The religious Adhaalath Party called on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other coalition parties to not conduct any communication with Indian infrastructure giant GMR which might disrupt the government’s push for airport nationalisation.
This call comes in connection with the visit of GMR’s Chairman, G M Rao, and board members on Thursday.
Local newspaper reported that Rao and the delegation arrived on a private jet on Thursday morning at 9:00am, and had departed by 2:50pm in the afternoon.
CEO of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Andrew Harrison, told Minivan News that the visit was part of a regular bimonthly business review and unrelated to the current rhetoric.
“They was never any intention [for the delegation] to meet anyone from the government. Media got hold of the manifest and drew conclusions,” he said.
A statement released by Adhaalath Party on Thursday stated that it did not accept that the GMR board being in the Maldives was a “coincidence”. The party called on the political and civil members of the coalition, which it described as being on a “national jihad” to nationalise the airport, to be cautious about the visit and to “fear Allah” in the interest of the nation and its people.
President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, on Wednesday rejected an invitation to meet with Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay. Imran is quoted in local media as saying that he did not accept the invitation because of “the current situation” regarding the GMR issue and because the High Commissioner had not explained the reasons behind the invitation.
Imran also said that his rejection was not based on animosity towards India, as the GMR issue was “only a disagreement between the Maldivian government and a private company”. He expressed his hope that the Indian government would not get involved in the matter.
A letter allegedly sent by GMR to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting intervention by the Indian government, was reported to have been leaked in August.
The Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has also spoken with the Maldivian government about settling the disputes regarding the GMR contract.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Azima Shakoor has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether the laws of the Maldives could be applied to the agreement with GMR concerning the development of INIA.
Airport CEO Harrison stated that the company saw no need to responding to nationalisation rhetoric aired in the media: “We’re waiting for the government to tell us what it wants. Otherwise its business as usual,” he said.
Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla was not responding to calls at the time of press.
Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay was also not responding to calls.
GMR won a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the airport during the Nasheed administration. The opposition at the time challenged the government’s privatisation and threatened to renationalise the airport should it come to power.
Following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the unity government under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has swung between issuing reassurances within diplomatic circles that Indian investments in the country would be protected, while locally stepping up nationalisation rhetoric.
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My definition of a real Baghee is the person who facilitated the sale of the Main Airport to a neighboring country, knowing full well, the entire economy of that nation depends on tourism.
Any one controlling the Male airport can control drugs, finance, human trafficking, tourist flow and the whole economy of Maldives.
It would have been better to manage the Airport with a consortium or resort owners.
Airport sale cannot be vindicated. MDP will go down in history for selling the airport..
Adhaalath...jihaad... Islam... these words are commonly used by enemies of islam to portray islam as a violent religion.
The problem here is the source of these reports coming from. These are coming from Maldives which doesn't have a big problem of religious violence, and from Minivan which is the only regular English news daily online outlet in Maldives. I believe Minivan is not going to benefit from spewing this hatred about Islam all the time. If this outlet cares about MDP or democracy or liberalism, then live and let live. Let Islam alone. Stop this verbal harassment of Islam. Adhaalath is insignificant compared to PPM and DRP numberwise. Why don't we take a heading from a leader of one of those bigger parties? Think ppl, think. You are loosing the hearts and minds of ppl.
Who is Baghee?: Your opinion is of no value since
1. you start off by talking of events that didn't occur. The airport was never sold. Some Mullah told you that it was and you believed because he also added a few words in Arabic.
2. Even if the airport was sold, it does not make the seller a Baghee. It makes that person an airport seller.
I suggest less Mulla time for you.
@who is a baaghee?
'selling' and 'investing' are two different things. Hope you learn basic business in grade 10.
A bagee is : people who commit a coup d'etat to topple an elected government.
Regarding airport : it is NONSENSE that a private company which manages the airport, also controls drugs/alcohol (= customs = government) or tourism / human trafficking (= migration department.
All over the world, the best functioning and most profitable airports are managed by private companies, which get - like it WAS in Maldives - a concession for x-years.
As a consequence : all private owners of land in Maldives - the resorts - should give back our land. Or pay taxes 🙂 But that is not wanted by the same bagees. One of the most important forces behind the coup : the big money did not want income taxes as on the agenda of the MDP.
See the reality.
"We’re waiting for the government to tell us what it wants."
well didn't the government say to stop the $25 tax on passengers? did you listen?
didn't the government say to stop building the new terminal? did you listen until you were forced to stop?
you feel as as if you're stronger than the government. the fact is GMR is facing tough issues even from the Dhelhi airport; both from india's supreme court rulings and india's acc.
i feel the government is right on this course. good luck.
