Month: February 2010

Maldives to strengthen defence links with India amid rising terror concerns

The Maldives will formalise its counter-terrorism agreements with India after renewed fears that Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is trying to establish a base in remote parts of the Maldives.

The LeT was implicated in the terror attacks in Mumbai on 26 November 2008 in which gunmen entered the city by sea and killed at least 173 people and wounded 308. It is considered a terrorist organisation by India, the United States, the UK and Russia.

Covering the story today, Indian newspaper The Economic Times noted that Sultan Park bomber Moosa Inas was linked to the LeT and had travelled to Kerala before the bombings, a popular recruiting ground for the group.

Indian news portal Rediff.com today quoted Indian intelligence bureau sources as saying that the LeT “has nearly 1,000 operatives active in the Maldives”, and that there was no way the group’s operations “can be curbed unless there is very good intelligence sharing with the Maldives.”

The intelligence sources claimed that in the last three months “there has been an increase in LeT activites in the Maldives, and several persons from [the LeT’s] Kerala group have slipped into the country and are busy setting up operations there.”

India could ill-afford a slip in its Maldives policy, given the “extreme aggression” of the LeT group, the sources told Rediff.

The notion of a thousand LeT operatives active in the Maldives “may be an exaggeration”, said the Maldivian president’s press secretary Mohamed Zuhair, “but there may be some truth in it.”

Minister for Home Affairs Mohamed Shihab is currently in India meeting his counterpart P Chidambaram to draw up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries that will be signed in April.

First Secretary at the Indian High Commission to the Maldives, Naryan Swamy, said the agreement would formalise existing arrangements with the Maldives but the details would have to wait until Shihab returned.

Zuhair said the MoU was “very important because it gives notice that the Maldives will not allow terrorist operations here.”

“The Maldives is very important to India’s security – the Mumbai bombers attacked via sea,” Zuhair said. “The sea is India’s vulnerable underbelly because there are so many entry points, and the Maldives can be very helpful with that because every day we have 1,500 fishing vessels sometimes 70-100 kilometres out to sea. If they see any suspicious vessels they can coordinate the information through various centres in the Maldives.”

The system appeared to work, Zuhair said, because after the president’s speeches following the Mumbai bombing several poaching vessels were apprehended based on information from fishing boats.

India was already assisting the Maldives to establish a chain of coastal radars stations across the country’s atolls, he said, which will be networked with India’s own radar network.

Zuhair acknowledged that such defence cooperation might “concern” countries like China, but he noted that “of all our neighbours India is the natural country of choice to assist the Maldives.”

Last week Al Jazeera reported that a group seven fighters linked to the Taliban met in the Maldives with Afghan MPs to discuss an ambitious peace plan whereby Taliban soldiers would be paid to put down their arms. Al Jazeera’s report claimed the fighters chose the Maldives as the venue for the talks because it was “the only place they felt safe.”

Zuhair emphasised that the Maldives “will not allow terrorists to operate in the country and put the Maldives’ and our neighbours’ peace and security at risk.

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MDP denies activists stormed CSC’s office

A video of group of men entering the office of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on Sunday and intimidating staff is circulating on the internet.

Secretary General of the CSC Abdullah Khaleel said the group arrived at 1:05pm and “spoke very rudely. Their actions were violent.”

“We tried to find out their purpose for coming to our office. I asked them to come sit in the meeting room to speak about the matter, but they refused,” he said.

”They were mainly talking about the civil servants’ salary issue, they were angry that we were calling on the government to reinstate the salaries,” Khaleel said.

Khaleel said staff called the police at 1:11pm but officers police arrived after the incident had ended and the men had left.

He said that the crowd consisted of around nine men, but noted that only a few of them were rude.

”Two of the nine tried to take the three angry men outside the office, and they finally left,” Khaleel said.

He said that before leaving the office, the men threatened that they would be gathering a crowd of people in front of the CSC office.

Spokesman for Maldivian Democratic Party MDP Ahmed Haleem claimed that MDP did not send anybody to enter or threaten the Civil Service Commission. .

Haleem stated that ”as 90 per cent of Maldivians are MDP members, there might be a MDP supporter involved in [any] such scenes.”

According to the Elections Commission of the Maldives MDP had 28,995 members in December last year, or 9.3 per cent of the population.

Press secretary for the president’s office Mohamed Zuhair said that ”even if there was a MDP member [involved] it does not mean that they were representing MDP. They are members of the public as well.”

He said he would not support the act, as “nobody should enter a government’s office against security procedures.”

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Police arrest HIV positive prostitute

Police have arrested an HIV positive prostitute after she allegedly had sex with several Maldivians.

Head of the Serious and Organised Crime unit Ahmed Saudhy said the 27 year old woman arrived in Male “as a tourist” on 16 January, after travelling from “a neighbouring country.”

Saudhy claimed the woman had sex with several Maldivians, and “earned a large amount of money in a short time”.

He said the woman had admitted that she was a prostitute and police were continuing to investigate the case.

Senior public health officer at the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) Abdul Hameed said prostitutes were keen to work in the Maldives because there was “high demand” for their services.

