Author: Minivan News

PPM Yameen meets Indian High Commissioner DM Mulay

Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Parliamentary Group Leader Abdulla Yameen met with Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives DM Mulay yesterday (February 16), local media reported.

The High Commissioner told local media that the meeting was to encourage dialogue in order to resolve the current situation in the Maldives.

According to local media, Mulay said he is in contact with officials in the government of Maldives, political parties and other intellectuals to encourage conversation towards a peaceful resolution to the current political instability.

Yameen said he met with Mulay in the PPM office and that the high commissioner visited to assure him the relationship between India and the Maldives would remain unchanged, local media reported.

The meeting follows former President Nasheed’s decision to seek refuge within the Indian High Commission in Male’ after he failed to attend a court hearing last week.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Oil tanker collides with speedboat injuring eight passengers

Marine police are investigating a collision involving an oil tanker and a speedboat on its way to Male’ from One and Only Reethirah Island Resort.

According to police, an Indian and a Philippine national were among the eight persons injured in the accident.

Police said the eight persons had been admitted to ADK and Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and were receiving treatment.

Both vessels were damaged in the incident.

Police said the marine police department was now trying to determine the cause of the accident.

In December 2012, a collision between two speed boats left a Finnish tourist dead and nine other people injured.

The collision occurred between an express speedboat service to the island of Hulhumale’ – which is located near to the capital of Male’ – and another vessel belonging to the Bandos Island Resort and Spa property.

In January 2013 this year, five people received minor injuries in a collision between two ferry services travelling to and from the the islands of Hulhumale’ and Hulhule’.

In February 2010, 11 people were injured when a Hulhumale’ ferry travelling to Male collided with a speedboat coming to Male’ from the Rannaalhi resort with tourists aboard.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Bangladeshi waiter stabbed while delivering food

A Bangladeshi waiter was stabbed with a knife on the island of Hinnavaru in Lhaviyani Atoll whilst delivering food, local media reports.

A council member from Hinnavaru told local media that the victim had worked at “Ibiza” restaurant on the island, and was stabbed while delivering food to a house.

The councillor said that the Bangladeshi man was stabbed in the stomach, and is currently being treated in the island medical centre. His condition is not serious, the councillor said.

Police told local media that a 17-year-old had been taken into custody in relation to the attack.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

BBC, National Geographic experts joining LUX* Maldives 2013 underwater festival

The art of filming beneath the waves and “getting the perfect shot” are to be among the key focuses of the LUX* Maldives resort’s second ever Underwater Festival taking place between April 15 and April 21 this year.

Producers from the BBC and the National Geographic organisations will be among key guests at the South Ari Atoll-based resort for the festival – attempting to help attendees perfect the art of taking world class holiday snaps and films.

“This year, we have gone a step further and invited BBC and National Geographic producers to run courses on underwater video-making and video-editing in addition to the photography. We all come to the Maldives with the latest underwater cameras hoping to get the perfect shot, but always end up going home with bits of videos taken while snorkelling,” said a spokesperson for the resort.

“This time the festival will give the great opportunity to the attendees to learn the basics of making their very own underwater reportage.”

The resort will also be joined by world champion free diver Sara Campbell, who will be teaching guests relaxation and advance breathing techniques well beyond the realms of the average tourist to help with exploring the surrounding marine environments.

Guests staying at the resort during the festival will be able to participate in the various events for a supplementary fee, according to LUX* Maldives.

Last year’s festival, which ran from May 14 to May 20, was attended by guests including photographer Junji Takasago and free diver Jean-Jacques Mayol.  They joined the resort’s Resident Marine Biologist Chiara Fumagalli during the week to oversee the festivities and provide special programmes and presentations on diving and photography.

Further news and reviews encompassing all aspects of the Maldives tourism industry can be found on Minivan News’ spin-off travel review site, Dhonisaurus.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Statement accusing Mulay of interference was forged, says JSC

The High Commission of India in the Maldives has expressed disappointment with the Agence France-Presse (AFP) newswire after it published a story on what the high commission claimed was a “forged” media statement from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The statement, with JSC header and dubbed an ‘official translation’, said the JSC “regrets the interference of the High Commissioner of India in Maldives in his personal capacity with the judicial process of the Maldives, by keeping former President Mohamed Nasheed within the diplomatic confines  of the High Commission thereby impeding the due process of the Law.

