India has provided a standby loan of US$20 million to the Maldives as the country descends into political turmoil, reports the Economic Times.
Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives, D M Mulay, told the paper that the Indian government had expedited the delivery of the loan, which had been given to the Maldives government several days ago.
US$50 million in Maldives’ treasury bonds held by the State Bank of India “has also been rolled over for another year”, Mulay told reporters.
President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s Political Advisor, Dr Hassan Saeed, in a recent leaked audio clip, expressed concern about the involvement of “a lot of foreign partners” and “huge bilateral pressures”, in particular a US$50 million owed by the Maldives to an unspecified lender: “Fifty million dollars has to be raised before the end of this month or there will be a sovereign default,” he said, in the recording earlier this week.
The same paper recently reported that SBI had issued a moratorium on loans in the Maldives until June.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Ranjan Mathai visited the Maldives on Monday to push ahead peace talks between parties in the Maldives.
Mathai was a key proponent of a ‘roadmap’ document proposing early presidential elections, with necessary amendments to the constitution and laws to be completed within a month’s time.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has been pushing for an early election date, maintaining that Dr Waheed’s government is illegitimate, while the new government has insisted that “conditions have to be right”.
Mention the Maldives, and an image of an idyllic holiday paradise, clear blue water, pristine beaches and luxury resorts comes to mind, writes Jared Genser, a human rights lawyer and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Centre, for the Huffington Post.
The Indian Ocean archipelago with a population of little more than 300,000 rarely features on the world’s political agenda. On February 7, however, the tiny nation was gripped by political turmoil as its nascent democracy was strangled in its infancy. Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically-elected president, was forced to resign at gunpoint by a cabal of rebel police, Islamists, and his own deputy, with the former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom pulling the strings.
This was a coup, yet it has been accepted as a legitimate transfer of power. Reactions from around the world have been astonishing in their weakness. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake visiting Male’ merely said “some people say it was a coup, some people say it was a peaceful and constitutional transfer of power. That is not for the U.S. to decide, that is for the Maldivians.” Yet, even the new president’s own brother Naushad Waheed Hassan resigned from his position as Acting High Commissioner of the Maldives in the United Kingdom stating, “I cannot serve a regime that brought down the democratically-elected government in a coup d’etat” saying to his brother, “[D]o the right thing — resign and hold fresh elections. Let the people of Maldives decide.”
As president, Nasheed set about cleaning up the country’s corrupt institutions, instituting democracy and fighting climate change. Greeted as a hero by environmentalists for his efforts to secure an agreement on climate change at the Copenhagen summit, he warned that the Maldives would cease to exist due to rising water levels if the issue was not tackled. He became a role model for democratic transition in the Muslim world, and was a precursor to the Arab Spring.
It was his determined effort to take on vested interests in the Maldives, however, that led to his downfall. The judiciary is stacked with Gayoom’s appointees, who have done everything they could to obstruct reform and protect corrupt members of the old regime. A month ago, he ordered the arrest of Abdullah Mohamed, chief judge of the criminal court, on charges of corruption and political bias. The judge had a track record failing to follow the law, and now it was their turn to protect him. Demonstrations began, stirred up by Islamists who see Nasheed as too liberal.
President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan today met with Norwegian Ambassador accredited to the Maldives, Hilde Haraldstad.
According to the President’s Office, “At the meeting, the President spoke on the challenges faced by the government, and the measures taken to overcome those challenges. He also detailed on the progress being done on the roadmap through the ongoing multi-party.
“President Waheed assured Ambassador Haraldstad that his government was committed to continue important policies and projects initiated by the former administration. Particularly, the President highlighted the government’s plans in carrying out the carbon neutral policy.”
Yesterday Dr Waheed met Canadian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Bruce Levy.
“Discussions at the meeting were focused on strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries and the current political climate of the Maldives,” according to the President’s Office.
“Briefing the High Commissioner on the political situation, President Waheed said he was willing to hold early election, but that it could only be done within the Constitutional provisions.”
Former President Mohamed Nasheed is the only candidate running in the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) primary, following the close of submissions yesterday.
The primary, to determine the MDP’s presidential candidate, will still take place according to the party’s rules and regulations, MDP spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy told Haveeru.
MDP has sought to hold the primary to determine its candidate ahead of the early elections it is demanding from President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s government, which it maintains is illegitimate after Nasheed was ousted is a bloodless coup on February 7.
Nasheed will still require 10 percent of the total ballots in the MDP primaries to be declared the party’s presidential candidate.
The Supreme Court has upheld criminal charges against Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed, reports Haveeru.
The Criminal Court had last year sentenced the Independent MP to one and a half years banishment for corruption. The charges were upheld by the High Court in November.
The charges concerned Hameed’s use of his position as then Director of Male Municipality to buy a barge for the waste management unit, claiming that it had been received when it had not, and paying the remaining 50 percent of the bill to the company concerned.
MPs sentenced to more than one year’s prison or banishment are disqualified from their seats.
The following is a speech given by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan at the pro-goverment ‘National Symposium” at the artificial beach on February 24.
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful… Assalaam Alaikum.
All praise and thanks are due only to one: Allah Subahanahoo Wata-aalaa.
All praise and thanks be to Him for brining the Light of Islam to the Maldives and for sustaining the Maldives as an Islamic nation. All praise and thanks be to Allah for protecting till now the Maldivian nationhood, customs and Maldivianness.
Why are you all here today, coming from various places? You have come here because you love the nation; in order to maintain Islam in the Maldives; in order to maintain its nationhood and customs; and to overcome strife in the nation.