He said the practice was dangerous and carried a high risk of HIV transmission, and advised all Maldivians “to stay away from prostitutes who come to the Maldives.”

There were an estimated 34 HIV positive people in the country, ”although records show 14″ he said.

”The best prevention is to be aware,” he said.

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Civil aviation department investigates pieces of aircraft wheel on the runway

The civil aviation department is investigating pieces of aircraft wheel found on the runway of Male’ International Airport, reports Haveeru.

The newspaper reported that the pieces belonged to an Emirates flight from Sri Lanka.

The flight landed safely and the Maldives Airports Company informed the flight crew immediately.

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Review: Aioli Restaurant

Aioli is a French sauce, an emulsion of oil held together with other water based liquids to create a unique texture. The restaurant emulates its namesake the sauce in offering an emulsion of different cuisines, in a fine dining atmosphere.

The shade of the huge mango tree gives is pleasant as we enter Aioli at lunch time. Men occupy the two tables downstairs, chit-chatting about the latest stories around town. We look longingly at the dessert counter filled with colourful macarons, brownies and other tantalising sweet items as we head up the winding stairs.

A few tables at the balcony are occupied as despite the hot mid day sun, the place has a nice feel to it, the nearby tree keeps it cool. We opt for the glass- doored air-conditioned room with seating capacity for about 40 people. The menu offers diverse range of dishes, Mexican fajitas, mutton mysore, Thai items, a couple of vegetarian dishes, and top quality beef like the Black Angus rump steak, poultry, pasta and even a local speciality ‘addu kukulhu reha’, Addu style chicken curry.

Thai chicken skewers, with red cabbage
Thai chicken skewers, with red cabbage

Most surprising and intriguing is the dessert page, tempting varieties not available anywhere else in town – we almost skip the main course. Interestingly the menu has explanations of cooking terminology, helpful to those who are looking to experiment and expand their gastronomical repertoire.

The waitresses are friendly and smart, with black shirts and black skirts they blend right in with the concept of fine dining restaurants.

The drinks arrive fast, chilled water melon perfect for a hot afternoon, and home made lemonade; a combination of lemon sparkling water and ice, tipped a little heavily on the sparkling water side and lacking in zing. The papaya juice tasted smooth and decadently sweet.

The teriyaki beef-fry was well presented with a jasmine rice dome next to it. The sauce had an overly peppery taste to it and lacked the tangy-sweet and brackish flavor of a real teriyaki sauce, while the steamed rice is under seasoned and over cooked. The dish has ground to cover before it would live up to its name.

The lamb chops, served with grilled zucchini, potoato slices and red and yellow peppers had colour, but the presentation would have gone up a notch if the chops had been placed on top of the vegetables to add some dimension.

Fine dining Male' style
Fine dining Male' style

The orange sauce on the bottom added a bit of moisture to the utterly dry lamb chops, amusing given that the menu had a whole page explaining degrees of cooking meat. The shred of red cabbage sprinkled loosely on the plate added nothing to the dish and was a poor addition.

Thai chicken on skewers placed on top of steamed rice with more shreds of red cabbage came with a generous portion of pak choy. The chicken was tender and succulent, but the pak choy bathed in garlic was toothsome and a bit over cooked. The dish is a bit dry as there is little sauce to go with jasmine rice; this could have been a brilliant starter without the rice and pak choy.

Finally the moment we had been waiting for, the classic French dessert crème brulee arrived on the heels of Italian panna cotta.

It looks like the crème brulee needs more caramelising and more sugar. It was impossible to relive the moment in the famous scene of the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding, when Julia Robert’s character cracks open the caramelised crunchy sugar, exposing the creamy and smooth custard. Nevertheless it was full bodied and flavorsome, just lacking caramlisation, the essence of this dessert.

The panna cotta was presented neatly on a plate with drizzled chocolate sauce topped with a green cherry.

Tasty crème brulee
Tasty but not caramelised

The flavours were balanced in the cooked cream which is set with gelatin. The texture was a bit rubbery for a panna cotta; it should have just enough gelatin to hold its shape and should have wobbled a bit more on the plate.

Overall: bistro-style food with a fine-dining feel. The world’s many different tastes are served in this very promising restaurant, which holds a place among the best in town.

Aioli Restaurant

Food 7/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Value 6/10
Service 7/10
Total 7 /10

Fresh water melon juice – 25 Rf
Fresh Papaya Juice – 25 Rf
Home made lemonade – 40 Rf
Cajun Lamb chops – 150 Rf
Teriyaki beef stir-fry – 60 Rf
Thai chicken – 70 Rf
Crème Brulee – 55 Rf
Panna Cotta – 45 Rf

Aioli Restaurant is located beside Bank of Maldives Main Branch at Lotus Golhi. It is open from 9:30 am to midnight, on Fridays from 16:00 pm to midnight.

Naby Mariyam is a Le Cordon Bleu chef graduate, and works as a cookery trainer in Sydney, Australia.