“We appreciate the official stand of the Indian Government to refrain from interfering with the internal affairs of Maldives and respect independence of the judiciary,” read the statement.

It was emailed from an anonymous gmail account, [email protected].

The High Commission of India issued a press release on Sunday (February 17) admonishing the AFP for circulating the report based on the false JSC statement.

“The High Commission expresses its disappointment that a respected news agency like AFP has chosen to give undue publicity to such a cheap gimmick against the High Commissioner in the current sensitive atmosphere, without even bothering to check the veracity of the said letter with the JSC or High Commission of India in Male’,” the statement read.

The high commission statement was accompanied with an email from the JSC Secretariat denying having issued the release.

JSC Secretary General Aboobakuru Mohamed said the letterhead was “forged” and the statement was “false”.

“Regarding the issue of sheltering by the Maldivian ex-president, Mr Mohamed Nasheed within the compound of the High Commision of India, Male’, Maldives, we, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Maldives, categorically deny issuing any statement on this regard,” the statement said.

The Indian High Commission called on AFP “to immediately retract its report and issue an apology prominently for the damage caused to the reputation and good will of the High Commissioner and the Indian Mission.”

Various new outlets have reported senior Maldivian government officials echoing the sentiment of the “forged” JSC statement: “The fact of the matter is that some individual Indian diplomats are interfering in our internal affairs. This must stop,” a senior government official told AFP, asking not to be named.

Maldives-India relations

Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay was meanwhile summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday (February 17) – the first time a high commissioner has been summoned by the ministry according to local media.

Mulay reportedly delivered a brief diplomatic note discussing the Indian government’s accommodation of Nasheed.

“We have not interfered with Maldivian politics and have no intention of even doing so. India also wants the Maldives’ judicial process to go on. We also want stability and peace in the Maldives. We want political reconciliation through peaceful dialogue,” Mulay told local media afterwards.

Following India’s initial warning that a failure to allow all political leaders to contest the elections would call into question the integrity of the electoral process and perpetuate instability, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry declared it was “unfortunate that the government of India has decided to comment on the types of candidates that could contest the upcoming Presidential Elections in the Maldives scheduled for September 2013.”

Local newspaper Haveeru quoted an unnamed government official as stating that the “political atmosphere in the Maldives would reach a boiling point” if India allowed it.

Meanwhile, President Waheed Hassan Manik  promised to promote democracy and maintain law and order in a statement issued Saturday (February 16).

He emphasised his “dismay” that Nasheed had sought refuge in the High Commission, instead of heeding his court summons, which expired on February 13.

“There is no reason for him to remain in the High Commission and to instigate street violence. The court order has nothing to do with my government. Upholding the rule of law means nobody is above the law,” Waheed said.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad implied that India was trying to fuel political turmoil in the Maldives.

“Mulay should take direct responsibility for the fresh unrest and violence in the capital,” he told local media.

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has also expressed his disappointment over the Indian government’s decision to provide refuge to Nasheed in the Indian High Commission.

Nasheed’s trial

Former President Mohamed Nasheed failed to attend the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court hearing on February 10, resulting in a court order for police to produce Nasheed for trial regarding his controversial detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

In response to rumours of Nasheed’s imminent arrest, he entered the Indian High Commission on February 13 seeking India’s assistance.

His Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) maintain that the charges – based on his detaining Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed during his final days in office – are a politically-motivated attempt to prevent him contesting the 2013 elections.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Pakistan sunk 3-0 in final Maldives clash

The Maldives National Football Team on Thursday (February 14) won the second of two friendly matches held against Pakistan in Male’ this week – bouncing back after conceding a last minute equaliser in their opening fixture played two days earlier.

The Maldives were convincing winners during Thursday’s game, which ended 3-0, despite some near misses from the visitors early on during the game, according to Pakistan-based publication, ‘The News International‘.

