| Within
hours of the cabinet decision to respond to President
Abdul Gayoom's appeal for military assistance, a
maritime reconnaissance aircraft of the Navy was over
the islands, while the Army and the Air Force were in
the process of inducting troops to put down the
attempted coup.
The
landing of Indian troops that night forced the
mercenaries to adopt a new strategy. They commandeered
a merchant vessel, Progress Light, and taking with
them a number of hostages, including the Maldivian
Transport Minister and his wife, they set sail to
Colombo.
It
was their intention to conduct negotiations in the
glare of international publicity in Sri Lanka, but
President Jaywardene would have none of it. A
high-tension drama on the ocean followed.
The
Navy had diverted suitable ships to the Islands and
the interception of Progress Light assumed paramount
importance. The merchant ship was spotted by a
maritime reconnaissance aircraft on the morning of 04
November, whereupon IN ships Godavari and Betwa sped
to the scene to bring the rebels to book.
It
was a thorny mission, as the name implies. The safety
of the hostages had to be the foremost consideration
at all times. A negotiating team sent by the Maldivian
Government was embarked on Godavari, but it failed to
work out an acceptable solution.
The
personnel of Godavari then took over; when
psychological pressure did not succeed, warning shots
were fired by both the naval ships. The graduated use
of force finally compelled the rebels to surrender on
06 November.
The
injured hostages were transferred to a hospital in
Trivandrum, and the mercenaries were taken into
custody aboard the Indian ships. Godavari and Betwa
sailed into Male anchorage to a tumultuous welcome
two days later. The miscreants were handed over to the
appropriate authorities.
The
effective combination of naval ships and aircraft and
the mature handling of the situation defused a
potentially explosive event. A point had been
proved; terrorism at sea in the Indian Ocean region
had been swiftly contained. |
