Police have arrested five boys under the age of 18 in connection with an assault at the carnival area in Male’ around 4:50pm on Friday (December 7).
According to police, a 22 year-old was stabbed near his left elbow and was treated at the ADK private hospital. He has since been released, police said.
The suspects taken into custody were aged 15, 16 and 17, police revealed.
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(0)“Amid a diplomatic row over cancellation of the GMR contract, India on Friday asked Maldives to control any quarters which may be trying to harm bilateral relations saying the issue should not put a ‘question mark’ on the ties between the two sides, “ according to the Times of India newspaper.
“If they have to take a decision in interest of their society and country and if that decision is taken properly as per laws there, what objections can anyone have there. We would want that whatever is the decision, it should not put any question marks on our friendly relations,” external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said. The minister was asked to comment on the developments in the GMR issue outside Parliament house complex.
“If any quarters there (in Maldives) want that our relations should be harmed, then they should be controlled. I think Maldives and its people know this thing properly and I am sure that they will do the same thing,” Khurshid said.
Asked if the Indian Government would ‘intervene’ in the issue, the minister said: ‘For commercial enterprises no one intervenes, but we have been assured about the security and safety of our citizens and interests there.
To that extent, it is our right and we have also told them about this right.’ ‘On the commercial discussions, we don’t have the right and there is no justification for it. Try to understand the issue in right context and I think there is nothing to worry about,’ he said.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Government revenue in November was 29 percent higher than the same period last year, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has revealed.
MIRA collected a total MVR 403.5 million (US$26 million), including US$17.1 million in US dollar receipts during November.
The revenue collected in November was 2.3 percent higher than forecast. Goods and Services Tax (GST) accounted for the largest portion of revenue with 54.6 percent while tourism taxes accounted for 18.4 percent.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Commonwealth has said it will be working with the Maldivian government to push ahead with strengthening and reforming “key public institutions” as it reiterates calls for “inclusive and credible” presidential elections to be held next year.
In a statement issued Friday (December 7), Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said the intergovernmental organisation would continue to work with international partners and Maldivian authorities on a programme of reform and “practical collaboration”.
Over the last twelve months, the Commonwealth has played a key role in terms of the international community’s stance towards the Maldives, particularly following the controversial transfer of power in February in which the present government came to office.
Following allegations by the now opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan came to power in a “coup d’etat”, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) applied pressure for a reformed Committee of National Inquiry (CNI) to investigate the details behind the change of government.
The CNI’s findings, welcomed by the Commonwealth, US and the UN, rejected accusations that the present government came to power illegally, despite claims from former president Mohamed Nasheed that the report’s conclusions were flawed and failed to include key witness statements and evidence.
The opposition MDP has previously said it holds severe structural concerns about the CNI’s conclusions, but accepted the report had provided a “way forward” to push for institutional reform in areas such as defence and the judiciary.
Teleconference
Following a teleconference held Thursday (December 6) with Maldives Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdullah, Commonwealth Secretary General Sharma issued a statement welcoming government assurances that the CNI’s recommendations would be “advanced meaningfully”.
“It continues to be important that there is even-handed implementation of all the recommendations in the Report of the Commission of National Inquiry, including investigations into allegations of police brutality and acts of intimidation,” stated Sharma.
The secretary general also used the statement to emphasize hopes that presidential elections – anticipated to be held during 2013 – would be conducted on a “a level-playing field for all political parties and actors”.
The Commonwealth said it appreciated commitments made by Foreign Minister Dr Samad to this end.
President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press over detailing the types of reform the government was said to have committed to following Thursday’s teleconference.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday held separate meetings with both the Ambassador of the United States accredited to the Maldives Michelle J Sison and the British High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives John Rankin in Male’.
According to the Presidents’ Office, Dr Waheed spoke to both diplomats about the current progress towards scheduling presidential elections for next year. The US was also thanked for the assistance it provided in investigating the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Rankin used his meeting to stress that the UK would continue to support political stability in the Maldives, while reiterating hopes that elections in 2013 were carried out “smoothly and independently”.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Criminal Court has granted a warrant for police to obtain the email and IP address of a Minivan News commentator accused of “violating Islamic principles”.
