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Islamic Minister condemns humiliation of tourist couple

The Islamic Minister of the Maldives Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has strongly condemned the humiliation to a foreign couple by the celebrant of a renewal of vows ceremony held at Vilu Reef Resort and Spa.

The video of the wedding ceremony held at Vilu Reef, in which the celebrant degrades oblivious couple with a torrent of insults in Dhivehi, appeared on social networks last week.

The couple were initially told in English that the ceremony was a ‘traditional Maldivian’ ceremony, “according to Islamic and Arab norms”, and then attacked as “infidels” and “swine” in Dhivehi during the US$1300 proceedings.

“The religion of Islam has not taught us to treat non-Muslims as enemies,’’ clarified Dr Majeed. “While a tourist is in a country with a valid visa,  according to the rules and regulations it is a responsibility of the state institution to provide them protection.’’

Dr Majeed said that “under no circumstance” did Islam allow a person to be humiliated or robbed of their money or property if they did not follow the religion.

The Islamic Minister also appealed for resorts not to conduct any irreligious activities “to delight the tourists.”

Police have now arrested the celebrant, who was an assistant working at the Food and Beverage Department, and another individual involved in the ceremony, and are holding discussions with the Prosecutor General to determine the charges.

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IFJ expresses concern over police attack on media

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern over the police attack on journalists who were covering the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)-led protest last week.

Last week several journalists working at different media outlets claimed they were attacked and forced to move away while they were covering an opposition riot.

“According to the Maldives Journalists’ Association (MJA), an IFJ affiliate, the journalists were reporting on a protest organised by the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party in the national capital of Male,’’ said the IFJ’s statement.

“The MJA has since established that the journalists, most of whom were wearing press badges, were beaten with batons and some of them shackled. A few were briefly detained.’’

“Though the Maldives has significant provisions defending press freedom in its newly enacted constitution, there seems to be a gap between the assurances of the law and the reality faced by journalists on the ground,’’ said the IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park.

‘’“We fully support the MJA in its effort to ensure that all provisions of the law are made operative and become credible guarantees of press freedom.”

The police claimed that some journalists covering the riot had begun to show the same characteristics as the opposition activists and engaged in hostile confrontations with the police.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said last week that “some journalists opposed police orders and refused to stay in the security zone. It would have gone smoothly if they had worked according to the orders. Some journalists who opposed the police were moved away by using force.’’

He also claimed that journalists had tried to break the police lines and pass through the cordon.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Cargo bombs from Yemen designed to explode midair, says UK government

Bombs in printer cartridges shipped from Yemen to Chicago were designed to explode in midair, according to the UK government.

The packages were discovered in a UPS plane at East Midlands Airport on October 29 and were addressed to Jewish synagogues in Chicago.

The packages contained printer cartridges filled with the explosives pentaerythritol tetranitrate and lead azide, along with an electrical circuit linked to a mobile telephone trigger mechanism. Both devices were described as “extremely professional” by intelligence officials.

Yemeni authorities have meanwhile asked FedEx and UPS to close their offices in Yemen, and today arrested a female medical student in connection with the incident.

The UK press reported that the devices were discovered newspaper reported that the devices were discovered after a tip-off by Saudi Arabian intelligence sources.

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‘Celebrants’ are the victims here, not the Swiss: Guardian

“Thousands of couples across Europe and the US who have married or renewed vows in Asian ceremonies must now be wondering what was really said as rings were passed and kisses were exchanged,” writes William Sutcliffe in the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

“However pleasant the officiators may have seemed, however sincere the tone of the ceremony appeared, it is clear now that literally anything could have been passed off as a blessing or a chant. Of course, this should always have been clear, but such is the determination to believe in some vague ideal of Eastern mysticism that most people who buy into these ceremonies presumably dismiss any legitimate scepticism as somehow “Western” and inappropriate.

“All hotels are reliant on a theatre of deference and respect. In expensive hotels in poor countries, where cocktails are served by waiters whose daily wage is less than the price of one of the drinks they serve, the gulf between what the staff think of the guests and how they are obliged to behave is likely to be at its largest. Only rarely does the fourth wall in this drama ever come down. This video is a truly spectacular example.”

Read more

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Travel study finds Maldives “most expensive” island destination

The Maldives has been identified as one of the world’s “most expensive” island hotel destinations, with an average room rate of US$539 per night.

The study by Hawaii-based tourism consultancy Hospitality Advisors compared resort islands in its home territory to those all over the world, covering 38,000 properties and nearly five million rooms.

