Category: News in Brief

New government meets US Ambassador, Rajapaksa

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday met United States Ambassador to the Maldives Patricia A Butenis.

According to a statement from the President’s Office, discussions were primarily on the current political situation in the Maldives.

“Particularly, the President briefed Ambassador Butenis on the National Unity Government and the progress of its Roadmap,” the statement read.

Vice President Designate Mohamed Waheeduddeen meanwhile met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka.

Visiting Sri Lanka as a Special Envoy of President Dr Mohamed Waheed, Waheeduddeen presented a letter to the Sri Lankan President, on his behalf.

“At the meeting, Waheeduddeen noted the close relations established between the two countries, and discussed hopes for further enhancing the ties both the countries share,” a statement read. “Further, Mr Waheeduddeen expressed his gratitude to the Sri Lankan government for the aid and support being provided to the Maldives.”

Dr Waheed’s political advisor, Dr Hassan Saeed, yesterday met with the Commonwealth in the UK, representing the new government. Former Maldives High Commissioner to the UK, Dr Farahanaz Faizal, represented former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Dr Saeed was also interviewed on the BBC.

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Cabinet discuss cutting government working hours

The Maldives’ new cabinet has discussed restoring government office working hours back to what they were under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

During Gayoom’s time, government offices were open between 7:30am to 2:30pm. Nasheeds’ administration amended the hours to 8:00am until 4:00pm.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb, during a news conference held last night to brief the press on the current economic situation of the country, said that cabinet had discussed the matter and had come to a decision to talk to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on the matter.

President of CSC, Mohamed Fahmy Hassan has stated in the local media that the commission is in full support of the change of the working hours and that the commission had proposed the change of the working hours even during Nasheed’s administration.

A formal announcement of the change of the government working hours is yet to be made.

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President of Kulhudhufushi island council summoned for questioning

The chair of the seven-member Haa Dhaal Kulhudhufushi island council, Ibrahim Rameez, was summoned by police for questioning last night, according to a community online newspaper.

The former ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won all seven seats of the Kulhudhufushi island council in February 2011. The island is the major population hub north of Male’.

According to the community website, Ramiz had refused to comply with two previous summons and had been released after questioning last night. Police suspect the councillor’s involvement in disturbances during a protest outside the island’s police station on February 8.

Protests were sparked across the country following a brutal crackdown by police on a peaceful MDP walk across Male’, led by deposed President Mohamed Nasheed who had announced that he was forced to resign under duress.

The Kulhudhufushi council had issued a statement declaring it does not recognise the government of Dr Mohamed Waheed.

Meanwhile, newspaper Haveeru reported yesterday that police released three of four Addu City councillors detained on February 9 and arrested an additional councillor. The five-member Addu City Council was also won by MDP.

Three released councillors were Hussein Fahmy, Hussein Hilmy and Abdulla Thoyyib. The latter had been arrested last Thursday.

Deputy Mayor Hassan Shahid remains under house arrest. Feydhoo councillor Ahmed Mirzad was taken into custody last night.

Mid-Hithadhoo MP for MDP Mohamed Rasheed had also been arrested in the crackdown but released shortly thereafter.

However according to MDP, more of its councillors across the country continue to be taken into custody. According to Milandhoo MP Riza, three of the island’s councillors were “paraded in handcuffs”.

Ihavandhoo MP Ahmed Abdulla has meanwhile condemned police intimidation of island councillors as no violence or destruction of property was reported in the island.

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India should give free kick to a friend: former Indian High Commissioner

The sudden resignation of President Nasheed in Maldives on February 7 took many by surprise, writes A. K. Banerjee, former Indian High Commissioner in the Maldives, for the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

The media in India reported it as a coup, a military takeover, the President was forced out, etc. Nasheed’s description of the change as a coup gave it a particular flavour. India is allergic to coups in its neighbourhood. It has had to get used to them in Pakistan and is wary of them in Bangladesh. This reflex is rooted in its deep seated commitment to democracy with a supreme civilian authority.

Coups also imply surprises and India does not particularly care for them. In the instant case the association of the word coup with Maldives set off a reflex and a chain reaction set in thereafter. India remembered the coup attempted in Maldives in 1988 when it had to rush its forces there to restore the government’s authority. An implied threat to its own security from an unstable situation in Maldives caused the Government to take the line of least resistance ie, accept the newly sworn in President, Dr. Waheed and assure him support and treat the matter as an internal issue of Maldives, to be sorted out by them.

