Author: JJ Robinson

Letter on lack of veterinary surgeons

Dear editor,

As a member of the facebook group ‘Maldivian Cataholics’, which aims to improve the living conditions of cats in Malé, both homeless and privately owned, I am trying to help as much as possible by being the group’s remote veterinary surgeon.

Via e-mail, facebook, telephone and Skype(video) am I trying to diagnose and prescribe and suggest treatments of individual cats presented to me. All this from my home in Denmark, as I am told,that there is no resident veterinary surgeon available in the Republic of Maldives, and therefore no alternative to my services.

This situation is not optimal and sometimes very frustrating for the cat owner as well as the person, who is trying to help a homeless cat and also for me.

I am therefore planning to establish an emergency veterinary clinic in Malé or perhaps on Hulhule near the quarantine department.

For that reason I will apply to be registered as a veterinary surgeon in the Republic of Maldives and obtain a licence to be allowed to import the necessary veterinary medicine.

A number of Danish veterinary surgeons have shown interest in supporting the project by spending working holidays in The Maldives and assist in such a clinic.

The aim of the emergency clinic is planned to treat sick and injured cats and to neuter as many as possible to reduce the now uncontrolled reproduction, which eventually will reduce the problem with unwanted cats.
The clinic will be a non profit enterprise based on sponsors and private means.

This leads to the cause of this letter:

I am sure that information of this project to the Maldivian public is very important. If I succeed to establish the planned clinic, Maldivians should be made aware that veterinary services now are available and that donations and sponsorships will be welcomed.

One owner of a cat I have treated remotely, stated – and I quote:

“The idea of having a pet in Maldives itself should not be encouraged, what good is it to have a pet, when we don’t have the necessary facilities to treat the pet if the necessity arises.”

My access to the Maldives is due to our two sons having lived there for a number of years, one was a diving instructor on various resorts for 12 years, and the other is a pilot and Flight Operation Manager at Maldivian Air Taxi. My wife and I have visited them several times and have very positive feelings about your country

I hope this letter will be met with some interest by you editors, and that Minivan will treat it accordingly and promote the plans of a veterinary clinic.

Sincerely yours

Søren Nielsen
Veterinary surgeon
[email protected]

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please submit it to [email protected]

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Advertorial ‘media pirates’ set sale for Maldives

Business and government bodies in the Maldives are being targeted by ‘media pirates’, or ‘supplement hustlers’, who arrive in the country posing as journalists and then sell (‘sublet’) advertising space in a well-regarded overseas publication for a significantly inflated premium over the publication’s actual ad-tariff.

The ‘journalists’ approach senior members of government and key businesspeople, usually in an emerging country desperate to expand its appeal to foreign investors, and leverage one personality against another over several weeks to sell the ‘advertorial’ at a premium.

A circulated report on the ethically-dubious but not illegal practice, produced by the Financial Times newspaper and obtained by Minivan News, observes that “appointments are made with the inference that the team, usually a young man purporting to be a journalist and an attractive sales lady, represent whatever title they are selling when in fact they are purely acting for themselves.

“The pitch may start with a highly scripted, enthusiastic and rehearsed ‘interview’ conducted by the journalist and then switching to the soft sales approach of the sales lady. This combined ‘interview’ is intended to flatter and to act as a ‘hook’ and at this point space sizes or rates are produced followed by a contract of dubious legality for a signature.”

Minivan News understands that the problem became so drastic in the Maldives last year that the government instituted a policy of black-listing the representatives of any international media organisation found to be peddling advertorial.

“We’ve had some bad experiences,” admitted a source in the President’s Office. “We’ve had journalists claiming to be from the Japan Times, Business Week in China and a couple from the [UK] Observer. They target governments in emerging countries and tenaciously pursue the President, Prime Minister, King, Sultan or whatever for an endorsement, or even just a photo together, which they then use to hard-sell to businesses or parastatal (government-owned) organisations.”

“It’s not illegal, it’s just a rip off and a con,” he added, noting that the prolificacy of the practice was leading to frosty receptions for bona fide journalists and ‘legitimate’ media salespeople.

The money at stake can be considerable, especially for an emerging country with a foreign exchange imbalance as great as the Maldives; Minivan News has learned that a third-party organisation currently active in the Maldives is seeking up to US$70,000 a page for an advertorial ‘feature’ in CNBC Business magazine.

A government official who recently agreed to a meeting with a representative from ‘Star Communications’ said alarm bells rang when the representative claimed to be producing an investigative editorial ‘feature’, but then suggested the extent and tone of the coverage would depend on the degree of “support” provided.