Under international Aviation Laws an Airline or Airport operator has the right to refuse boarding of passengers if they deem their is a safety risk. Calling for Jihad against the operators could have consequences of being mis-understood by the mis-guided fools who use this as an excuse for violence and at worst terrorist acts. I hope the airlines and GMR place all members of the Adhaalath Party on the risk register shared by all countries which will in turn prevent them from travelling abroad. It will be a long journey by boat for the Hajj next year, especially when the Somali pirates highjack them.
Mee kihaa dhe ra kameh. Fahuzamaanu ge alamthu ge therey ga himeney, Ilmivariney kiya bayaku, muli dhuniye fassadah kuraane kamah, v maa mihaaru mifenna nanee eduwas.
Bgaa vaatha kee kobaa?
How can anyone agree to sign this agreement? No sincere Maldivian who loves the country can agree to such a robbery.
dear democratic friend. that is exactly why we need our airport back. if gmr can restrict our right to travel abroad, we have every right to call not just jihad but a war on them.
Does Adalath has any idea about trade, economics and global economy. When mullahs have a say in the functionality of government its better the fisherman should form a political party and start advising the government. I am sure they would come with better ideas as far as those benefits to the people.
Mullahs are supposed to advise about the functionality of Shiathan , when he urinates in human ear, how to chase him by throwing stones. Mullahs have studied all their life to deal with oneself after death, therefore How about Adaalth open a council in the cemetery and research how to communicate with the dead and start counseling them.
@ whose a bagee
Dont speak when you have nothing to say, don't bark without a reason. Go to school dear boy..., i mean get educated!!!
People like you are the type who end up as suicide bombers or burn someones property because of some american movies....
You are a bagee because you are betraying the god you believe in by spreading wrong information and creating hatred.
Dangerous language to use.
I don't want to comment on privatisation verses nationalisation, as each case is different in trade and I would have to study the details to make a decision on what I felt was best for Maldives.
However, the language used by Adhalaath is dangerous.
Yes I know that Jihad means struggle and not physical war to the liberal minded Muslims. As Moosa Jaleel kind of implied, it is much more constructive to interpret Jihad in its spiritual, or non-violent meaning rather than seek to repress this word, or the concept completely or deny its existance. The word is there in the Qur'an after all.
But many also DO take Jihad to imply violent struggle. Imagine being one of the chairpersons in GMR or, one of the shareholders confronted by Maldivians who believe that a violent struggle is issued against you. Or imagine, being a worker in the airport, and the fundamentalists decide to interpret Jihad violently and strike against the airport in violent protest.
In this context, dangerous word to use.
It is clear that the Maldivian people are not smart enough to understand the danger in mixing Islam and politics. It is time for the west to act in their own interests by enforcing sanctions on all politicians pedelling religion. After all what good is it for Waheed and Maumoon to quote verses if their daughters cannot enjoy the spoils in the west?
It would be a win win, sane Maldivians will have a bright future here and there would be no Jihad exported to other countries.
Remember when the US did not allow sale of ports to Dubai company Dubai Ports.
May be the Mulla's are right.
These beareded weirdos should go back where they came from. What is all this nonsense by Imran? He is no politician and neither is he anyone who has a clue about aviation or anything of such importance as trade and International relations.
The man should be in a mosque and lecturing about religion.
Then we have the other fool Gasim, who thinks he knows everything since he does and wants to do all the business in the World. Some Maldivians are running a whore house in Maldives and if Gasim finds out he would want to do that too.
Then we have Umar Naseeer. He thinks he would beat Usain Bolt in his spring for Muleeaage, when Nasheed was President.
If we Maldivians are accepting these kinds of idiots then we deserve all the trouble we get and the status that we are in.
Now lets come to the issue of GMR. The real issue here is not GMR itself. The real issue is the concession agreement signed by Maldivian Government. Why did the government accept such a one sided agreement?
Maldivians are not asking the right questions from the right people.
There were lawyers of Suood and Suood and his nephew Shaudee was on the Invest Maldives when they accepted this agreement. The former Attorney General, Muizz was the one who signed this off as acceptable. Mahmood Razee was the one who pushed this deal. Ali Hashim was the one who along with Razee approved this.
Yet Umar Naseer goes on banging this drum about Shahid and Thasmeen. He has no clue about anything.
If the right questions are asked from the right people, then we would have the correct answers.
Throwing GMR out is not the answer. Getting a better agreement is the right answer. Appointing Mohamed Ibrahim is going backwards to the stone ages. Maybe that is what Irman wants.
Seems like Barbar is Cooking the Food... Fools in-charge is the problem and very wrong information is conveyed to the ppl. they react on it, without even knowing what is the truth...