We can’t allow strife in the Maldives. Anyone who loves the Maldives will not incite strife in the Maldives. Anyone who loves this nation will not torch public places and destroy them. There is no place for such people in this nation. There is no place in this land for those who cause strife.
We are steadfast… to defend the nation and to protect Islam and nationhood. Till the last drop of our blood, we will defend this nation. We are not afraid. We are not afraid to die as martyrs. We are not afraid of the enemies we face.
We must be sad that the enemies and traitors of the Maldives are spreading lies in various places of the world to tarnish the country’s image. They are the real conspirators. Those who defame the Maldives to destroy its industries and tourism are enemies of this country. Such people have no place in the Maldives.
You all be courageous. This is no longer the age of colonialism. Today no foreign country can influence the Maldives. Today we will maintain our sovereignty with bravery.
Be courageous. We will not back down an inch. Today, the change [in power] in the Maldives is what Allah has willed. This did not happen because of one or two people coming out into the streets. Nobody had been waiting for this. Nobody even saw this day. This change came because Allah willed to protect Islam and the decent Maldivian norms.
Be courageous. Today you are all mujaheddin [those who fight jihad] who love the nation. We will overcome all dangers faced by the nation with steadfastness.
Today’s government will be kind to the people and love the people. It will bring justice to the people. This government will do everything possible to ensure that the people would enjoy all rights enshrined in the Constitution. It is the duty of every government to provide housing, healthcare and education. We will also do that.
Be courageous. Never be frightened. Never be swayed. We are fulfilled. We are brave. We are steadfast. Two or three people who want to cause strife in the Maldives can’t sway us. When [they] see all of you who are gathered here, [they] will feel nervous. With your help and God’s will this nation will advance forward. [Gasim Ibrahim: “Be careful…”]
Our government will be a lawful government. We are upholding the Constitution and obeying the laws. We are ready to maintain justice. We will be steadfast in continuing the journey of democracy that we started.
Never step back. Be brave. We are with you. If you remain determined, we will be too.
My prayer is for the Light of Islam to shine in the Maldives forever, and for all Maldivians to have good health and well-being. I pray there be sense of brotherhood in the hearts of all Maldivians and there be the spirit of unity and oneness. I pray the Maldives be a prosperous, peaceful and harmonious place. May Allah bless all Maldivians. Wasallaamalaikum…
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) response:
In response to Dr Waheed’s speech, the MDP issued statement expressing “alarm at the use of extremist Islamic rhetoric at the heart of the governing regime, including on the part of Mohamed Dr Waheed who appears increasingly beholden to religious groups and known extremists.”
“There is now a clear pattern whereby supporters of the former autocratic president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, are using claims of internal and external threats against Islam as a means of reasserting political control. There is now a very real threat of the democratic gains of the last few years being rolled back,” the party stated.
“Sheikh Imran, President of the religious Adhaalath Party and a man who has in the past called for a jihad against the MDP Government and its supporters and for “the slaughter of anyone against Islam”, said: ‘They are [now] on their knees in front of their constitution as a result of their attempt to get rid of Islam from the Maldives’; while Gasim Ibrahim, a leading financial backer of the new regime, called MDP supporters ‘mentally disabled’, and said ‘we are ready to sacrifice everything for Dr Waheed’,” the MDP claimed.
Other figures addressing the crowd on February 24 included the leader of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr Hassan Saeed, Attorney-General under former President Gayoom and now Nasheed’s political advisor, and Deputy Leader of DQP, Dr Mohamed Jameel, former Justice Minister under former President’s Gayoom’s administration and now Home Minister.
Saeed, Jameel and their DQP party were the authors of a political pamphlet entitled “President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians”, in which they invoked perceived attacks against Islam in the Maldives, especially by “Christians and Jews”.
“Never has the dividing line been clearer between those who believe in democracy and tolerance, and those who believe in power through force and religious dogma,” said MDP’s spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.
Five judges were been sworn in to the newly established Drug Court on Saturday night.
From a total of 35 candidates evaluated for the bench, the five applicants selected were Mahaaz Ali Zahir, Hussain Shahaamath Mahir, Abdul Sathar Abdul Hameed, and Zubair Mohamed and Mohamed Easa.
According to Adam Mohamed, President of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and Supreme Court Judge, the five appointed to the Drug court were “highly competent” and “qualified to deliver impartial rulings with no prejudice.”
A total of 35 candidates applied for the positions, according to the JSC.
The establishment of the Drug Court follows stipulations for the court’s formation provided in the recently-ratified Drugs Act.
Under Article 33 of the Act, all drug cases currently before the Criminal and Juvenile Courts must be transferred to the Drugs Court, following discussions between the Prosecutor General and judges.
According to the Act, a specialised Drugs Court of superior court status will combat drug addiction by integrating rehabilitation services into the court system.
President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik is visiting Addu City and Fuvammulah, reports Haveeru.
Residents of Addu and Hulhumeedhoo “warmly welcomed” President Waheed on arrival, said Haveeru’s correspondent Ahmed Adhshan. “Around 70 opposition members” were also called for his immediate resignation.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed visited Addu City last week.
Minivan News recently reported that Addu, the second-largest population centre in the Maldives after Male and – electorally – a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) stronghold – was facing a violent social divide driven by political uncertainty.
Police, court buildings, vehicles and a police training centre were destroyed on February 8 in the aftermath of a brutal police crackdown on protesters in Male’. Many supporters of the MDP were subsequently taken into custody, prompting a delegation from the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).
Dr Waheed will address residents of the atoll this evening, reports Haveeru.
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