The Elections Commission (EC) has announced by-elections for vacant seats in the Milandhoo constituency of the Shaviyani atoll council and a vacant seat in the Alif Alif Mathiveri island council for December 31.
Candidates for the vacant seats have been informed to apply to contest in the by-election before November 29.
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(0)Protesters who toppled and then set fire to the controversial Pakistani SAARC monument in Hithadhoo, Addu City, are “national heroes”, the Progressive Party of Maldives has said, vowing to “do everything we can” to defend those arrested for attacking the allegedly “idolatrous” monument.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim ‘Wadde’, lawyer of PPM figurehead and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, said the party would provide legal assistance for the two men arrested for toppling the monument last week.
After a group of people set the monument on fire Monday night, the top half of the monument, containing a bust of Pakistan’s founder Mohamed Ali Jinah with an Islamic crescent moon symbol, was stolen last night, police have confirmed.
Waheed meanwhile contended at yesterday’s press conference that the monument was “illegal” and erected in violation of the constitution.
“No one should give any room to consider any kind of act against Islam lawful,” he said. “Even if it’s the People’s Majlis or any other state institution, no law that conflicts the religion of Islam can be made in the Maldives.”
The arrest of those who toppled and vandalized the monument was therefore “questionable,” Waheed continued, insisting that the arrests were “unlawful” as they were opposing “something the government did in violation of the constitution.”
Speaking at the press conference, MP Dr Afrashim Ali argued that damaging a monument erected in violation of the constitution and law could not be an illegal act.
Afrashim also contended that the ostensibly pagan symbols on the monument amounted to denial of the oneness of God, the central belief of monotheism.
“The most clear and important sign of a people’s shirk [denial of God] is erecting idols,” he explained, adding that displaying “idols” in the Maldives was “most definitely haram [forbidden].”
Afrashim claimed that the monument was “proof that President [Mohamed] Nasheed encourages the spread of other religions [in the Maldives].”
“We have always been saying he has been trying to introduce other religions in the country,” he said. “He has tried to freely sell alcohol in the country. He has also appealed to MPs to not include Islamic punishments in the law.
Meanwhile the religious conservative Adhaalath Party sent a letter to the Prosecutor General yesterday requesting the office to look into the matter and prosecute those responsible for erecting the monument.
The party claimed that the monument was erected by the government under a “plan to defile the beloved citizens of Addu and the beloved citizens of Pakistan.”
In a press statement on Sunday, Adhaalath Party called on the authorities to “immediately release” those arrested for toppling the monument.
(0)Dislikes(0)The government has invited interest parties to bid for management of the newly-built Equatorial Convention Centre (ECC) in Hithadhoo, Addu City, along with the development of a 100-bed city hotel under its plans to introduce conference tourism in the southernmost atoll.
In his Republic Day address on November 11, President Nasheed said the international tender would seek parties to manage the ECC together with a convention hotel in the marshland area of Hithadhoo.
According to the Addu City Council, bid documents are available for Rf2,000 for locals and Rf4,626 (US$300) for foreigners.
Newspaper Haveeru meanwhile reported that Shangri-la resorts and Singapore’s Crescendas Group have expressed interest in managing the ECC and developing conference tourism in Addu City.
Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry yesterday invited interested parties to submit proposals for a city ferry service between Male’ and Addu City.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), the main referral hospital in the Maldives, has announced the introduction of a triage system to prioritise emergency treatment for patients who require urgent care.
In a press statement today, the government hospital explained that patients at the waiting room would have their vitals checked to determine urgency of treatment.
Under the new system, a team of doctors and nurses will check the patient’s blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels in two minutes and those requiring immediate treatment would be rushed to the emergency room.
The system was changed as patients who do not require urgent medical attention were being treated at the emergency room.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Red Crescent (MRC) has been recognised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the 187th National Society of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement today.
According to a message by MRC Secretary General Rasheeda Ali, the awarding of the full membership of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will take place on November 23 during the IFRC’s 18th General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
“On this momentous occasion, I wish to express my sincere appreciation and thank all MRC volunteers, members and staff for their valuable contribution towards this significant achievement,” reads the message.
(0)Dislikes(0)A third consecutive week of parliamentary sittings have been cancelled over an ongoing dispute over the attendance of Independent MP Ismail Abdul Hameed, who was convicted of corruption on August 29.
The last sitting on October 24 was cancelled after heated arguments between opposition and ruling party MPs over the Kaashidhoo MP’s right to participate in sittings until he exhausted the appeal process.
The High Court has since upheld the Criminal Court verdict.
Meanwhile a statement put out by the secretariat on Sunday explained that this week first sitting yesterday was called off as Speaker Abdulla Shahid’s efforts to resolve the dispute through discussions among parliamentary group leaders have been so far been unsuccessful.
The statement noted that according to article 74 of the constitution, “Any question concerning the qualifications or removal, or vacating of seats, of a member of the People’s Majlis shall be determined by the Supreme Court.”
The Supreme Court meanwhile concluded hearings today on a case filed by a private party over Hameed’s seat. According to the Majlis secretariat, Speaker Shahid has written to the Chief Justice requesting the case be expedited so that sittings could go ahead.
According to local media reports, the Supreme Court today heard from third parties who had entered into the case.
The statement however noted that committee meetings, where legislation is reviewed and stakeholders are consulted, have been taking place.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Switzerland-based New7wonders foundation have announced the seven winners to be the Amazon rainforest, Vietnam’s Halong Bay, Argentina’s Iguazu Falls, South Korea’s Jeju Island, Indonesia’s Komodo, the Philippines’ Puerto Princesa underground river, and South Africa’s Table Mountain.
