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India and the Maldives have agreed to increase their bilateral cooperation in the areas of drug trafficking prevention, coastal security, disaster management and control of organised crime, including terrorist activities. Although the two countries have been closely cooperating in these fields, they will work together to evolve an institutionalised mechanism for this purpose.

The understanding was reached during the recent two-day visit of Union Home Secretary V K Duggal to the Maldives.

According to the Home Affairs Department in Delhi, the Indian side assured the Maldives of continued support in capacity building of their civilian police, particularly in areas of scientific investigation of crime and setting up of forensic facilities. In this connection, a team of forensic experts will visit the Maldives next month.

While in Male, Duggal held discussions with Maldivian Home Minister Mohamed Thasmeen Ali, Defence Minister Ismail Shafeeu and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed. He also called on President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Maldives is a key partner with India in the Indian Ocean Region and it bestrides the strategic sea-lanes of communication in the region. India is also assisting the Maldives Defence and Security Authorities in their needs for training and defence equipment. The continuing high level visits between India and Maldives underscores India’s desire to maintain and strengthen its frontier of peace and friendship with all countries in the Indian Ocean Region.

These latest meetings follow on from talks last year on cooperation between India and Maldives over cooperation in combating sea-borne crime and the use of uninhabited islands for alleged terrorist and criminal purposes. The Indian Navy made a gift of a fast attack patrol craft last April which is designed and armed to detect and destroy fast moving surface craft or intercepting vessels engaged in illegal activities such as poaching or smuggling.

Powered by German MTU engines, it has a maximum speed of 28 knots and is capable of extended deployment up to 2,000 nautical miles and seven days at sea.

The patrol ship was previously deployed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was renamed as the Huravee under the Maldives flag. Maldives has an urgent need for surveillance and patrolling of its extensive Exclusive Economic Zone for which this patrol craft is an important tool. The ship transfer also included a component of technical and material assistance by the Indian Navy to Maldives Coastguard over a period of three years.

There was controversy over the Coastguard’s use of the Huravee last November against a Maldivian boat carrying protesters to Malé from the abortive November 10 political demonstration. The MDP protested to the Indian government, alleging that this was not in line with the intended purpose of the donated patrol.

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The people of Thinadhoo, capital of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, are brimming with reformist enthusiasm as British Conservative MP Gary Streeter visits and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) founder Mohamed Latheef returns to his native island after three years in exile.

British Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, Gary Streeter, received a big welcome as he arrived on the second leg of his visit to the Maldives. Streeter, who is Chairman of the Conservatives’ International Group, has come to the Maldives to discuss how his party can help the MDP to strengthen its organisation.

Latheef returned to the country yesterday after three years in voluntary exile. It is the first time he has been in the Maldives since he founded the MDP in October 2003.

There is a festival mood in the island and MDP officials and supporters are enthused to see their cause has attracted international attention. Fishermen have decked out their boats in yellow and blue MDP flags and are playing music which can be heard throughout the island. MDP supporters have raised party flags and red and green Maldivian flags on nearly every main street.

Banners near the harbour read: “our hearts and minds are with the reform,” while others accuse President Gayoom of stealing votes and warn him he will lose in democratic elections. Away from the coastline, graffiti lines many walls around the MDP’s office calling for the President’s resignation.

Only the weather is gloomy, with heavy rain overnight swamping the island, causing some floods and minor power cuts.

Streeter, who is MP for South-West Devon, is holding meetings with Dhaaira (Regional Office) representatives and will address the party faithful at a regional council meeting this evening in the island’s main assembly hall.

There is a relatively low police presence in the island and authorities are taking a cautious approach to the British politician’s visit. Apart from requests for the most anti-government banners to be taken down, and graffiti being painted over, local government officials are so far allowing the event to take place with minimum conflict.

The Conservative Party has also sent Philippa Broom, the Director of the Party’s International Office. The two Tory officials will now look at the MDP and see if they can help the party develop through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), an organisation founded in 1992 in Britain to help the cause of centre-right, like-minded political parties who are committed to democracy.

The WFD has worked in the former USSR, Africa and many countries in Asia. “We are here to make an assessment as to whether or not we can work with them to help them become a more formidable, democratic, election winning party,” said Streeter, talking to Minivan News.

“We are continuing to look at their organisation…and of course it’s open to any party in the Maldives, The DRP, the Justice Party, anybody to seek help from a British political party and if it works, if the relationship clicks, they could get help too,” he added.

Asked what his impression of the Maldives was, he said he thought it was a “fantastic country” and added: “Obviously, there’s tension in the air. You know, the reform process has started and it’s not going as quickly as many people would want, but on the other hand look back three years and they have come an awful long way.”

“For a political party that has been going 2 or 3 years I think the MDP is truly remarkable. The depth of organisation, the numbers they can wheel out, some of their campaigning techniques, their material they produced, their ideas for the future – I think actually they have made a fantastic start,” Streeter said.