In a letter signed by Police Inspector Moosa Ali, Head of Fraud and Financial Crime, states that a case was filed at police regarding the commentator’s use of the identity ‘Maai Allah’, and requests Minivan News provide the email and IP address for the investigation.
The letter also asks Minivan News to remove the comment, located on a story dated November 28 titled: ‘Government “cynically used xenophobia, nationalism and religious extremism” to attack foreign investor: former President’.
“As you know, the Maldives is a 100 percent Muslim nation and as no human being has been empowered to take for himself the almighty status using the name of Allah, and as this is insulting to the noble name of Holy Allah and undermines noble Islamic principles or tenets, we require information of the person who made this comment for our investigation,’’ the letter stated.
‘Maai’ is the Dhivehi word for ‘holy’.
The accompanying court warrant was signed by the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed, and issued in connection with a case filed by the Cyber Policing Department of the Maldives Police Service.
Minivan News understands that this the first time police have requested the details of an internet commentator in connection with a case filed on religious grounds.
As a Maldives-registered media outlet Minivan News has complied with the warrant and removed the comment as obliged under Maldivian law. The particular IP address requested by police is registered in a foreign country.
Police informed Minivan News that the case was filed by religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf.
The serving of the court warrant follows a statement released by religious Adhaalath Party on December 3 stating that “approving and publishing such comments is a failure to properly fulfill the responsibilities of journalism”, and “calling on the person who wrote the comment and who published it to repent and reform [themselves].”
“A person has commented on Minivan News, a newspaper published online in the country, claiming to be Allah. This is something that involves a serious wrong in it. The reason is because the phrase ‘Allah’ refers to the name of Creator Allah, whom Muslims pray to, seek strength from and whom people find peace in their hearts by praising. Therefore, no human can say I am ‘Maai Allah’ [Holy God]. [They should] instead say ‘Abdullah’ or ‘slave of Allah’,” the party explained.
“If the intention of the person who wrote the comment was to characterise himself as a Khaleefa [steward] of God, that too is a serious wrong. The reason is because all things were created by Allah. And all things are possessed by Allah. Nothing escapes the knowing or possession of the deity. Therefore, only Allah would know whom he would appoint a steward on this earth. A person cannot claim on his own that he is the ‘steward of Allah’.”
“As such problems are a recurring one in the aforementioned newspaper, we urge the relevant authorities to investigate this and take action,” the party urged.
A media monitoring report by Transparency Maldives published in December 2011 found that Minian News’ coverage of the Adhaalath Party was 100 percent positive.
Editor of Minivan News JJ Robinson said:
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives government has this week repaid a US$50m loan originally supplied by India to the previous administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed, local media has reported.
Citing senior government officials, local newspaper Haveeru reported that the repayment has been made Tuesday (December 4) after the Indian government said it would not be extending the repayment period for the funds.
India late last month requested that the Maldives government make US$50 million in treasury bond (T-bond) payments to India by December, with a second equal payment scheduled to be made in February 2013.
Diplomatic dispute
The Maldives government was in recent weeks been drawn into a diplomatic row with its Indian counterparts over a decision to dismiss an injunction granted to India-based infrastructure group GMR by the High Court of Singapore over the managing Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) in Male’.
Authorities in the country have opted to void the contract signed by GMR and the previous government, whilst vowing that the airport will be run by the state-owned Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) by Friday (December 7) even with the injunction issued by the Singaporean courts.
Indian media has meanwhile claimed that the Indian government is considering freezing aid to the economically-crippled archipelago, notably a US$25 million loan necessary for the payment of civil servant salaries and the construction of a police academy.
“We are not happy with the way Maldives cancelled the GMR airport deal. This has surely left an impact on our bilateral ties,” a foreign ministry official told AFP. “A decision whether the money should be given or not will be taken soon.”
