A cargo ship belonging the State Trading Organisation (STO) is being held in an Indian port.
The ship was loaded with 44,000 sacks of rice to be brought to Male’.
Ismail Shakir, director general for the ministry of economic development said “The report we have received from the STO is that the ship is being held because the rice they got was not meant to be exported.”
Ismail Sadiq of STO confirmed the report. “The ship belongs to us and so does the rice.”
Sadiq also reassured the public that “The supply of rice will not be affected by this incident.”
A group of Afghan MPs, “a government official” and seven people linked to the Taliban met in the Maldives last weekend for secret talks, according to a report by Al Jazeera in Afghanistan.
According to the report, the talks were part of an ambitious plan to bring peace to the war-torn country by offering cash, jobs and incentives to Taliban fighters in exchange for laying down their arms.
Afghan parliament member Ubaid Ullah Achackzat, one of the MPs who reportedly visited the Maldives last week, told Al Jazeera the meeting was an effort “to find a third way, a way for the foreigners to leave [Afghanistan], with the possibility of merging the Taliban with the government and the possibility of a cease fire – there are lots of issues.”
Seven of the men were reportedly part of an armed opposition group linked to the Taliban and held in high respect by the Taliban’s leadership, Achackzat said.
The Al Jazeera report claimed the Taliban selected the Maldives as the venue for the meeting “because it was the only place the fighters felt safe.”
“I believe that is a compliment to the Maldivian government and our pluralist policies,” said the president’s press secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, adding that he did not feel the comment would negatively affect international perception of the Maldives.
“Our government has a policy to include followers of all sects of Islam,” he said.
“For years other versions of Islam have been stifled [in the Maldives]. The president has said democracy is the best answer to keep fundamentalists at check.”
Assistant controller of Immigration Ibrahim Ashraf expressed a different opinion.
“If this so-called group of Afghans had a link to the Taliban, that is in no way safe for the Maldives,” he said.
“If people from internationally recognised groups such as the Taliban or other institutions keep coming to the Maldives, that is quite dangerous.”
Zuhair acknowledged that the government had received reports of sightings of “a group of people who look like the Taliban wandering around the streets of Male’.”
“Our stance is that the fact people happen to look like the Taliban doesn’t mean they should be labelled that way,” he said.
He admitted the government had noted the arrival of “a group of 20 people from Afghanistan” who were “quite quite closely monitored by the concerned authorities.”
“They apparently conducted a meeting amongst themselves,” he said, emphasising that the group had not associated with any group in the Maldives.
Ashraf confirmed the government had received some information about the group, but would not say whether this came from inside or outside the country.
“We do have a watch list and a very good system in place,” he said. “Those who are flagged would not be allowed into the country.”
He would not say whether the visitors were flagged.
“A lot of people come to Maldives and nobody needs a visa, whether they are Afghan or Israeli,” he said. “To my knowledge, they have now left [the country].”
State Minister for Defence Mohamed Muiz Adnan said he was not aware of the group’s arrival until he “saw it in the newspaper” and had no knowledge of the meeting that apparently took place.
Regarding the Taliban fighters considering the Maldives to be ‘safe’, Muiz commented that “irrespective of who says it, anywhere in the world a safe environment is good for everybody.”
An international conference on the Afghanisatan’s future is currently being held in London. Al Jazeera reports that Japan, the United States and Britain are rumoured to be spearheading a proposal to ‘bribe’ Taliban fighters to disarm and turn over to the government’s side.
Japan is said to be providing most of the money, thought to be between US$500 million and US$1 billion over the next five years, a far cheaper option than the annual $30 billion currently being spent by the US on its military ‘push’.
Two policewomen have testified in court against the deputy under secretary of the President’s Office, Aishath Eeman, after she was arrested on drugs related charge.
The police testified that Eeman refused to give them a urine sample when she was brought into the police station on suspected drug possession in December 2009.
Constable Mahdhoodhaa Saleem told the court that Eeman was requested to give a urine sample three different times, but she had refused.
Constable Thalia Ali also said she asked Eeman for a urine sample, and explained that the procedure was that the person would only give the sample if they wanted to.
When judge Abdulla Mohamed heard this, he said that giving the sample was a person’s own choice and that an accusation could’t be made just because someone refused to do something out of choice.
However the state prosecutor said that the judge had misunderstood, and that Constable Thaila had used the right of the police to request a urine sample.
Eeman’s defense team meanwhile said that Eeman could refuse giving a urine sample as part of her right to remain silent.
The policewomen’s testimony conflicted in the time Eeman was reportedly brought in. Constable Mahdhoodhaa said Eaman was brought to the station around 6:00pm in the evening, while Constable Thaila said Eeman was brought to the station between 9:00pm and 12:00pm.