The Tory MP spent yesterday in Male’ talking to Shadow Cabinet members and government ministers. When he gets back to the capital, he will meet Elections Commissioner, Kaaf Dhaal Ahmed Maniku and other government ministers. He returns to London on Sunday.

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Phillip Wellman, a journalist for this website, will be forced to leave the country on Friday morning, just five days after returning to the Maldives. He was expelled from the country once already on November 3, 2006 along with a freelance photographer.

“They will be welcome in the Maldives in two weeks’ time,” said Chief Government Spokesman, Mohamed Hussein Shareef in November. But now it seems that is not so.

Wellman returned on January 15, but after only two days in the country he was summoned to see immigration officials on Wednesday morning and was given 48 hours to leave the country.

It is unclear at this stage whether he will be able to return. The notification of Wellman’s expulsion came the day after the US Ambassador to the Maldives left the country. Wellman is an U.S. citizen.

The Immigration Controller, Ibrahim Shafiu who is also a DRP Majlis member appointed by the President, says Wellman does not have “permission” to be in the country. Minivan News contacted the government before his arrival to inform them of his intention to return and received no objection to the proposal. He is currently here on a tourist visa valid for thirty days.

“The harassment of Minivan and MinivanNews.com journalists must stop,” said Reporters Without Borders in response to Wellman’s expulsion in November.

“We once again point out that an opposition media has as much right to work freely as a pro-government media,” Reporters Without Borders added.

Wellman’s second expulsion comes only days after the publication of a damning 2006 annual report by the South Asian Press Commission (SAPC), which said the Maldives “continues to be a journalist’s prison.”

“The continued detention and house arrest of a number of journalists is an issue of serious concern, as are the charges against five journalists and editors working for Minivan, which would appear to constitute a concerted effort by the authorities to target this publication,” said the report.

The SAPC’s study referred specifically to an incident in which Minivan News’ offices in Colombo were raided by Sri Lankan Interpol officers on a false tip-off from Police Chief, Adam Zahir, that the office was being used to store weapons.

“The Mission deplored the abuse of Interpol against exiled journalists and overseas Maldivian media, the blocking of Dhivehi Observer and Maldives Culture websites, and the jamming of the shortwave frequency of Minivan Radio.” The report added.

Minivan News has recently been working hard to assert greater independence and produce more objective and balanced news. The website has received much praise for its efforts and is seen by people within both the government and the opposition as the premier English language publication on the Maldives, read by many influential members of the international community.

The Maldives currently ranks 144th in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, slightly lower than Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but higher than Russia and Iraq.

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Mohamed Latheef, the founder of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has returned to the Maldives after three years of voluntary exile in Sri Lanka.

“It feels great to be back!” he told Minivan News.

A crowd of MDP supporters gathered at the jetty to welcome the MDP founder back to his country of birth, and a cheer went up as he stepped off the boat and back onto the island of Male’.

Latheef then led a procession of MDP supporters through the city to the MDP headquarters, before returning home to rest. “I tried very hard to keep this welcome thing as calm and quiet as possible,” he said. Still, many MDP supporters came to see him return, waving yellow flags, cheering and calling for the President’s resignation.

But the event was carried off completely peacefully. There was virtually no police presence and no arrests were made.

“We have started a process of change and reform and a lot of people in my party say that if I came back it might have a motivating effect on the reform process,” said Latheef, explaining his motives for returning.

He left the Maldives with other founding members in October 2003 fearing persecution after considerable political unrest. The month before, Evan Naseem, a 19 year-old jailed for drug offences, was beaten to death by prison officers, sparking prison riots and the shooting of 19 inmates, three of which died. That caused anti-government riots on the streets of Male’.

Latheef founded the party the following month in Colombo with Mohamed Nasheed (Anni), Ahmed Mausoom, Ahmed Shafeeg Moosa and others.

Latheef is quoted on the dissident Dhivehi Observer website, blocked in the Maldives, about the possibility of arrest. “It cannot be ruled out and I have received such treatment in the past but I believe the time is ripe for me to work from home for our cause.”

His daughter, Jenny Latheef, was charged with terrorism and sentenced to ten years imprisonment in October 2005. She was then pardoned by President Gayoom on August 16, 2006, but rejected the pardon. She left the country soon after.

The other main founder of the MDP, Anni, returned from exile on 30 March, 2005, and was arrested and placed under house arrest on 12 August, 2005. He was only released after much diplomatic and political pressure on 21 September last year, fourteen months later.

Latheef’s homecoming coincides with a visit by the UK Conservative MP, Gary Streeter, who will discuss the possibility of further cooperation and support from his party in Britain. Streeter will travel with Latheef to his native island of Thinadhoo, Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, where the British MP will give a speech to party members.