The reason why we have so much problems, "We failed to Seek the truth"
The ONLY reason why a developing country looks for a foreign investor to a highly lucrative business activity is to seek new technology. New technology is the only thing a foreign country can provide.
There is no other reason what so ever to give your family silver to a foreign party who does not have an edge over a local company.
If an ongoing profitable state business is privatized solely for the sake of raising money, suspect corruption of the highest degree.
Very few Maldivians or foreigners would say that GMR is a clean deal.
When will the Maldivians learn not to bite the hands feeding them. Does GMR or any Indian deserve such a situation like today when they have been Aiding the country for so many years in different forms. Do we only need to look at the money Gasim and Deen will give as commission when they take the loan from China to do the airport ? where is the substitute plan if GMR abandons? what is the leagal loss we will be faced with. Will the international Aviation guys ban flying in and out of Maldives till GMR and Coup reaches a deal..
Hey ben, How do you like your drinks?
Drinking is also apparently not allowed in Islam,
just sayin perth boy
ayya on Fri, 21st Sep 2012 9:37 AM
Your comment is the reason why International Aviation Laws are set up to prevent people of your thinking from harming innocent travellers. No person or religion has the right to hold a threat of violence to force their views on anyone.
I doubt 90% of the people wanting the airport back understand business contracts or the actual reason as to why a private company was given the running of a national asset.
I don't imagine the public would have been happy to fund the millons of dollars required to bring the airport up to the required standard to allow airlines to continue to operate in Male.
The truth is the country was on the verge of bankruptcy with no money to upgrade the airport, without which insurance companies would have stopped all airlines from the Maldives.
The solution was to bring in a private company with the resources to carry out the necessary work, but as a private company they are entitled to recieve profits for their investment.
The problem here is that members of the government are involved in the tourist trade and are facing up to having to paying for the services they use, when in the past they abused their positions and didn't pay the charges.
If you go to the garage and fill up with fuel you pay for it, if you moor you boat at the dock you pay your fees. So why is it the resort owners seem to think they can fuel up their airplanes and land and take off without paying for the services running up unpaid bills? The only reasons this government is trying to get GMR out is because they owe GMR money from their own private businesses.
There are many countries around the world where airports are listed as unfit for international travel, mainly Africa. However as the Maldives relies heavily on tourism the country cannot avoid to not invest in maintaining the standard. So where does the money come from if GMR are removed, not from the resort owners because they have already changed the tax laws in their favour. So once again the public will suffer from corrupt officials lining their own pockets.
I approve. Praise me, blessed be my creation and cursed be GMR.
A jihaad??? Adaalaath is off there nuts.
I was watching CNN during the time of war against terror.
Tholibaan wer speaking the the same thing, what has airport got to do with religion,Islam dose not force to do any thing.
It only says to force you own child between 7to 9 years of age not before or after.
Whe cant they perch proper Islam, as QURAN; As the books says the book is sent to the messenger of GOD Prophet Mohamed
@Democratic friend
Well said,I hope this helps you to get a different view to the one you have, Ayya.
Some people are out to make money! Nothing to do with what's best for the Country!
Adalath should be eliminated. Even in India, Delhi airport is a scam (read link)
Damn Adaalath. Hail MDP.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/delhi-airport-scam-gmrled-dial-gains-rs-3-415-cr/989540/
all you morons should go get basic education then come and post some intelligent comments and questions! Sick of reading punkass comments!!!har har
let all who do not understand politics, religion and business go and fly kites or stick to fishing!! Engay?
@@Ben: Drinking not allowed in Islam??
Nooo can't be true. The Sheik's would have told me that during my weekly Qur'an lessons we enjoy over a bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey if it was true...
Hehe, believe it or not I don't drink, although I have been going hard on caffeine lately, energy drinks and strong coffee's. Those energy drinks are worse than alcohol, so I have nothing to boast about there.
Lost your kid Jihad at the airport. Can't yell for him
Adhaalath is fully aware that they have no say in this government.
And this is a cheap one to be in the limelight for the hopeful election soon!
Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad today said that cash flow management has been "extremely difficult" while adding that even paying salaries next month would be hard if the USD25 million is not secured from India.
Dear Imran bin Fahari,
with your good guidance I have already prepared my 5 year old son how to use a tommy gun against UNDP building. He is now very enthusiastic in throwing toy granades to the airport. When Umar prepares his 70 bokkura to raid Hulhule, please let our kids know ... and they will come out for the Jihaad against GMR. My little boy would be so pleased if he can spray water from his dummy AK 47 onto the face of Mr. Rao... that will be his dream come thru. I am also interested in teaching Maldivian kids under the age of ten how to stone a person to death. Thanks Imm. Thnx Shaheem bin Bonaqua.