“There was a lot about how strong the title [CNBC Business] was editorially, but really it was a request for paid editorial coverage,” he said.

The accompanying prospectus identified the individual as an ‘authorised representative’ for CNBC Business magazine, while an accompanying letter from the publication’s Commerical Director, Kevin Rolfe, while acknowledging the product was “promotional”, requested “all the support you could provide the members of Star Communications News on the development of this effort.”

The heavily CNBC-branded prospectus promised that “our editorial will be written by specific industry experts [and] at your request we will submit your editorial coverage for approval. We work in full coordination with your to ensure the most accurate editorial in the market.”

The prospectus additionally claimed that the CNBC Business magazine had “1 million” readers, and would be “personally delivered inside a golden envelope” to the CEO of the world’s top 1000 companies.

The CNBC Business magazine’s website claims the publication has 670,000 readers. Later communication with the representative clarified the circulation as 200,000.

Minivan News attempted to contact Rolfe to verify the publication’s relationship with Star Communications and obtain a rate card for comparative purposes, but he had not responded at time of press.

Minivan News traced the address for Star Communications given on the prospectus to a corporate tax accountancy firm called Lacey Consultancy based in Dublin, Ireland. On its website, the firm boasts that “we advise on devising the best structures to mitigate/eliminate withholding taxes on international payments.”

The website for Star Communications, while not readily searchable on Google with the unusual .us domain, lists an address for the company in Madrid, Spain and shows it has produced reports for emerging countries including Libya, Dominica, Tunisia and Pakistan.

Star Communications’ Managing Director Christina Hays, who contacted Minivan News regarding the story, claimed that “no single entity has been offered a single page for 70k USD. ”

“Clearly, the extension of our coverage depends on the amount of advertising space sold, just as it does with any other kind of promotional publication. The more space purchased, the longer our special feature will be. The tone, however, is not dependent on the amount of space sold, but, rather, on our editorial criteria. And at a later stage the media’s criteria, as the final product has to be approved by the editorial team of CNBC,” she said.

Star Communications, she stated, “received the full support [of the Maldives] High Commission and have subsequently held various meetings in Maldives with government officials. Hence, while there may have been a blacklist in operation last year, as you allege, which affected other companies, we have been granted official approval to market our product in Maldives in 2010.

Minivan News contacted the High Commission of Maldives in London seeking clarification as to the nature of its approval.

The commission confirmed it had met with Star Communications and referred the company to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a matter of policy, “as we do not have the resources and the expertise to judge how good or bad the company [is].”

“As a matter of policy, the High Commission of Maldives will try to accommodate meetings with all commercial ventures that request meetings with us, as much as time and resources permit. We would normally then put them in touch with the relevant authorities in Maldives through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is entirely up to the relevant authorities in the Maldives to decide whether they choose to meet the company or not or indeed whether their proposal is worth considering,” the High Commission stated.

“This should not be construed as support by the High Commission of Maldives to market their product in the Maldives and at no time is this indicated to the company.”

In a response to Minivan News, Hays stated that “at no time have we attempted to sell advertising to government officials in Maldives and have only offered the opportunity to purchase space to public and private-owned companies. Their choice on whether or not to do so is entirely at their discretion, and we have no leverage whatsoever on their decisions.”

She acknowledged that while the company’s reports “comprises advertising and editorial elements. We do not, however, purport to be journalists; we are journalists with a track record of interviewing Presidents, Ministers and CEO’s over the 5 continents.”

The Financial Times report on ‘supplement hustling’ claims that as of 2000, “the most prolific example of this activity was from an organisation called NOA based in Madrid with off-shoots in London, New York, Paris and Hamburg, who operated affiliate companies from PO Box numbers.”

NOA, the report stated, “came into existence around 1985 when an ex-Time employee, an Argentinian national of Syrian extraction called Juan Alberto Llaryora, set up AFA (which became NOA) to sell country supplements in contracted publications. His concept was once described as ‘a team approach comprising fake journalist and Latin sales girl using a tits on desk routine’,” the report read. “Because of its success the business spawned a number of spin-offs set up by disaffected NOA staff.”

Hays said Star Communications had “no relationship whatsoever with NOA (AFA), nor any of the media titles mentioned in your article.”

The FT report concluded by stating that while many publications were happy to accept the revenue generated by such companies, they “are sometimes unaware of how significant a misrepresentation they have become a part of, and how much damage such activities have on the reputation of the international media.”

Addendum: This article has been updated to reflect comments subsequently received from Star Communications and the High Commission of the Maldives to the UK. The full response from the company is available here.