Speaking on behalf of the president’s office, Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said Eeman was “technically on leave at the moment. We are providing legal assistance for her through the president’s office.”
Zuhair said the case was being conducted by the judicial system, “so even if the person is from the president’s office they must be investigated.”
The Deputy Prosecutor General Shameem said that despite the high profile of the defendant prosecutor general’s office was not giving the case any special attention and was treating it “like any other normal case.”
Horror movie ‘Jinni’, a local Dhivehi film showing at Olympus Cinema, has sold out five shows with tickets for a further five on sale.
The movie premiered on Wednesday to many positive reviews.
The movie is based on a true story and a novel by Binmaa Ibrahim Waheed, and was shot in Baa Kamadhoo featuring Ali Seezan, Mariyam Afeefa and Amira Ismail.
The ministry of education signed management contracts with seven province offices yesterday to decentralise certain administrative functions of the ministry.
Minister of Education Musthafa Luthfy signed the contract on behalf of the Ministry and state ministers for each province signed on behalf of their province.
President Mohamed Nasheed said the government intended to eventually shift all the ministry’s powers and services to the province offices.
Dividing the Maldvies into seven provinces was one of the five election pledges Nasheed made in 2008, a move that has met with considerable controversy in parliament to the extent of stalling it completely in the closing sessions of its last sitting.
Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed said the government’s plan to “wipe out” the atolls from the Maldives by dividing them into provinces was against the law.
”The government is physically trying to re-distribute the country – it is not advisable,” Nasheed said.
Nasheed said the president could name ministries, provide offices and give them whatever powers he wished, but there were no provinces in the Maldives “according to the law.”
Furthermore, he claimed it was “not wise” for the president to beginning carrying out the work of decentralising the Maldives before parliament had approved it.
”We hope the next bill on decentralising the Maldives will include more compromise than the previous bill,” Nasheed added.
The Maldives Tourism Promotion Board (MTDC) has agreed to an out of court settlement with Yacht Tours Maldives (YTM) after a long-running dispute over Herathera Island Resort.
MTDC claimed that YTM had been running Herathera Island Resort without paying rent and took the company to court. In May last year YTM was ordered to pay US$8 million in outstanding rent to MTDC.
Managing Director of MTDC Mohamed Mihad said if necessary, the board would withdraw the funds from the US$10 million bank guarantee YTM had paid to to secure the resort during the bidding process to sublease the island.
YTM stopped paying rent in December 2008, claiming MTDC had failed to fulfil a contractual obligation to build a channel between Herethere Resort and Hulhudhoo, an adjoining inhabited island, by 30 November 2008.
MTDC responded by terminating the company’s contract and giving Yacht Tours seven days to hand over the resort. In response, Yacht Tours lodged a civil case to sue MTDC for US$47 million in compensation for the incomplete channel and projected losses.
“Yacht Tours doesn’t have the right to stay on the island and do business without paying rent… We have sent them a letter asking them to leave as soon as possible,” Mihad told Minivan News at the time, adding that MTDC would file a court case if YTM refused to hand back the island.
YTM claimed it was unable to pay the rent because the occupancy of the island was low, due to the financial crisis. At one point YTM CEO Ahmed Mohamed claimed 600 staff were working at the resort despite there only being 28 guests.
In October 2009 the court gave MTDC control of the resort, which it claimed to have spent US$55 million developing.
At a press conference held today, journalists expressed confusion when the chairman of MTDC, Ibrahim Saleem, said that the organisation would now pay YTM would US$3.5 million over 24 months including including a US$1 million down payment.
Saleem said the decision was “a commercial decision” and “the best way we found to solve the problem.”
“If we continue disputing this we might have to continue for two or three years. It’s taken too long to solve this problem,” he said.
MTDC would earn a substantial profit from running the Herathera Island Resort while courting interest from foreign investors, he said.
YTM and MTDC sent a letter to the court saying both parties considered the problem resolved.
CEO of YTM Ahmed Mohamed was unwilling to comment to Minivan News regarding the matter.
Ali Fulhu Thuttu Foundation has announced scholarship offers in 2010 for students who have completed IGCSE, GCSE and SSC exams in 2009.
Applications are open to those who have Maldivian citizenship and were born between 1991 and 1993. Applications must have completed GCSE, IGCSE and SSC and passed at least seven subjects.
Those selected will have the opportunity to represent the Maldives at colleges in India, Norway, Italy, Canada or the USA. The deadline for application is 15 February 2010 at 2:30 pm.
Since 2000, twenty-six Maldivians had completed the international baccalaureate diploma through the Ali Fulhu Thuthu Foundation’s United World College Scholarship Program.
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