After squandering a one goal lead against Pakistan during the final touch of their first friendly first game the Maldives sealed victory Thursday night through three second-half goals from Mohamed Umair and captain Ali Ashfaq. Ashfaq scored twice in the 67th and 90th minute of the match.

Despite the seemingly one-sided final score, local media reported that both teams started the match brightly, with Pakistan’s Denmark-based attacker Hasan Bashir rattling the home-side’s cross bar with a strike in the opening ten minutes of the game.

The Maldives also came close to scoring during the first half with a close range header that went wide in the 27th minute of the match.

Ten minutes later, the Maldives Mohamed Arif once again hit the post with a powerful shot, according to media reports.

With the first half ending in a stalemate, Mohamed Umair opened the scoring for the hosts with a long range effort in the 59th minute.

Maldives Captain sealed the win eight minutes later, before netting a second in the final minute of standard time.

Pakistan’s two friendly matches in Male’ were held as part of the national squad’s preparation ahead of its first qualifying matches for the 2014 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Nasheed gives India a second chance to correct diplomacy: Firstpost

Having played a stupendously bad hand in the diplomatic game with Maldives a year ago, when former President Mohamed Nasheed was ousted in a coup, India has been given a rare second chance to get its priorities right in the Indian Ocean island, writes Venky Vembu for India’s Firstpost publication.

On Wednesday, Nasheed sauntered into the Indian High Commission in Male and sought refuge there from imminent detention by the police. An arrest warrant had been issued in his name for failing to appear before a local court in connection with events that preceded the coup that displaced him in 2012.

India has done right by giving Nasheed shelter, even at the risk of incurring the wrath of the government of President Mohammed Waheed, which is now preparing to use “non-lethal chemical agents” to disperse Nasheed’s supporters outside the Indian High Commission. Police are gathered in force outside the Indian High Commission, waiting to nab Nasheed, should he step out.

The situation is very volatile, and although the court appears to have rescinded the requirement for Nasheed to appear before it, it seems clear that the government is hell-bent on ensuring that Nasheed, who retains immense mass popularity even a year after his ouster, does not get to contest the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for 7 September.

On Wednesday, a statement issued by India’s external affairs ministry also signaled its support for Nasheed’s candidacy in the election, and urged the Maldivian government not to disqualify candidates – as that would impinge on perceptions of how free and fair the elections are. The Maldivian government has responded petulantly, urging India to respect Maldives’ judiciary and not interfere in internal political matters. The gloves, it appears, are coming off.

All these expressions of Indian solidarity with Nasheed come as a sharp contrast to the events of a year ago, when India ended up backing the wrong horse. It gave tacit backing to Mohammed Waheed, the coup leader, who replaced Nasheed, the island’s first democratically elected leader.

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Body of dead female tourist found near Thulhagiri Island Resort

Police have reported the discovery of a dead body yesterday afternoon near the waters of Thulhaagiri Island Resort.

In a statement police said that the body had been identified as that of a woman.

According to police, the woman was wearing ‘Mares’ brand fins and a blue ‘Cressi’ brand wet suit.

Police appealed on all tourist resorts and safari boats to call 9911099 and inform the authorities if they were missing any tourists.

Thulhagiri Island Resort is located in Kaafu Atoll.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Irritant and dye to be used in water cannons against violent protestors

A new method to break up violent protests involving the use of an irritant in water cannons is to be implemented by police this year, local media reported.

During a meeting to provide information on the peaceful assembly bill, Chief Inspector of Police Ahmed Shameem told local media that police will add “dye” and “irritant” to water in order to break up protests.

The irritant will be used in water sprayed at protesters, and will cause itching of the skin that can only be relieved when the affected area is washed.

“It will force protesters to temporarily leave the area. The skin will continue to itch until it is washed,” Shameem was quoted as telling Sun Online.

Shameem added that the dye will be used in order to identify protesters who escape the scene after causing damage to property during protests.

The colour will apparently remain on the body for two to three days.

Shameem said that the new substances are not harmful or dangerous and that similar methods are employed by developed countries to break up protests.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)