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Price of an open society “is one we gladly pay”, says visiting Danish minister

Many of the climate-change related impacts occurring in the Maldives appeared to be problems “of planning and capacity building”, visiting Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Søren Pind told Minivan News.

The Danish delegation yesterday toured the islands of Fares-Mathoda and Thinadhoo in the south of the country, both of which are suffering from flooding due to poor drainage, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the UNDP to provide assistance.

Pind said that as a Development Minister it was also very interesting to see first-hand the challenges faced by a country following a transition to democracy, “such as the fight between those who wish to go backwards and those who wish to go forwards – and it’s not always possible to tell the difference.”

Pind noted that Denmark had only adopted a parliamentary democracy in the early 1950s, after a process “that took us 100 years. We had a nasty fight in 1870-1901 between the king and those who wanted a new democratic government.”

Scandinavian countries such as Denmark regularly top human development indices. The country has the highest level of income equality, and in 2006 to 2008 was ranked “the happiest place in the world” by Forbes magazine based on indices of health, welfare and education.

Growing radicalisation

Pind acknowledged that in the years following a transition, “of course there is a threat to democratic stability. I asked President Nasheed and he said he sees radicalisation as a key challenge.”

The way to counter growing radicalisation, Pind suggested, was to foster and promote “open society – civil institutions, NGOs, people fighting for gender rights and freedom of speech – these things counteract the same very conservative thinking that benefits from that prerogative.”

And if a society was found to be going backwards and not forwards, “identify those forces of destabilisation”, he suggested.

Radicialisation, Pind noted, was not a problem unique to the Maldives. “All these countries I’ve visited recently – Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia – all their politicians are talking about this, and referring to some sort of ‘foreign influence’. It seems to be a common problem.”

Pind said he found it sad that concepts such as education, free media “and the whole idea of inalienable human rights” had become a religious issue, “when I have heard people who know Islam say this is not a religious issue, but a political one.”

Asked how he felt the Danish government had handled the issue of the controversial cartoons published by one of its newspapers, Pind said Demark had “never seen it as a confrontation with Islam.”

“But we had to face the fact that one man had drawn cartoons that were published in a major newspaper. We had a hard time explaining that in this country the government could not interfere with the media. That is the price of an open society, and we pay it gladly.”

The Danish delegation – including Pind and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Dr Lykke Friis, visited the Maldives to announce funding of climate mitigation programs in Kenya, Indonesia and the Maldives as part of its US$40 million ‘fast-track’ climate change initiative, but showed a strong interest in other matters affecting the country.

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Visiting Danish Ministers announce climate mitigation assistance

Denmark will fund climate mitigation programs in Kenya, Indonesia and the Maldives as part of its US$40 million ‘fast-track’ climate change initiative.

Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Søren Pind and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Dr Lykke Friis held a joint press conference with President Mohamed Nasheed this morning in the President’s Office, and announced assistance for infrastructure and capacity-building projects in the Maldives.

“In global climate talks there is sometimes the tendency to say ‘If we don’t agree now, we’ll just agree next year.’ But if anyone suffers from that illusion they should come to the Maldives, because here you get an education that action is needed now,” said Dr Friis.

“There has been so much debate about [assistance] being just around the corner – what we wanted to do with this visit was get around that corner. We did not come empty handed – we came with some very concrete initiatives with which we will continue to deepen the cooperation between our two countries,” she added.

While the Maldives is graduating from UN Less-Developed Country (LDC) status to middle income in January, something that may lead many donors to perceive the country as less needy’, Dr Friis explained that the Maldives had the ability to “make the case” for climate change action.

“Sometimes climate change is abstract and theoretical – you need concrete case studies like the Maldives,” she said. “Anybody following climate change has been inspired by the President Nasheed’s underwater cabinet meeting.”

“What we take back home is that it is not enough just to talk about climate change, but you have to walk the walk.”

Pind added that travelling to the Maldives and seeing the impact of environment erosion first hand “makes an impression.”

“It is one thing to hear about it, but very different to see it in reality,’ he said.

Pind also added that the Danish delegation had held talks with President Nasheed on other challenges facing the country, such as growing radicalisation.

“I had the opportunity to discuss this with the President,” he said. “I have recently travelled to, Kenya, Somaliland and Ethiopia, and I can tell you that [radicalisation] is not only a challenge faced in the Maldives. We discussed the importance of open societies to be able to combat these challenges.”

During the press conference, President Nasheed also revealed the government’s intention to leave the G77, a coalition of 131 developing nations formed in 1964 to promote their collective economic interests in the United Nations.