However the Indian High Commission n Male’ has previously stressed to local media that the suggestion of cutting aid was “unofficial”, adding that such a decision would not be “unilateral”.
(0)Dislikes(0)Dhiraagu has said it remains “businesses as usual” for its operations after the group’s majority shareholder Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) announced today it would be selling its stake in the company to Bahrain-based Batelco.
The agreement will see CWC divest its businesses in a number of nations, including the Maldives, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, the Seychelles, Diego Garcia as well as other South Atlantic operations it has stakes in for a fee of US$680 million (MVR10.4bn).
Dhiraagu’s Manager for Marketing, Communications and Public Relations Mohamed Mirshan Hassan told Minivan News that Batelco’s purchase – expected to be completed by the end of CWC’s present financial year – would have no immediate impact on the company’s existing services or expansion plans. Batelco has pledged to invest further in the company to strengthen Dhiraagu’s position in the Maldivian telecommunications sector.
Stake
As of March this year, CWC controlled 52 percent of Dhiraagu’s shares, with the government holding just under 42 percent.
Mirshan added that there had been no discussions over whether its new majority shareholder would look to add to its stake in the telecommunications provider.
“There has been no mention of this at the moment,” he said, adding that it would remain “business as usual” for the company once the sale of its shares had been completed.
In addressing the sale, CWC CEO Tony Rice said that the company was selling its Monaco and Islands portfolio, which includes the stake in Dhiraagu, as part of its wider aims to expand the group’s Pan-America operations.
Meanwhile, Batelco Group Chief Executive, Sheikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa said the group would look to make further investment in Dhiraagu following completion of the deal.
“Batelco is in the process of building a telecoms business of global relevance of which the Maldives will be an important part,” he said. “We will continue the development of Dhiraagu as a market leader and we are looking forward to supporting each of the businesses and contributing to the communities they operate in.”
Dhiraagu itself is one of the country’s largest service providers, dominating the internet and telecommunications sector alongside its main competitor, Wataniya.
Set up back in 1988, the company has said it presently employs over 600 staff across the Maldives, 99 percent of whom are said to be local workers.
CWC took a controlling stake in Dhiraagu in 2009 when former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government sold 7 percent of its shares, giving the British-based firm a controlling stake in the company.
Then-opposition parties criticised the sale in local media, arguing that the acquisition of large stakes of domestic companies by foreign investors was bad for the country.
Similar arguments have been levelled against the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by Indian company GMR. Earlier today, GMR secured an injunction from the High Court of Singapore against the Maldives cabinet’s earlier decision to void its concession agreement for the US$511 million project and issue the developer with a seven day eviction notice.
The Maldivian government nonetheless has today dismissed such an injunction and vowed that the airport will be run by the state-owned Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) by the coming Saturday (December 7).
(0)Dislikes(0)The defence budget proposed in the annual state budget for 2013 submitted to parliament last week is 14 percent higher than 2012.
A total of MVR 930.9 million (US$60.3 million) was proposed for defence expenditure, which amounts to 5.5 percent of the total budget.
The figure in 2012 was MVR 797.9 million (US$51.7 million) or 4.8 percent of this year’s budget.
Of the MVR930.9 million assigned for the military, MVR 805.4 million (US$52.2 million) is to be spent on military defence and MVR 125.5 million (US$8.1 million) on civil defence.
The budget assigned for the Ministry of Defence for 2013 is MVR913 million, up from MVR811 million in 2012.
Moreover, defence expenditure under the Public Sector Investment Projects (PSIP) include MVR 3.1 million (US$201,000) for the construction of a troops accommodation building in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo and MVR 1.9 million (US$123,216) for a military barracks in Laamu Kadhdhoo.
Following the controversial transfer of presidential power in February, an allowance of military personnel pending for more than two years was disbursed in a single payment.
Local media reported at the time that some officers had received over MVR6000 (US$390) in accrued allowances, although a total figure spent on the pay out, or how many officers received the allowances, was not stated.
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