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Yameen files civil court case against Thasmeen over debt collection

The civil court has confirmed that the leader of the People’s Alliance (PA) Abdulla Yameen has filed a court case against Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, the recently elected leader of PA’s coalition partner, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

The court said the case was regarding ‘debt collection’, but was unable to reveal the amount being sought. The case was filed on 31 Jan and the submission fee paid today, the court stated, adding that a judge would now be assigned to the case and a hearing scheduled.

Yesterday Yameen spoke to newspaper Miadhu claiming the elections process within the DRP was “not free and fair”, and that it was undemocratic that the party’s leader should be automatically selected without an election. Miadhu noted that Yameen’s own party had elected him as leader uncontested.

Yameen said today that the court case was “a civil case with no bearing on a political arrangement”. He said he “wished the coalition well” and did not want anyone “especially the media” to politicise the matter.

In late December Yameen denied that the relationship between the two coalition parties was strained, telling Miadhu that any problems within the coalition were the “wishful thinking” of the MDP.

DRP member Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef said while he assumed the issue of the court case between the two leaders would be discussed by the party’s council, “this issue does not concern me as a DRP member.”

“The bottom line is that Yameen has filed a case against Thasmeen, not that the leader of the PA has filed a case against the leader of the DRP. It has nothing to do with the parties.”

The coalition agreement, Mundhu noted, was “a parliamentary coalition agreement, not a fully-fledged coalition.”

He said he did not expect the court case to damage the public’s perception of the coalition, an alliance which gave the two parties a working majority in the 2009 parliamentary election.

“We just heard the headline, we’re not sure where its coming from, or why they felt the need to go ahead with a court case,” Mundhu said.

When the Congress meets later this month, “Thasmeen is going to be the leader – that’s basically a fact,” he noted.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom endorsed Thasmeen as his successor to the DRP leadership during a speech announcing his retirement from politics last week.

DRP spokesman Ibrahim Shareef said the court case “means nothing” and was furthermore “a private matter”.

Yameen’s comments regarding the fairness of the party’s selection of leadership were “his own private opinion”, Shareef stated, and as for the health of the coalition, “there are some difficulties but they are not major concerns.”

Spokesperson for the rival MDP party Ahmed Haleem Zaki speculated that the court case was “politically motivated.”

“Yameen wants to become a leader,” Haleem said. “He has a lot of experience during the last government and is a very qualified guy. He is very educated and has a good mind, and is very determined: he has played a sometimes very dirty role in politics. Thasmeen isn’t popular in the Maldives – he has 6-7 members in parliament, but a lot of financial problems.”

In November last year Thasmeen and several members of his family were questioned by police over issues raised during an audit of the Bank of Maldives (BML).

According to the report by Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem, loans totalling Rf1 billion taken out by Fonadhoo Tuna, a company owned by Thasmeen, and luxury yachting company Sultans of the Sea, connected to the party leader, had yet to see any repayments.

Together the loans accounted for 13 per cent of the total amount loaned by the bank in 2008. Naeem commented at the time that defaults on bank loans issued to “influential political players” could jeopardise the entire financial system of the country.

In early December the civil court ordered Sultans of the Seas to pay over Rf654 million (US$50 million) in unpaid loans, fines and accumulated interest to BML over the course of one year.

Thasmeen had not responded to Minivan News’ requests for comment at time of press.

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DRP MP Alhan Fahmy says he will join MDP “if I join a party”

Former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Alhan Fahmy has announced that if he becomes affiliated with another political party during this administration, “it will be the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).”

The MP for Seenu Feydho was suspended from the DRP after he voted against the party during a no-confidence motion against Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, after he elected to renew diplomatic ties with Israel.

The party’s disciplinary committee suspended Alhan from the party for six months and requested he apologise to DRP members, which he refused to do. He was threatened with expulsion if he failed to comply.

Today Alhan told Minivan News he believed the country was divided between two major political parties, “and all the others are paper parties.”

He said he was not currently a member of any party, but added that it would “not be long” before he joined one.

”I haven’t decided when, but I will be joining very soon,” he said.

Alhan said he had no interest in joining the DRP under “the current leader”.

Ahmed Thasmeen Ali was yesterday elected DRP leader by default after no one else in the party stood against him.

DRP spokesman Ibrahim Shareef said Alhan’s “excuses” for expressing interest in joining MDP were “not acceptable.”

“He is still a member of DRP. If he is jumping to MDP he is betraying his party members and the people of the country” he added.

MDP spokesman Ahmed Haleem said the MDP would “welcome Alhan into our party”, adding that the jump was “very close to happening.”

Haleem said that Alhan was the DRP’s “best politician.”

DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof said that he would be “very pleased” to see Alhan join MDP, because he had “betrayed the DRP.”

”If he jumps to MDP that would make him a political prostitute,” Mahloof said, noting that Alhan was currently not a member of the party.

DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom said that everyone “has the right to join any party”, but added that he did not want to comment on this particular case.

MDP MP Easa said the MDP would welcome Alhan to the party, if he chose to join, noting that Alhan “was one of the best performers in the parliament.”

”Our parliamentary group will be very strong if he joins,” Easa said.

MDP MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik said that Alhan would be a major loss to the DRP.

”If the DRP think jumping from one party to another is a bad habit, why did they accept Umar Naseer?” he asked.

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