MDP Welcomes Minivan News

Following the success of Minivan Radio, which broadcasts to the Maldives each evening, the online news channel Minivan News has been launched.

Minivan News is committed to bringing its readers objective news coverage and high quality analysis. Using credible sources, Minivan News will be updated with daily news from the Maldives and abroad and commentary and opinion from its panel of independent columnists.

The Maldivian government continually dictates what the state-run press in the Maldives can and cannot publish. Moreover, the Maldivian government continues to ban independent media channels and attempts to block independent radio and news websites.

The MDP, by contrast, is committed to freedom of expression and as such strongly encourages the establishment of a free press in the Maldives. The MDP further believes that for press to be genuinely free, it needs to be free from all political interference. In this regard, the MDP will have no control – nor will seek to control – the editorial content of Minivan News or any other news channel.

The MDP welcomes the addition of a new independent news channel for the Maldives, complementing existing e-newspaper Dhivehi Observer and e-newsletters Fassangu and Sandhaanu.