Ex-pres Yameen conveys National Day greetings "tearfully"

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Tuesday sent National Day greetings to the people of Maldives with "heartbreak" over gloomy and dark times.

In a tweet expressing this, the former president said that the occasion made him tearful with all the sentiments.

Yameen began using Twitter in May this year, and since then it was the norm for him to write his Tweets in English. However, for this occasion, he had tweeted in Dhivehi.

The opposition coalition led by Yameen has continued its critique of Maldives-India relations, claiming that India has been influencing internal issues of the country. 

There is an ongoing campaign 'India Out' by them protesting the presence of Indian military nationals in Maldives. 

The former president had stated that his priority was the nation's independence over any diplomatic ties.

Furthermore, he had said that independence cannot be given in exchange for anything and that diplomatic relations can be maintained within India, but wihtin certain boundaries.