Overall, the message that went out of New Delhi was that while it cannot be unconcerned about happenings in that country, it is prepared to work with whoever is legitimately in power there. However, the issue of legitimacy has now come to the fore and many feel that this needs to be looked at closely. Also, by being the first country to accept the developments there as an internal matter, India set an example for others to follow [witness the US position].

Democracies are however notoriously unstable to begin with and need patience and commitment all round. Maldives is no different and its institutions have not worked properly so far. The President was getting increasingly frustrated and the opposition confronted him at every step. Nasheed, long used to agitating for change and clamouring for power, did not, it seems, grow in office and his style was quite un-presidential. One could say that he was being democratic and had the zeal of a reformer. But holding office and leading street demonstrations require different hats.

Nasheed and his supporters faced opposition from a rich business class which controlled the mainstay of the Maldivian economy, i.e., the tourism industry. The downturn in the European economies, which sends the bulk of tourists to Maldives, has negatively affected this sector, which, in turn, impacted on the domestic political dynamics.

In describing his ouster as a coup, perhaps Nasheed wanted to indirectly involve India which he felt he was justified in doing given his attempts to bring the two countries closer, apart from his genuine democratic credentials. Yet at the same time he did not want armed conflict in his country or a civil war like situation. Since his ouster he has been loudly proclaiming his democratic credentials and wants India to hear him. He has repeated that he handed over power under duress and as a democrat he hopes India will see his position and, literally, rescue him. Not only that, he wants to bring forward elections to challenge the opposition and test their legitimacy at the hustings.

What should India do? Having made the point that Maldives is a major security issue for us and bearing in mind the overall international scenario prevailing now, we should bat for a friend. Knowing how slippery the democratic playfield can be and having a sense of who actually has fouled, as a sort of friendly referee, we should award a free kick to the player who has been knocked down.

How can we do that? We should work for a unitary government and persuade all to agree to early elections. But since there are no free lunches, we should recommend that Maldivians agree to long term strengthening of democratic institutions and resolve their differences peacefully; different factions must talk to each other and work towards a modus vivendi. Above all, authorities in Maldives must be encouraged to respect human rights and avoid use of force to deal with political dissent.

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Paradise lost – has democracy gone to hell in the Maldives: Economy Watch

Democracy, as Samuel P. Huntington once famously put it, often comes in waves, writes Raymond Tham for Economy Watch.

According to Huntington’s analysis, countries can be over-swept by democratic ideals during one such wave; and a political transition might occur – transforming the government from an authoritarian to a democratic one.

Yet, as Huntington would later note, the waves of democracy are often followed by “reverse waves” as well. In a reverse wave, a newly democratic country could potentially revert back to its authoritarian ways, especially if the remnants of the old regime attempt to rear up their ugly heads once again.

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed learnt this lesson the hard way. Less than four years after becoming the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, Nasheed was swept out of power on February 7th 2012 by a coup – led by his predecessor Maumon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom, and his associates, had apparently forced Nasheed to resign at gunpoint, with Nasheed’s vice president Mohamed Waheed Hassan – who Nasheed has now accused of being complicit with Gayoom’s scheme – installed as president on that day itself.

These violent scenes were a stark contrast to a year ago, when a young and upbeat Nasheed arrived in Delhi for a conference on promoting liberal governance in South Asia. During the conference, Nasheed expressed optimism on his country’s democratic process.

“We are in the process of consolidating our democracy,” said a cheerful Nasheed, as quoted by the Economist. Commenting on the Arab Spring, Nasheed also expressed confidence that his country could soon become a model for other Islamic states in adopting democracy.

“We are a 100 percent Muslim country. We feel if democracy can survive in the Maldives, it can survive in other Islamic countries.”

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India has let the Maldives down: Headlines Today

Ousted president Mohamed Nasheed, 44, was talking to his core group of advisers at his ancestral home ‘Keenerege’ in Male when the news of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s letter of support to new President Waheed Hassan Manik, 59, came in, writes Gaurav C Sawant, for Headlines Today.

A shocked Nasheed, or Anni as he is known to friends, could not speak for several minutes. Those in the room say there were tears in his eyes. “He felt he had been let down by a friend,” said Ameen Faisal, Nasheed’s close friend and the country’s national security adviser before the alleged coup.

Nasheed had stepped out of his home on February 8 to address his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) workers when the ‘notorious’ Star Force crackdown began. The former president took refuge in a hardware store but they were found and taken into custody. Nasheed, who was the first democratically elected president of Maldives, says he was ousted in a military-backed coup and that Waheed, the vice-president, was involved.

