Category: News in Brief

Maldives first amusement park opens in Gulhi Falhu

The Maldives’ first amusement park has opened on Malé City’s township island Gulhi Falhu on Friday.

The “Global Amusement Park” is an initiative of the Global Projects Development Company. The company is in charge of developing a high end “Global Green City” in Gulhi Falhu lagoon as an alternative to Malé City.

The amusement park will be open on every Friday and Saturday from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm and a roller coaster ride, bumper car ride, luxury train ride, a merry go round and a chasing car ride.

Entry tickets cost MVR 20 and every ride costs between MVR 10 – 50. Ferry services from Malé City to Gulhi Falhu are free.

Manager of Global Projects Raj Maniyandan told local media the company intends to open a water park on Gulhi Falhu. He also said two beach villas are available for families who wish to stay overnight on the island.

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President to visit India on December 22

After receiving and invitation from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Abdulla Yameen will make an official visit to the country on December 22.

Indian media has also reported that President Yameen will be the chief guest at the convocation of the SAARC-established South Asian University (SAU) on Dec 24.

The invitation came in reply to a letter by Yameen to the prime minister in which he assured Singh of his administration’s desire for enhanced bilateral ties and urged Singh to pay an official visit to the Maldives as soon as it was mutually convenient to do so.

Since taking office, President Yameen has stressed his desire to enhance recently-strained relations between the neighbouring countries.

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Alliance francaise to host French film evening

The French film director, William Cally, will present his film, ‘Elie, Blacksmith of Freedom’ tonight as part of a tour organised by the French Embassy, French Institute and Alliance francaise de Male’.

The event will open with an introduction and discussion of Reunion Island by Emmanuelle Boutier, director of Alliance francaise de Male’.

William Cally will then introduce ‘Elie, Blacksmith of Freedom’.

The evening will conclude with a debate on the film and cocktails.

The event will be held at the National Art Gallery, Saturday 30 November, starting at 8:00pm.

Admission is free, though the evening has an age-restriction of 15+.

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Criminal Court open on Saturday to dispense criminal records checks

The Criminal Court is to open during this weekend to provide criminal record checks for those seeking to contest in January’s local council elections.

The Criminal Court is facing an unusual amount of traffic for criminal record and debt record checks with an estimated 4000 candidates contesting the 1091 local council seats.

In 2011, candidates had to sign a declaration stating they had no record of criminal activity or decreed debt. However, several councillors were disqualified from their seats after election and the Elections Commission amended its regulations mandating candidates to submit criminal and debt records with their applications.

Applications are due on December 8 and elections are scheduled for January 18.

The Criminal Court will be open from 9:00 am – 5 pm on Saturday.

Debt and criminal records will be made available on the day of request from the Criminal Court, local media reports.

In addition to the Criminal Court, the Department of Judicial Administration, the Supreme Court and the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) also provides records of criminal activity and debt.

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Cabinet approval scheduled for December 29

Parliamentary approval for President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s 15 ministers will be scheduled for December 29, People’s Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid has said.

Shahid appealed to the Majlis’ Government Oversight committee to conclude its report on the proposed cabinet by December 23 in order for the December 29 vote to proceed.

Chair of the Government Oversight Committee MP Ali Waheed said the committee has started the vetting process for ministers and will commence debate on the proposed cabinet on December 15.

Yameen’s 15 member cabinet includes seven incumbents. They are Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad, Minister of Health and Gender Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Minister of Defense and National Security Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim, Minister of Transport and Communication Ameen Ibrahim, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adheeb, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muizzu, and Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party had tabled a no confidence motion against Defense Minister Nazim in the last days of Dr Mohamed Waheed’s presidency.

The new appointments are Umar Naseer as Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aishath Shiham as Minister of Education, Dunya Maumoon as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamed Shainee as Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Mohamed Saeed as Minister of Economic Development, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal as Minister of Youth and Sports and Thoriq Ibrahim as Minister of Environment and Energy.

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President appoints Shamshul Falah to JSC

President Abdulla Yameen has appointed Shamshul Falah as the president’s representative at the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) today.