Latheef’s return comes at a critical time for the party, when it is struggling to maintain unity as the split between the parliamentary members and the shadow cabinet group grows. MDP party officials will now be hoping Latheef’s arrival helps to overcome disagreement and assert greater unity and direction on the party.

The MDP originally came into being after discussions in February 2001 among 42 Maldivians about the possibility of an opposition movement, including current Finance Minister, Gasim Ibrahim. He since defected to the government after a short spell in jail, but the movement was officially registered as the first political party of the Second Republic of the Maldives on 26th June, 2005.

Since then the MDP has become the largest opposition party in the Maldives.

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Ninety-two expatriates working in Funamaudhoo, North Huvadhu Atoll have gone on strike claiming they have been beaten and not paid.

They have travelled to Thinadhoo, Ghaaf Daal, where they are waiting to return to their native homes, Thinadhoo Police said.

The majority of the labourers are thought to be from Bangladesh. They reportedly went on strike yesterday claiming they had not been paid and saying they were eventually beaten during the three-months they worked to develop Funamaudhoo into a tourist resort.

Police say the men arrived in Thinadhoo at around 1.30pm yesterday. They were reportedly dropped off at the island’s port by their employer and have been waiting there since.

“At the moment, nearly a hundred workers are waiting by the port to be taken to Male’,” an official from the Thinadhoo Police Station told Minivan News. “The men slept in boats last night, but should be in Male’ at around eight this evening.”

The Police official was unsure who was paying for the workers’ return journey, but said he suspected it was the employers, Yacht Tours Maldives. The company is owned by Majlis member for North Huvadhu, Abdulla Jabir.

When asked to explain the Funamaudhoo situation, Jabir refused to give comment and said that all questions regarding Yacht Tours Maldives must be answered by a representative at the company’s office. But Manager Mohamed Raffath, who was in the office when Minivan called, had no more to say on the situation.

He said: “It is not our people who are involved in this. We use subcontractors, so it is their problem, not ours.” Raffath went on to say that he was not allowed to reveal any information on the subcontractor due to an agreement between the two companies. He also expressed doubt as to whether the accusations were true.

But many Thinadhoo residents believe the expatriates story. According to one man quoted in the Dhivehi Observer, the workers have said it has been several days since they have had a proper meal and that some were beaten when they refused to work in protest at the poor conditions.

The Dhivehi Observer also published several pictures of injured men, which it claims is evidence of the expatriates’ stories. Thinadhoo Police say that are further investigation the situation.

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Two of the three main opposition parties, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Adhaalath (Justice) party (AP), have condemned a new regulation by the Elections Commission which says every citizen must have new ID cards in order to be eligible to vote.

An Adhaalath party official speaking on behalf of Chairman, Mohamed Didi, told Minivan News: “The Party does not consider it constitutional and the party believes it is very harmful to the citizens.”

Adhaalath says it believes one of the reasons the government has introduced the regulation is to increase revenue for the budget through charging for the new cards. A new card costs Rf. 100, and an upgrade from the old ID card costs Rf. 30.

The AP also says it is concerned members of the government’s party – the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – will get the new cards first. “They will definitely give a preference to the DRP,” said the official.

The biggest opposition party, the MDP, also says the move is unconstitutional. “New ID cards are not necessary according to the constitution but now the government is introducing the new rule,” said Dr. Ibrahim Didi, Shadow Home Affairs and Local Government Minister.

Both parties believe the move to be a ploy to limit the number of opposition voters. The government is well-known for its use of obscure regulations and technicalities to limit various political freedoms that contradict its interests.

Currently the constitution allows anyone over 21 to vote.

The Elections Commission refused to comment.

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The trial of Minivan Daily’s Deputy-Editor, Nazim Sattar, has been postponed again after the journalist was summoned to court at 12:30pm today. No date was given for the next hearing, a common government practice.

Nazim is being tried for ‘disobedience to order’ for an article that appeared in Minivan Daily on 2 August, 2005. In an unusual twist, Minivan Daily’s editor, Aminath Najeeb, has been summoned as a witness by the prosecution.

Today would have been the third court session in the trial, which focuses on a news story in which MDP member, Ahmed Abbas, is quoted as saying: “What we should do to those in the Star Force who beat us, is to seek them out individually and for us to act in such a manner that makes them feel that beatings result in pain, otherwise they will not be subdued.”

Abbas was jailed in early November in the run-up to an opposition mass protest which was cancelled for fear of excess violence.

The Star Force is the hardcore elite unit of the Maldivian police feared by many. They are recognisable for their distinctive blue patchwork uniforms. The Force says a number of their officers have been verbally abused by members of the public over the past year. They claim that the article is responsible for this abuse, which has left the crack paramilitary unit in a state of “mental trauma.”