The highest-ranking Hawaiian destination, Maui – averaging US$331 for a double room – was only topped in terms traveller experience polls (and prices) by the Maldives, which despite an average occupancy of 62.6 percent still managed to register the highest revenue per room.

The study noted the rising popularity of the Maldives as a travel destination for Asian tourists.

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Maldives Judge elected to UN Torture Prevention post

Maldives Judge Aisha Shujune Mohamed has been appointed to the elected to the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture.

The Foreign Ministry said that 36 out of 55 countries in the Subcommittee voted for the appointment of Judge Shujune UN office in Geneva, one of the first individuals from an Asian nation to be elected to the committee.

Judge Shujune is one of the founder members of the Maldives Detainee Network, now the ‘Maldives Democracy Network’.

The 20 member UN subcommittee works with governments to prevent torture and makes unannounced visits to prisons and detention centres to ensure detainees are not being mistreated.

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BML stops issuing Visa Debit cards in rufiya

The Bank of Maldives will cease issuing Visa Debit cards in rufiya from today.

Earlier the bank announced that the Visa Debit cards restriction to dollar accounts would only apply to foreigners in the country, but has now extended this to Maldivian citizens.

“The cards already issued can be used in other countries until the expiry date. After that when renewing or making a new card, Visa Debit will be issued only if the primary account is a dollar account. For rufiyaa accounts Amex Debit Card will be issued which can only be used locally,” Card Centre Head Mohamed Shareef told Haveeru.

The move effectively prevents both locals and foreign nationals from using cards to spend and withdraw rufiya overseas in foreign currency. Many foreign professionals working in the islands, such as doctors and teachers, have complained that this prevents them from sending money home without travelling to Male’.

According to the bank, US$400 per day can be drawn from Visa Debit Cards issued for rufiyaa accounts at foreign point-of-sale machines, and US$200 per day from overseas ATMs.

Shareef told Haveeru that the changes were introduced in agreement with Visa after discussions about the foreign currency status in Maldives.

“The card is issued under conditions. If services are not provided, it is against the agreement with Visa,” he told the newspaper.

The thriving black market for dollars in the Maldives, now somewhat institutionalised, currently ranges from Rf13.2 to Rf15 to the dollar depending on the size of the transaction. The pegged rate is Rf12.85.

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State debt reaches Rf1.6 billion, reports MMA

State debt reached Rf1.6 billion, (US$124.5 million) in July 2010, according a letter sent to parliament by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

Haveeru reported that the state spent Rf4.3 billion (US$334 million) while Rf3.5 (US$272 million) was received to the budget.

According to the letter, the MMA warned that high recurrent expenditure against revenue “would increase domestic demand in Maldives economy, affect the exchange rate and exacerbate the dollar shortage.”

According to Haveeru, the MMA highlighted the importance of passing the bill on income tax this year. It also recommended that foreign currency revenue be retained in the local banking system.

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President apologises to Vilu Reef couple, invites back to Maldives

President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed rang the couple degraded in the Vilu Reef ‘wedding ceremony’ incident to apologise on behalf of the nation, and invite them back to the Maldives at their convenience as his personal guests.

Nasheed called the couple on Saturday afternoon to personally apologise for the incident, which grew into an international media firestorm after a video of the couple being mocked and humiliated in Dhivehi by up to 15 complicit resort staff surfaced on video sharing website YouTube.

“The couple told the President that their images have been published in the media without their consent, which is causing them considerable distress and embarrassment,” the President’s Office said in a statement, adding that Nasheed was appealing for their privacy to be respected.

“The couple asked President Nasheed, during a telephone call on Saturday afternoon, to make the intervention on their behalf.”

“President Nasheed calls on the media not to reproduce photographs or video footage of the couple without their consent and to report the incident in a sensitive manner.”

The statement added that the couple “thanked President Nasheed for taking the time to personally intervene in this matter.”

Ambassador Iruthisham Adam from the Maldives embassy in Geneva also telephoned the couple, offering the government’s “profound and heartfelt apologies”.

“I informed the couple that the entire country is deeply shocked and saddened by what has happened. The Maldives is renowned for its warm hospitality and this incident has brought great shame upon our tourism industry and our country,” Ambassador Adam said in a statement.

The Ambassador informed the couple the two members of the resort´s staff had been arrested by Maldives police and the case was being investigated. The ‘celebrant’, food and beverage assistance Hussein Didi, and another man, are in police custody while the authorities determine the charges.

Minivan News understands that the Ministry of Tourism met with tourism industry leaders today to discuss steps to avoid a repeat of the incident. The government has already proposed to regulate ‘renewal of vows’ ceremonies in every hotel and resort in the country.

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