HT This Day: Nov 5, 1988 - Indian troops crush Male coup
Gayoom in full control, thanks India for help
New Delhi- In a swift operation crack Indian para troopers today (November 4) successfully crushed the coup bid by foreign mercenaries in Maldives and helped President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to secure full control of the strategic island republic in the Indian Ocean.
As a result of the operation that ended around 2.30 a.m. today the paratroopers who were air-lifted from Indian bases chased away 400 mercenaries said to have been recruited by disgruntled ex-patriate Maldivian citizens.
The coup bid thus collapsed in less than 24 hours after the mercenaries had stormed Presidential Palace and national security headquarters in Male, the capital, early yesterday morning.
The Indian forces intercepted one of the two boats from which the mercenaries had launched the attack on Male yesterday and were in hot pursuit of another boat believed to be carrying mercenaries and some hostages including Transport Minister Ahmed Mujuthaba. The second boat spotted on high seas by an Indian naval aircraft and would be intercepted very soon, a foreign office spokesman said here this evening.
The 5000 tonne-capacity boat, spotted on the high seas, is believed to be carrying some rebels, mercenaries and hostages, the spokesman said.
Male airport is safe and there is no report of fighting at present. There is no casualty on the Indian side, he said. Asked about the total strength of Indian troops sent to Male, the spokesman said the first bath sent last night numbered 300. Some more were sent this morning but the exact number was not known," he said.
Involved in the four hour operation were the Army, Navy and the Air Force. First hand reports said that the national security service headquarters and buildings around it which had witnessed heavy fighting yesterday bore marks of extensive damage. The Indian troops are in control of strategic buildings and points in the city.
Additional Indian troops were rushed to Male after the paratroopers successfully completed their mission. They cordoned off Male and began a house-to-house search to apprehend any possible mercenary in hiding.
The spokesman said the Government of India had the first call for military assistance yesterday morning from a close aide of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had left his palace for security. This morning the Maldivian President had personally talked to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on telephone.
Reports coming in from diverse sources indicate that the 2,320 tonne frigate, INS Betwa, was the first to reach the anchorage off Male today followed by the newly commissioned training ship INS tir (2,000 tonnes) which carries a helicopter on deck.
Both these ships were cruising close to the Lakshadweep and Minicoy group of islands and were ordered to set course for this mission. The third ship expected to be in the Maldive waters by tomorrow is the frigate INS Godavari (3,600 tonnes), which was off the east coast of Sri Lanka on way back from the Australian fleet review in Sydney harbour.
This afternoon, the other freight ship used by the Maldivian expatriates and mercenaries in the coup attempts, was brought under rocket fire by the Indian forces and sunk. But the men on board have managed to escape with the Maldivian Transport Minister as hostage.
While full details of the deployment of the Indian security forces to Maldives are yet to be officially announced, it is learnt that close to a thousand troops, airlifted and para-dropped in a swift inter-service operation, carried out the task of restoring the capital city of Male to the constitutional authority in less than four hours.
The sources denied reports that INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier, had been committed in this operation. Such a large deployment was not required, they said.
Among the first to reach Male and overfly it with full sound and fury were the reconnaissance aircraft of the Indi- an Air Force. The naval surveillance aircraft also carried out sorties in support.
Well informed sources monitoring the operations said some of the mercenaries fleeing Maldives in a boat may have died as a result of the boat being rocketed and sunk by the Indian forces. Details of the casualties were being awaited.
Besides the Navy, six Coast Guard speed boats are understood to have been dispatched to Male from Cochin.
The troops were flown in with the help of IL-76 Gajaraj and AN-32 Satluj from Bangalore and Trivandrum.
In a radio broadcast, Mr Gayoom thanked Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for saving his nation from bloodshed.
According to reports from Male, people who had kept indoors throughout yesterday came out to the streets at Daybreak today.
President Gayoom went on the radio, urging calm and thanking god for delivering his nation of islands from violence.
Ali, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, said he had seen people walking and travelling by bicycles and motorcycles but few cars were on the road.
Today is the weekly holiday when most businesses and shops close. Mosques were open for prayers as, life started to return to normal.
Radio Male resumed broadcasting at 7.00 a.m. for the first time since it went off the air.
Mr Gayoom noted that he had survived three coup attempts since he was elected to office in 1978, but he gave no indication who was behind the latest attempt to remove him.
However, diplomatic sources and a Sri Lankan military official in Colombo blamed the attack on Sri Lankan Tamil guerillas and said they were recruited by an agent of former President Ibrahim Nasir.
DPA quoted the Maldivian High Commissioner Ahmed Abdulla in Colombo as saying that the Government of Mr Gayoom was in "total control" of the situation and the intruders had been repulsed.
Mr Abdulla said some of the mercenaries were arrested while others escaped either by boat or to some of the hundreds of islands that make up the Archipelago. Other sources said the intruders fled in two ships shortly before the Indians landed.
Mr Abdulla admitted casualties in several hours of fighting. He did not give further details.
Radio Male said 700 Indian paratroopers were on Male after landing last night on Hulule Island, a 10minute boat ride away. An Indian Navy ship was standing by off shore, the radio added.
Electricity flickered back today for the first time since the coup attempt started.
Sources in Male and Colombo, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attackers inflicted heavy grenade and bullet damage on the Presidential Palace and other Government buildings, including the security force headquarters. But these sources said that human casualties appeared to be light.
"Indian troops have been seen guarding all main government buildings," Mohammad Sharif, a male resident said "everything is quiet now, our Government is under control."
Mr Sharif said he had not heard any gunfire since about midnight Thursday.
Tourism and diplomatic sources in Colombo, about 800 km northeast of Male, said they were unaware of any tourists endangered by the attempted coup. A Colombo travel agent said he had been told there would be no commercial flights into the Maldives until at least Sunday.