“The G77 was formed during the Cold War – now it’s obsolete and unnecessary. I pointed this out in Copenhagen as a well. They do not work on our behalf, and they do not understand our present issues,” Nasheed said. “We do not intend to remain in G77, we do not think this is an organisation that is relevant or necessary anymore. We also think there are many countries within the G77 group that will go along with us.”

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Paradise hosts third round of Taliban peace talks

The Maldives last week hosted a third round of peace talks between the Afghan government and members of Taliban-linked resistance group led by ex-Mujahideen Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the three key leaders of the armed opposition in Afghanistan.

Paradise’s manager Qaisar Naseem confirmed to Minivan News that the third meeting, “of 50 or so people”, was held at the resort around November 9.

“It was independently organised and involved some people from Afghanistan, but they were not [identified] as Taliban. There were people from the [Afghan] government as well,” he said. “They brought the media with them.”

The delegates caused no problems and were “very decent, very friendly, and talked to the other guests,” he said.

In a press conference today prior to his departure to Sri Lanka, President Mohamed Nasheed said the government was “aware of these conferences” but had no involvement.

“We do not at all feel that they bring a security risk. The security services of this country – police and other intelligence services – have a very good grip on who is doing what,” Nasheed said.

“Our position is that anyone wishing to have a conversation or bridge a gap to resolve a conflict is always very welcome in the Maldives.”

However, in the event of future talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, it is likely the gates of Paradise will remain closed.

Naseem said that while hosting the conference itself was harmless, the resort was “fully dependent” on European visitors, and management was acutely aware that the meetings could have a “negative impact” on guest perception.

“There’s no problems actually holding these events, but it does have an adverse effect on perception,” he explained. “To be honest, we’re not going to do it again.”

President of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Mohamed Ibrahim ‘Sim’, told Minivan News that he had not had heard of any adverse reaction to the meetings from tour operators or the wider travel market.

“I don’t understand why there should be an impact [on perception],” he said. “The fact we are providing a safe haven for people with a peaceful agenda to come and discuss issues across a table does not detract from the image of the country.

“Some of these leaders are seen as terrorists and warlords, and the fact they are coming to the meeting emphasises the safety of the destination,” Sim said.

“We are a tourist destination and we don’t want to dragged into global geopolitics and the animosity between nations. We don’t want to antagonise anybody – that’s how a small and defenceless nation like the Maldives has been able to survive, and will hopefully continue to do so.”

Outcome

Central Asia Online reported that during the five day conference delegates proposed to form a supreme shura (‘consultation’), the Shura-e-Aali Amniyat-e-Milli, under which representatives from Afghanistan’s political, ethnic and warring groups would review “all major government policies before they are introduced before the parliament.”

“Policies would have to be passed with a two-thirds majority of the shura to be passed on to parliament or be implemented,” the US government-sponsored news site reported.

Taking on an almost parliamentary function, the shura would also approve ministerial, judicial, and independent commission appointments, the site reported. In the meantime, a ‘peace commission’ would be created to broker a ceasefire between the government and insurgent groups. A communique on the final day also called for the “immediate withdrawal” of foreign troops from Afghanistan.

The meeting was the third in a series of gatherings held this year in the Maldives, and the second to be held at Paradise Resort.

The first, under a veneer of secrecy, was held at Bandos Island Resort and Spa in January at the same time as the US, Britian and Japan spearheaded a proposal to ‘bribe’ Taliban fighters to disarm.

State Minister for Defence, Mohamed Muiz Adnan, told Minivan News at the time that he was not aware of the group’s arrival until he “saw it in the newspaper”, and had no knowledge of the meeting.

The second event in May – held at Paradise – was more widely publicised, and filmed by television news network Al-Jazeera. It was organised by Almayoun Jarir, Hekmatyar’s son-in-law.

Image taken during May meeting at Paradise Island Resort and Spa.

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‘Did you know’ campaign aims to educate public on legal system

A UNDP-run campaign called ‘Access to Justice’ hopes to address a lack of public awareness into how the judicial system works – a critical problem for the development and promotion of human rights in the Maldives, according to the UN body.

The ‘Did you Know?’ campaign will be unrolled across Male’, Hulhumale’ and Vilingilli following a launch event at the Surf Point in Male’ on November 26, and will involve a team of young volunteers door-knocking around the capital and distributing brochures.

During the launch event, stalls will be set up for various institutions, such as parliament, the Attorney General’s Office, Prosecutor General’s Office, Employment Tribunal and independent commissions.

UNDP National Project Manager Naaz Aminath said the purpose of the campaign was to raise people’s awareness of the Maldives legal system and their rights under Chapter 2 of the Constitution.