Star Force member Hussain Shahil (MA. Cool Stone/ Male’) claims he was called a “fat rascal” by a member of the public following the publication of the Minivan article.

“In addition to this, on 25 January 2006 the day when Mohamed Nasheed’s (G. Keneryge’) trial was held in Dharubaruge, I was part of the security team there, when [a member of the public] said to me, “You are the one who hit me, don’t assume you are unidentifiable just because you’ve donned a mask on your face,” Shahil said in his witness statement.

Star Force member Ali Moosa (MA. Kamiyabuge/ Male’) says he was also called a “rascal,” five months after the publication of the article:

“On 3 January 2006…we were on our way to the Gaaf Dhaal, Thinadoo Police Station, when a group of around ten people followed us and, indicating Constable Mohamed Nishan, threatened us saying, “This is the rascal who lifted and carried Anni [MDP Chairperson Mohamed Nasheed], you cannot step out of here”.

Lance Corporal Mazin Mohamed (Male’ Municipality Special Register/ Male’), meanwhile, said he was so terrified by the article he “dared not step out of the house for sometime.”

A fourth Star Force witness, Ahmed Nishan (popularly referred to as ‘Star Baby), also claims to have been “traumatised” by the Minivan article.

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Dhiraagu, the largest telecommunications company in the Maldives, has awarded Telecom Italia Sparkle – the wholesale global operator part of the Telecom Italia Group – one of its first international links via submarine cable.

The agreement means older satellite technology will be replaced by the Dhiraagu Submarine Cable Network – DSCN (being composed of the international cable system between Maldives and Sri Lanka and the inter-atoll domestic cable) to provide telecommunications services to the Maldives.

The circuit will be routed on the recently inaugurated Maldives – Sri Lanka cable which was built under partnership between Dhiraagu and Sri Lanka Telecom. It will then be connected to a cable system in Palermo, Italy.

“We are extremely delighted to have strengthened our good business relationship with Telecom Italia Sparkle. This will allow us to expand our worldwide connectivity, in a manner that will further improve our customer experiences, by taking advantage of the global reach and quality of service TIS has to offer”, said Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ismail Waheed.

Dhiraagu was set up in the Maldives in 1988. Like many big companies in the Maldives, it is majority owned by the government, who hold a 55% share. The remaining stake is held by the UK based company Cable and Wireless, which has worked in the Maldives providing telecoms services on behalf of the government since 1977.

Dhiraagu is a private company and does not publish its profit or other financial information.

The company held a monopoly on telecommunications services in the Maldives until 2004, when the authorities began issuing licences. Two other companies, Rajje Online and Kuwaiti company, Wataniya Telecom International, now also operate in the country.

Dhiraagu have come in for much criticism throughout their 18-year history. Throughout the nineties many complained of excessively high pricing. More recently, with the growth of an opposition movement in the country, the company has struggled to garner trust among users.

Many fear their SMS messages and internet activity may be seen by a third party and that phone conversation may be heard by government authorities due to the company’s close links to the Gayoom regime. Some have also accused Dhiraagu of cutting SMS messaging services during key protests by the opposition, which the company has denied.

Dhiraagu remains the only provider of landlines in the Maldives.

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British Tory MP, Gary Streeter, has arrived at Male airport for a five day visit to the Maldives to hold discussions with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the government.

He was received at around 10pm last night by a crowd of hundreds of cheering MDP supporters calling for the President’s resignation, chanting “Maumoon isthiufaa”.

During his visit, he will meet with the MDP’s shadow cabinet members, the Parliamentary Group and make an address to the party’s National Council. He will also visit the island of Thinadhoo, in Southern Huvadhoo Atoll to meet party members and speak at a meeting on Friday evening.

The MP for Devon South West will also meet with various government officials, including Elections Commissioner, Kaaf Dhaal Ahmed Maniku. He is scheduled to hold a round table discussion with members of non governmental organisations and journalists, and to make an address to the NGO Maldives Forum.

Streeter is Chairman of Conservatives Abroad, the Party’s International Office and the Conservative Human Rights Commission. He has asked a number of questions in the House of Commons about the pace of reform in the Maldives and is known to have a keen interest in Maldivian politics.

The purpose of his visit is also to discuss the possibility of greater cooperation between the MDP and the UK Conservative Party, with the help of the Westminster Foundation which works to promote democracy and help political parties with similar ideals around the world.

Part of the work of the Tories’ International Office is in building and supporting democracy in emerging countries, while the Human Rights Commission works “to champion the cause of people all over the world whose basic human rights are being abused”.

Streeter is a trained lawyer and currently sits on the UK Government’s Home Affairs Select Committee. He served as Minister in the Lord Chancellor’s Department in John Major’s government from 1995 to 1997. He has also been shadow secretary of state for International Development, Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and a Shadow Minister in the International Affairs Department.

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