 

Even today, the same Government is in office. You only have a different president. The bullets and the guns that were used to end a war in 2009 are still there. I felt that if the same thing I experienced in Malé saw a repeat in Colombo, the whole of South Asia would not survive. 

I thought I had an opportunity to assist the Sri Lankan people to find another political arrangement. In my mind, the resignation of the President was far more important than anything else. The President was not going to resign at that time. He was still strong and had the troops under his command. Who am I to think that the military may not step in?

In my mind, to diffuse the situation, the best I could do was to facilitate his departure and with that, his ability to resign, offering Sri Lankans a chance to find another option. It gave Sri Lankans a political moment without bloodletting. 

I don’t think I went against public sentiments. Some of my Sri Lankan friends were furious with me at the time, but I think they all have calmed down by now. Imagine what it would have been like if the people were pitted against the military? If people lynched their President, then things would not have looked so clean. I want to explain this to Sri Lanka and beg them to understand my standpoint. I never wanted to obstruct their democratic right to protest or to undermine their political activism. In retrospect, I think it was not such a bad thing to do. 

You also have deep connections with Sri Lanka’s political elite. From time to time, you have fled Malé and found refuge in Colombo. Did you feel obligated to return the favour to a fleeting President or was it the Rajapaksa connection?

I have been dragged across the streets of Malé before I resigned from the presidency. I have experienced how things can turn and turn ugly. In the 1930s, the entire Maldivian Cabinet lived in Sri Lanka for two years. It is not some special treatment offered to me. Sri Lanka gave me a second home whenever I needed one. Just after harbouring me, defeated President Gayoom came to Sri Lanka with his Cabinet. There was no way I could have insisted that Colombo extradite them and hand them over to me. 

In the heat of things, we want to say and do things. Once you start thinking rationally, you realise there were better mechanisms, meaningful solutions. Of course, people must be made accountable. The rule of law must prevail. There is a role for the Judiciary to uphold justice. But it needs to be done according to your Constitution and your procedures. 

In the 1950s, Maldivian President Mohamed Amin Didi was lynched and murdered. President Ibrahim Nasir was not allowed to return to the Maldives. I decided not to go after former President Gayoom. It was not as if he had not done anything wrong. He has tortured me twice. There were over 100 deaths in prison at the time. There is no future if you make the revenge agenda your political agenda.

Let’s not forget that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was a democratically-elected President and had an unprecedented mandate. He wanted to come to the Maldives and he was still the President. Where is the room for me to prevent it? He was still travelling freely and I could not be the judge and jury of Sri Lanka’s political climax. Passion can lead us to wrong decisions. But were we ready to see a president being lynched? I think not.

Some of my friends saw the romance of lynching a president, but that would have been the point of no return for Sri Lanka. You would have lost all your dignity at that moment. All your democratic gains would have been sullied. Whatever I did in that moment to facilitate your President to leave safely, I did it with Sri Lanka’s best interests at heart.

Sri Lanka has strived to preserve its democratic credentials despite the many challenges faced. If we allowed it to happen, it would have also set a bad precedent not just for Sri Lanka but for all of South Asia. Sri Lanka could not afford that. All of us could not afford that. No matter what kind of pressures we feel, the democratic process is the best. When things slow down and we start thinking rationally, I think Sri Lankans will find it in their hearts not to judge too harshly. I feel it was not wrong for me to do what I did.  

(The writer is an international award-winning journalist, lawyer, and a Co-Founder of the Colombo-based Center for Investigative Reporting [CIR])