“The awareness-raising campaign is a year long campaign that will be carried out across Maldives,” she explained, “and we don’t expect people to know everything in one year – this is just the beginning.”

The door-to-door campaign will involve knocking on every door in the capital, and eventually the country, to deliver a pamphlet in English and Dhivehi outlining the legal system, rights and institutions protecting them.

“When we go to houses, if people are willing The idea is to provide people with detailed information if they are willing when we go to the houses. Otherwise we will simply deliver the pamphlet and leave,” she said.

Acknowledging the dry subject matter, Naaz explained that the event would be accompanied by a lucky prize-draw, entertainment and a six-month SMS campaign to spark public interest in the topic.

Naaz noted that the campaign was necessary because although the Maldives was not a post-conflict country, “since independence 45 years ago it has never had a democracy or even separation of power.

“You cannot expect the public or even the government for that matter to know what democracy means or looks like,” she added.

A report by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) into the state of the Maldives judicial system has been drafted but not yet officially released.

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Maldives grappling with globalisation, says foreign policy expert

The Maldives is grappling with the positive and negative aspects of globalisation, says South Asia security expert Professor Stephen Cohen, formerly of the US Department of State and now senior fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Speaking to Minivan News during a recent visit to the Maldives, Professor Cohen suggested that the Maldives faced a unique set of challenges as a generally homogenous society, relative to the ethnic and religious diversity of neighbouring countries.

“This is a state [which is coping] with the negative and positive aspects of globalisation – one aspect was the decision to become a tourist resort destination in the 70s, but then [a negative aspect] in recent years is that this has established targets for attacks such as those in Bali or Mumbai,” he said.

“The state has to protect those targets, and the Maldives is not a state with giant capability. If there is an [extreme] Islamist element in the country, is there the intelligence capability to monitor them? Can they be put in jail? Can the government anticipate and break up a plot? We won’t know until it happens.”

In the absence of such evidence, Professor Cohen suggested, a balanced policy of appeasement “I think is the only viable strategy.”

“But you have to watch out for the Afghan model, where they played both sides against the middle but eventually lost control. The Nepalese played both sides, balancing India and Pakistan, Israel and the Palestinians, America and the Chinese, but lost sight of their own domestic political process.”

The Maldives, he suggested, could successfully avoid picking a side “as long as it remains an ‘out of the way’ place – they don’t have minerals or oil, so I think they’ll get away with it.”

Nonetheless, the country’s delicate economy and the import of radical Islam meant the nation had shades of Pakistan in the 1950s-1960s, “to the degree that Maldivians are now travelling to places like Pakistan for training,” Professor Cohen said.

A debate over whether an Islamic country such as the Maldives could reconcile itself with dependence on a liquor-selling tourism industry was part of a larger modernisation dialogue happening in countries like Turkey, he said. “Can Islam be tolerant, and how can it deal with extremists in its own ranks? Can you have a modern Muslim state, compatible with the rest of the world? They are finding ways of working around it.”

The Maldives had the foreign policy advantage of having few natural resources coveted by other states, Professor Cohen noted.

“Strategically the Maldives is the soft underbelly to Sri Lanka,” he said, before adding that the reason countries were interested in the small island nation was less to do with its location and more that they did not wish it to fall into the hands of anybody else.

“Everybody wants an independent Maldives – they want to be able to send tourists, and ships. The Maldives is lucky in that it has no disagreements over oil or fish, and while the tourist islands are a delicate asset, I think [the government] understands that.”

As an aside, Professor Cohen recalled his time at the US State Department and noted US involvement in tracking suspected players in the failed 1988 coup by mercenaries linked to the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

“It’s a little known fact,” he said. “A passing American vessel transiting in the area picked up the escaping ship and pointed [the pursuers] towards it. I had only just left the State Department but I heard about it. It was a pivotal moment in the country’s history, and its purpose was never quite clear.”

Now, Professer Cohen said, the Maldives is challenged with balancing relations between its larger neighbours and major tourist markets such as China.

“China practices a very skillful kind of low-profile diplomacy. They seem to be able to find what a country needs the most,” Professor Cohen observed. “I’ve seen it in Pakistan – Americans are hated in Pakistan, but the Chinese are beloved. And along come the requests for favours.”

It was difficult to measure the effect of such soft power, he said.

“All you are buying is a moment of hesitation in the mind of the policy maker, when they balance the pros and cons. That’s where the influence is, and that’s where you get your money’s worth.”