The Maldives, the Dead Sea, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon did not make the final seven.
Votes were collected online and via paid SMS voting in the various countries, in collaboration with assorted telecom providers. Final vote counts for the winners were not revealed.
In an announcement aired on YouTube, New7wonders founder and self-described “filmmaker, aviator and adventurer”, Bernard Weber, stated that “once the voting validation process is completed in early 2012, we will work with the confirmed winners to organise the official inauguration events.”
Weber also announced that New7wonders would be launching a competition to determine the greatest cities in the world.
Indonesian and Maldivian tourism authorities withdrew from the competition earlier this year, citing demands for large amounts of money from New7wonders for licensing and event hosting, that had not been explicitly outlined in the original contracts.
Indonesia’s Tourism Minister Jero Wacik claimed in the Jakata Post that the decision was taken “because the organisers – the New7Wonders Foundation – have taken actions that are not professional, consistent and transparent.”
“We have spent around (US$1.1 million) on campaign activities over the past three years,” Wacik told the Jakarta Post, claiming that New7wonders had subsequently demanded a US$10 million licensing fee and a US$35 million fee to host a ceremony celebrating the competition’s winners.
Meanwhile, Maldives State Minister for Tourism Thoyyib Mohamed announced in May that the Maldives was similarly withdrawing “because of the unexpected demands for large sums of money from the New7Wonders organisers. We no longer feel that continued participation is in the economic interests of the Maldives.”
The Tourism Ministry initially paid a US$199 participation fee to New7Wonder’s commerical arm, New Open World Corporation (NOWC), registered to a law firm in the Republic of Panama.
Subsequent requests for money included ‘sponsorship fees’ (‘platinum’ at US$350,000, or two ‘gold’ at US$210,000 each), and funding of a ‘World Tour’ event whereby the Maldives would pay for a delegation of people to visit the country, provide hot air balloon rides, press trips, flights, accommodation and communications.
After complaining, the Maldives was offered a bare-bones ‘protocol visit’, but informed that winners of the previous competition had all hosted a big event.
NOWC also attempted to charge telecom provider Dhiraagu US$1 million for the right to participate in the New7Wonders campaign, a fee that was dropped to half a million when the company complained about the price.
In response to the Maldives’ decision to resign from the campaign, New7wonders spokesman Eamonn Fitzgerald quoted John Donne’s ‘No man is an island’, and insisted that the Maldives remained in the competition “because the authority to withdraw a participant from the campaign is a decision for New7Wonders alone, not for any government agency.”
Following Indonesia’s decision to withdraw, Fitzgerald said that “Despite a series of malicious attacks on New7Wonders by the [Ministry of Culture and Tourism], the public and media opinion consensus in Indonesia is that the MCT should not interfere in the democratic right of the Indonesian people to vote for Komodo Island in the New7Wonders of Nature.”
“The MCT had no authority in this matter as it ceased to be the legitimate New7Wonders representative in Indonesia in February, so the announcement was absurd,” Fitzgerald said, stating that the foundation’s new representative in Indonesia was a group called P2Komodo.
“P2Komodo is an alliance of positive and forward looking members of Indonesian civil society, who are keen to ensure that Komodo Island has a fair chance of participating in the New7Wonders of Nature,” Fitzgerald said.
In the Maldives, New7wonders approached the Maldives Association of Travel and Tour Operators (MATATO), but the arrangement was never cemented.
Secretary General of MATATO, Maleeh Jamal, said at the time that the association had been in contact with New7Wonders and was considering working on the event in the government’s stead.
The studies offered by New7Wonders promised an “enormous return on investment”, Jamal suggested.
“I think US$500,000 for such an award would be quickly recovered. Although the money was a concern, we had a fair chance of winning. A lot of competing destinations, such as Australia and South Africa, are taking this competition very seriously,” Jamal said in May.
(0)Dislikes(0)India on Tuesday indicated that it was not too worried over China’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean region, after Beijing opened a new embassy in the Maldives ahead of last week’s SAARC summit in the island nation, reports the Economic Times.
“Defence Minister A.K. Antony told reporters that such efforts by China in the region cannot be prevented, but the only cause for worry was Beijing building military infrastructure along India’s borders and expansion of its defence capabilities.
“‘How can you prevent any country from establishing an embassy or furthering relations with any other country in the world,’ Antony asked, when his response was sought on Beijing setting up its embassy in the Maldives last week.
“We are also establishing embassies and building relations with every country. It is a natural process,” he said.
However, “China is expanding its military capabilities and building military infrastructure along the borders with us. We know that…we are aware of that, and we are concerned about that,” Antony said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Three suspects have been arrested for allegedly assaulting Independent MP Ahmed Amir last week and handing him to police semi-naked after accusing him of an extra-marital affair.
Amir was severely beaten in the early hours of Thursday morning in a house in Maafanu ward by a group claiming they found him with with a married woman. The MP is currently undergoing treatment in Sri Lanka.
Newspaper Haveeru reported that the suspects were two women and a man from the house where Amir was assaulted. According to the local daily, one of the women was the one the MP was having the alleged extra-marital affair with.
Police confirmed that the three were arrested under a court warrant and had their detention extended by the Criminal Court.
The MP for Kudahuvadhoo told police that he was on his motorcycle near Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital when a group grabbed him, took him inside a room and assaulted him.
The attackers reportedly ripped Amir’s trousers and stole his wallet and two mobile phones before turning him in to police around 5am Thursday morning. Police borrowed a jeans from the house to clothe the MP before taking him to the station for questioning.
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