Calling India’s Modi ‘puppet of Israel’, ‘clown’, ‘terrorist’ gets Maldives officials suspended

Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid all worked for the archipelago nation’s Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts and were disciplined for their comments on social media, a senior government official said on Sunday.

“The government of Maldives is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high ranking individuals,” the government said in a statement. “These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the government of Maldives.”

Some viewed his visit as trying to draw tourists away from the globally popular Maldives, whose 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean are dotted with luxury resorts.

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The Indian High Commission in the Maldives had “strongly raised and expressed concerns” over the comments, a source familiar with the matter said.

Some prominent Indians, including actor Akshay Kumar and cricketer Hardik Pandya, expressed dismay at the comments by the now suspended Maldivian officials.

None of the three were immediately available for comment.

In a campaign to promote local tourism, other Indians, from former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to actor Salman Khan, have urged people to visit their own islands rather than go abroad.

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#ExploreIndianIslands is the second largest trending hashtag in India on X, and some Indians are sharing screenshots of cancelled bookings of Maldivian holidays.

Maldives’ Foreign Ministry said the government was aware of “derogatory remarks” against foreign leaders and would not tolerate them.

“India has always been a good friend to Maldives and we must not allow such callous remarks to negatively impact the age-old friendship between our two countries,” added former Maldives President Ibrahim Solih on X.