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Six Senses Laamu to open in April 2011

The new Six Senses Laamu resort, by Six Senses Resorts & Spas, will open in the Maldives in April 2011 the company has announced.

Chairman and CEO of Six Senses Sonu Shivdasani was reported on HospitalityNet as saying the development of the project had been “challenging, [with] unavoidable delays frustrating to all. I believe though that it will all have been worthwhile, as Six Senses Laamu has all the ingredients to make it a hugely popular destination. With its remote (but accessible) location, its pristine reef, its yinyang surfing wave, its contemporary design features and focus on nightlife, it will set a new standard for Six Senses Resorts.”

Shivdasani attributed the delays to the resorts commitment to using only sustainable materials in its design and architecture, and the property’s isolation.

In addition to 97 villas, the resort will offer 10 beach front residences for purchase at U$2.5 million, fully staffed and managed by the resort part of a managed rental programme with a guaranteed five year five percent yield.

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No clash within Adhaalath Party over statement criticising ‘fake wedding’ regulations, says Shaheem

State Minister for Islamic Affairs and Adhaalath Party member Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has refuted reports in local media yesterday of a “clash” within the party, following a press statement it released on November 11.

In the statement, the party expressed concern about the government’s new regulations governing ‘symbolic’ wedding ceremonies, drawn up in the wake of the humiliation of a Swiss couple in Dhivehi by staff at Vilu Reef Resort and Spa.

Resorts deemed to break the aggressive new regulations can now be fined up to Rf one million (US$78,000), or even have their license to operate suspended under the Tourism Act.

Non-Muslims are unable to get married in the 100 percent Islamic Maldives, but many tourists pay for elaborate ‘renewal of vows’ ceremonies, often requesting a ‘Maldivian flavour’ to the proceedings. The infamous Vilu Reef ceremony reportedly cost US$1300, with an optional US$440 photograph service made available.

In its statement, the Adhaalath Party condemned the government for failing to consult with religious scholars before publishing the new regulations.

“Marriages are not performed in the Maldives as a cultural ceremony. Maldivians marry according to the rules and regulations of Shariah,” the statement said.

“This makes it impossible to see how a Maldivian wedding can be regarded as a cultural act. It is an important religious rite. It is the view of the Adhaalath party that the performance of symbolic traditional Maldivian wedding ceremonies, or the performance of a symbolic Muslim wedding ceremony between two non-Muslims, are both acts that belittle the sacred beliefs of Islam.”

The statement raised several specific concerns with the regulations: most significantly that under Article 10(b) of the Constitution, “no law can be made in the country that is in conflict with the tenets of Islam. No Maldivian citizen is under any obligation to recognise as legitimate any laws that do not follow those Constitutional stipulations.”

The regulations were, the Adhaalath Party claimed, “therefore void.”

Furthermore, in allowing foreigners to choose the language of the ceremony, the regulations “leave the door open for foreigners to travel to the Maldives and verbally abuse Maldivians in a foreign tongue that Maldivians do not understand.

“It should be noted that these regulations do not make it an offence for tourists to denigrate Maldivians and use filthy language against them,” the statement added.

Adhaalath also expressed concern that the regulations did not stipulate according to which religion the symbolic ceremony should be practiced, and that such regulations theoretically allowed such symbolic weddings to be performed between same sex couples, “a practice that has become common in the West.”

“Introducing regulations such as these that allow practices of other cultures and religions to occur in the Maldives, and to use legitimate legal mechanisms of the country to do so, is a way of legitimising such practices,” the Party’s statement read.

“It is a way of legalising un-Islamic activities to occur in the Maldives. Such acts, even if symbolic in nature, are unconstitutional. Because of the various such problems with this law, and because of the doors that they open, we wish to draw the attention of our beloved citizens to these regulations.”

The party also accused the government of failing to implement the recommendations of scholars in matters such as the attempted introduction of the sale of alcohol to foreigners on ‘inhabited’ islands, “trivialising” the subjects of Islam and Dhivehi by suggesting they be made optional at A-level,and victimising the Arab-Islamic system of education at Arabiyya school.”

Senior members of the government were, the party alleged, disregarding “and [treating] as of no value the advice and counsel of the [Islamic] Ministry on such issues.”

If the government continued on its current path, the party warned, “Adhaalath will have to reassess its alliance with MDP, the ruling party.”

No clash

Local newspaper Haveeru reported yesterday of a “clash” among the Adhaalath Party’s senior leadership over the statement, claiming that the party’s President Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Ahmed – also the State Minister of Home Affairs – had sought to distance himself from the statement.