Shamshul Falah served as the Secretary of Legal Affairs at the President’s Office under former President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Falah’s appointment is the third new appointment to the JSC this month. President Yameen appointed Attorney General Mohamed Anil to the judicial oversight body earlier this week.

On November 10, former president Dr Mohamed Waheed administered the oath of office to opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza who will act as the parliament’s representative.

The seat occupied by the President of the Civil Service Commission on the 10 member JSC remains vacant amidst a dispute between the Supreme Court and People’s Majlis regarding the dismissal of former CSC head Mohamed Fahmy Hassan.

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Maldives elections veered into the realm of farce: New York Times

At a certain point this fall, the presidential elections in the Maldives stopped looking like the hiccups of a young democracy and veered into the realm of farce, writes Ellen Barry for the New York Times.

Mohamed Nasheed was the leader after a first-round election back in September, but the country’s Supreme Court begged to differ. The court, which was allied with one of his rivals, voided the September election before it could reach a second round, citing irregularities in voter rolls.

The court scuttled another vote planned for October, ordering the police to surround the election commission. In November, after Mr. Nasheed had trounced his rivals again, the court derailed a second-round vote with another last-minute delay.

Something about it felt familiar. I had just arrived in South Asia after five years in the former Soviet Union, where I saw one leader after another dispensing with truly competitive politics.

Elections kept happening, but there was only a glaze of competition; for the most part, the opposition candidates were docile, handpicked characters, because no one else was allowed to run. On the rare occasions when actual rivals were able to take part, as in recent elections in Ukraine and Georgia, the candidates who lost found themselves in court or in prison. The experiment in democracy, born in the euphoria of the 1990s, seemed to be ending.

In South Asia, that experiment is much closer to its beginning.

Read more

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Will the new President’s ‘conciliatory mode’ last, asks the Eurasia Review

Soon after he took over, the first thing President Yameen did was to take a swipe at the losing candidate Mohamed Nasheed, by declaring that “People have proved that they do not want a puppet of foreign powers,” writes Dr S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

Better sense prevailed and soon he quickly made some conciliatory gestures to make up for that indiscreet statement.

Though Nasheed lost, nearly fifty person of the electorate had voted for him and this cannot be ignored. The international community also stressed that the new government in view of the close contest, should engage the opposition in a conciliatory manner.

Some appointments have been disappointing. The selection of Umar Naseer, a loose canon as the Home Minister is one. This perhaps has been done more to quieten him and as part of the deal with the Jumhooree with whose cooperation Yameen has come to power. It may be recalled that Umar Naseer in losing his bid for becoming the party candidate for presidentship in the PPM had abused Yameen of having used the convicted and the drug smuggling network to get elected. He was out of the party for a while and now he says that he either wants to join the PPM or the Jumhooree again!

The appointment of the Foreign Minister is another disappointment. Yameen’s niece and Gayoom’s daughter Dhunya Maumoon has been elevated and reappointed as the foreign minister. In one of the first interviews he gave, Yameen said that his priority would be on the Maldives- India relations that had taken a downturn in the last two years. As a minister of state in Waheed’s government, Dhunya looked after the foreign relations and the relations with India deteriorated mainly because of her.

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No labourer permits for those who retain passports, warns immigration department

The immigration department has warned that permits allowing employers to bring expatriate workers into the country could be withheld if they are found to be forcefully retained.

Local media has reported the department as noting that the practice remains common, as does the practice of some employees demanding money before passports are released.

Such methods appeared on a list of grievances compiled by the Indian High Commission in Male’ early this year. Indian authorities said at the time that tightened restrictions over providing medical visas to Maldivians were a “signal” for the country’s government to address a number of concerns about the nation’s treatment of migrant workers.

The immigration department’s warning comes as the incoming government attempts to improve relations with the Indian government, with the Indian Prime Minister today extending an invitation to new President Abdulla Yameen.

Bangladesh recently lifted a ban on worker migration to the Maldives after a government delegation was sent to investigate allegations of fraudulent recruitment, forced labour and migrant unemployment.

The country had temporarily blocked its nationals from migrating to the Maldives in September – an action described by one key local employer as a response to decades of failure by Maldivian authorities to deal with “human trafficking” and labour management.

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