Faisal, who was high commissioner to India-designate till the alleged coup on February 7, says India has made a strategic blunder in the Indian Ocean Region. “I was the defence minister of Maldives. I know how both China and Pakistan are desperately trying to make inroads here. We are India’s natural allies. Yet instead of supporting the first democratically elected president, India put its weight behind forces that want to make Maldives the Pakistan of the Indian Ocean,” Faisal insists.

Nasheed, too, expressed his disappointment with India’s response. “India’s stand is misguided and ill-informed. I hope they will consider a course correction,” he told India Today. Nasheed feels New Delhi is taking him for granted and India may lose its influence to China, Faisal added.

China is desperately pushing its economic diplomacy. “The Maldivian National Defence Force was keen to renew its defence agreement with Beijing. Twice they came to me when I was president. I refused,” Nasheed said.

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Dr Musthafa Luthfy resigns as chancellor of National University

Dr Musthafa Luthfy has resigned from his post as chancellor of the Maldives National University (MNU) in protest of the change of government on February 7 after a police mutiny forced President Mohamed Nasheed to resign under what he later claimed was duress.

According to local media, Dr Luthfy in his resignation letter expressed displeasure with the transition and contested the legality of Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s ascension to the presidency.

Luthfy, a founder member of Dr Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP), spoke at the first night of the ongoing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protest condemning “the coup d’etat” and calling on Dr Waheed to resign to make way for an early presidential election.

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Villa International High School threatens disciplinary action against student

Villa International High School – owned by business tycoon and leader of the Jumhooree Party (JP) Gasim Ibrahim – has threatened disciplinary action against a student who spoke at the ongoing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protest.

According to Haveeru, the high school has decided to take action against Mikael Ahmed Naseem, a grade 12 student and school captain, for speaking at a rally organised by a political party.

Mikael had strongly criticised MP Gasim and claimed that students of Villa International High School were “against the coup.”

A school official told Haveeru that a committee would decide the form of disciplinary action, explaining that participation in partisan political activities were forbidden to students under general regulations for school children.

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Story of the 1988 coup attempt: Economic Times

Operation Cactus, India’s military intervention at the request of then President Gayoom of the Maldives in 1988, was a spontaneous response, swiftly executed, writes Sushil Kumar, for the Economic Times.

But who would have ever imagined that a mission to thwart a coup in the island capital of Male, would finally be accomplished more than a thousand kilometers away and turn out to be a historic mid-ocean rescue operation.

After the rapid induction of an Indian Army para brigade at the airport on Hulule island, adjacent to Male, the rebel group who were Sri Lankan mercenaries of the PLOTE cadre, ran for cover and grabbing hostages from ashore, hijacked a merchant vessel , Progress Light, which was anchored in Male harbour.

With its motley group of seven hostages that included a Maldivian cabinet minister and his Swiss mother-in-law , the hijacked ship raced out of Male harbour under the cover of darkness. But unknown to rebel leader Abdullah Luthufi on board Progress Light, an Indian Navy Task Force led by INS Godavari with Captain Gopalachari in command, was fast closing in.

As the drama unfolded at sea, the Indian Navy operations room in Delhi was palpably tense yet privileged by the distinguished presence of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was keenly following the action. The Maldivian president had personally requested that the rebels be captured and brought back to Male to face trial, so ensuring the safety of the hostages and also rounding up the rebels was certainly going to be a daunting task. This was evident from the incalculable difficulty of the mission flashed to Captain Gopalachari, the task force commander – “rescue the hostages and capture the rebels .”

When dawn broke on the following day, the rebels on Progress Light were startled by the presence of menacing-looking warships of the Indian Navy task force that had stealthily encircled the hijacked ship during the night. Agitated and confused, the rebels initially refused to talk and pressed on doggedly in a north-easterly direction. Their intentions were clearly to seek refuge in Sri Lanka; radio transmissions monitored by the IN warships had confirmed this.

After hours of inaction at sea, a terse message from the Sri Lankan Navy came like a bombshell to the Indian Navy operations room: “The SLN had been directed by its government to destroy the rebel ship, if it approached within 100 miles of the Sri Lankan coast.” Our sources also confirmed that Sri Lankan Navy gunboats were manoeuvring out of Colombo harbour.

The Sri Lankan ultimatum posed an operational dilemma for the Indian Navy, since the rebels were hell-bent on taking the ship to Sri Lanka. Moreover, the mandate given to the Sri Lankan Navy also had the possibility of a naval confrontation which would have ruined everything. Fortunately, camaraderie at sea remains a praiseworthy concept and with the hotline as a handy device, a tense situation was promptly defused.

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