Haveeru reported Scholars Council member Mohamed Didi, also one of the party’s founders, as saying that Sheikh Rasheed “could not dodge the statement on any grounds as he chaired the council meeting.”

“Sheikh Rasheed was chairing the meeting when members of the committee, which drafted the statement, were selected. The statement was made in reference to the issues noted at the meeting,” Didi reportedly told Haveeru.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday, Sheikh Shaheem said that while he did not wish to comment on the statement itself, reports of “a clash” within the party over the matter were erroneous.

“There is no clash within the party – there is strong unity within the party. Just because there is a different opinion doesn’t mean there is fighting,” he said.

The Adhaalath Party was not taking any action against the government, he said, and had decided to request a meeting with President Mohamed Nasheed after the holidays to resolve the issues through discussion.

“Adhaalath was just giving a reminder to the government that things are going the wrong way. If the government resolves the problems then there’s no issue,” he said.

The concern was rather the government’s failure to discuss the new regulations with scholars, he explained.

“Islam is an important part of this country and you cannot boycott scholars,” he said. “There will be big challenges if [the government] boycotts the opinions of scholars.”

The Islamic Ministry was part of the government and had a role to provide advice and discuss such matters, Shaheem explained.

“The Maldives has been a Muslim country for 900 years, but this doesn’t mean we’re against other religions. We have [foreign] doctors, nurses, teachers – these people live with us here and enjoy our life[style]. But the Maldivian people want to keep their culture and respect for their religion. If the regulations are not in opposition against Islamic principles, we are not against them.”

Islam did not recognise civil marriages, Shaheem said: “We don’t do fake weddings, we do serious marriage.”

“If we want to [provide ceremonies] for guests the regulations must be good – [for instance] there are strong laws for alcohol, so only foreigners can buy it.”

He highlighted some specific concerns with the new regulations, which are technically now in effect after being published in the government’s gazette.

“If the ceremony is conducted in a language we don’t know, there is a possibility people will come and do what the [Vilu Reef staff] did, if it’s in a language we don’t have. The regulations should specify what languages should be used,” Shaheem suggested, adding that he was also concerned about the regulations theoretically allowing ceremonies to be performed between same-sex couples.

The Islamic Ministry, was, he said, part of the government and aimed to promote moderate Islam by preaching respect for other cultures and peoples in Friday sermons, and providing the government with suggestions on matters such as how the subject of Islam should be taught in schools.

“I recently spoke to some children in grade 11-12, and they had some very extreme ideas,” he said. “It is important to teach Islam properly, by teaching about terrorism and what [concepts] such as jihad really mean, and that innocents should not be killed. An understanding of extremism and human rights – these are things that can be taught in Islam. But when Islam is not taught or is made optional, [students] will go to other places, such as [extremist] websites.”

Problems with the regulations could be resolved through discussion, Shaheem said. “There are some legal and religious concerns among some scholars, but we are not against guests coming to our country.”

Translation of the Adhaalath Party’s statement. Original available on the party’s website (Dhivehi).

11 November 2010

“Tourism is the backbone of our economy, it is very important that we develop our tourism industry.

But, tourism should be developed in ways that are compatible with Islam. As a 100 percent exemplary Muslim state for the last nine hundred years, it is within Islamic thinking that Maldivian culture and traditions have been formed. This is made clear in the Constitution.

In the same manner matrimony in the country has too evolved within the principles of Islam. Marriages are not performed in the Maldives as a cultural ceremony. Maldivians marry according to the rules and regulations of Shariah. This makes it impossible to see how a Maldivian wedding can be regarded as a cultural act. It is an important religious rite.

It is the view of the Adhaalath party that the performance of symbolic traditional Maldivian wedding ceremonies, or the performance of a symbolic Muslim wedding ceremony between two non-Muslims, are both acts that belittle the sacred beliefs of Islam.

This is the case whether the service is provided as a means of appeasing tourists, or to financially exploit them.

Islam does not allow anyone to benefit from the improper exploitation of non-Muslims. The alternative is to allow foreigners to renew their marriage vows in the Maldives according to their own traditions and wants. Neither the Maldivian Constitution nor its culture permits the display of any other religion in the Maldives.

It has been decided by the Maldivian Fiqh Academy that the display of any other religion on Maldivian soil is unacceptable both in terms of law and in terms of spirit. We condemn the government for delaying the implementation of this edict by the Fiqh Academy and express concern that the government has failed to accept the ‘formal recommendations’ made by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs towards the government’s efforts to draft new regulations on symbolic wedding ceremonies in the Maldives.

The Adhaalath Party fully supports the recommendations by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and their rationale. On behalf of all members of the Party and on behalf of its Advisory Committee, we would like to thank the Ministry for its limitless work in this regard.

The government has kicked the knowledge of scholars in the face, and failed to implement their recommendations. We call upon the government to immediately cease these activities that goad the beautiful culture of Islam and attempt to break the spirit of Islam.

Revealed below are the points of legal importance:

Article 271 of the Constitution states that any regulations that Maldivians need recognise as applying to them are regulations arising from a law approved by the Majlis. The regulations on symbolic wedding ceremonies refers to the Maldivian Tourism Act as its source and, having been published in the Government Gazette, are now legally binding.

Article 10(a) of the Maldivian Constitution states that Islam is the religion of the Maldivian state, and the source of its laws. Article 10(b) states that no law can be made in the country that is in conflict with the tenets of Islam. No Maldivian citizen is under any obligation to recognise as legitimate any laws that do not follow those Constitutional stipulations. The regulations are, therefore, void.

Law, as it is defined in Article 274 of the Constitution should be interpreted as: ‘Laws that have been passed by the Majlis and ratified by the President and regulations arising from such laws’.

Even though Article 43(a) of the Constitution does allow anybody resident in the Maldives to get married in the Maldives, Article 16(a) states that the right is dependent upon being compatible with the tenets of Islam. The regulations on symbolic wedding ceremonies is one that is aimed not at Maldivian but tourists. Even though the regulations stipulate that it is symbolic, the following issues can be noted when we contemplate the regulations from the perspective of law as well as that of the concept of marriage itself.

a) What a symbolic marriage ceremony is, and the degree of its legitimacy,

b) The regulations do not stipulate according to which religion the symbolic ceremony should take place.

Under the circumstances where there is no requirement that all tourists to the Maldives be Muslim, it is possible that some of these symbolic ceremonies could be conducted according to rituals of other religions. It also means that these regulations will allow such symbolic “wedding” ceremonies to be performed between same sex couples, a practice that has become common in the West.

c) Introducing regulations such as these that allow practices of other cultures and religions to occur in the Maldives, and to use legitimate legal mechanisms of the country to do so, is a way of legitmising such practices. It is a way of legalising un-Islamic activities to occur in the Maldives. Such acts, even if symbolic in nature, are unconstitutional.

d) The legitimacy of the person officiating at the ceremony is dubious. Right now, these ceremonies are conducted by Maldivian staff members at resorts. What are the legal or religious powers, it can be asked, of the registrar who performs these marriages, symbolic marriages or renewal of vows for non-Muslims. The question also arises of under what policy the management of a resort would certify the validity of the wedding vows that were so renewed or a wedding so conducted.

e) Article 5 (a) of the regulation says that the ceremony should be conducted in the language requested by the couple wishing to have the ceremony in the Maldives. This opens the door for ceremonies such as this to be conducted in a language other than Dhivehi, and for representatives of other religions such as priests to travel to the Maldives to conduct such ceremonies. Furthermore, it leaves the door open for foreigners to travel to the Maldives and verbally abuse Maldivians in a foreign tongue that Maldivians do not understand. That is, in fact, some have suggested, the reason why such a regulations was needed. It should be noted that these regulations do not make it an offence for tourists to denigrate Maldivians and use filthy language against them.

f) Article 7(a) of the regulations, which says that the ceremony can be conducted by someone other than a Maldivian, means there is a chance a priest may travel [to the Maldives]. As mentioned before, the representation of any other religion in the Maldives is a crime.

Because of the various such problems with this law, and because of the doors that they open, we wish to draw the attention of our beloved citizens to these regulations.

The Adhaalath Party is extremely concerned about the regular and continuous manner in which the Islamic personality of the Maldives is being confronted. The attempt to sell alcohol on inhabited island by using similar regulations, attempts to trivialise the subjects of Islam and Dhivehi in the school curriculum by trying to make them optional modules and victimising the Arab-Islamic system of education at Arabiyyaa are among such activities that can be noted here.

Adhaalath participated in the spirit of ‘the Maldives that the nation wants’ and decided to be a part of the government on the guarantee that religious affairs of the country will be conducted according to the advice of religious experts. However, it is with deep concern that we state today, the government has failed to seek the advice of the religious affairs ministry in various major issues regarding Islam.

We wish to note, also, that it is a matter of great concern and seriousness for Adhaalath that some members of the current government have chosen to disregard and treat as of no value the advice and counsel of the Ministry in such issues.

It is very clear what happened on the issue of the regulations governing religious unity. If these matters continue without change, Adhaalath will have to reassess is alliance with MDP, the ruling party.

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