Day: June 2, 2010

VP agreed to bring in Gitmo detainees, claims Reeko Moosa

Maldivian Democratic Party MDP parliamentary group’s leader MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik has claimed that it was Vice president of the Maldives, Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan who agreed to resettle Guantanamo Bay detainees in the Maldives.

Moosa further claimed that the government of United States has agreed to assist the Maldives to reinstate the government’s money which was allegedly taken by the former government and stored in bank accounts abroad.

He criticised the way parliament’s national security committee was operating.

”The national security committee works in a different spirit,” Moosa said, ”DRP [Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party] MP Ali Waheed has declined to explain how he became the recipient of confidential documents stolen from the government.”

Moosa said that the case of DRP MP Ali Waheed being the recipient of the documents should also be investigated by police.

”The penalty for his crime should be given according to the law,” he said. ”MDP will also investigate this case.”

He added when parliament starts its session, the MDP parliamentary group will propose a bill to prevent assaults and gang wars in Male’.

Vice President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan denied the claims made by MP Moosa Manik.

”I did not agree to resettle Guantanamo Bay detainees,” Dr Waheed said, ”But a [US official] I met during my visit to the States proposed the idea to me.”

Dr Waheed said that after he concluded his visit and returned to the Maldives, he had informed the Foreign Ministry of the issue.

”The Foreign Ministry did not respond to my request to give advice about how I would deal with the issue,” he said. ”I have no information on who agreed to bring in those detainees.’

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Nasheed ‘a national hero’, says Education Minister, explaining his move to MDP

Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfy, who recently joined the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) after resigning from the deputy leadership of coalition partner Gaumy Ihthihaadh Party (GIP), has described President Mohamed Nasheed as “a national hero.”

Dr Luthfy said he left GIP because he did not wanted to be a member of a party criticising President Mohamed Nasheed’s government.

”I would not want to criticise the government while I am a member of it,” Dr Luthfy said. ”In particular, I do not wish to remain in a gathering which criticises President Mohamed Nasheed.”

Dr Luthfy said that opposition parties were criticising the government because the current government was doing many things the former government could not do.

”Opposition parties are crititcising the current government because the current government is doing many things that the former government could not do to the people,” Dr Luthfy said, ”things like amendment of the national school curriculum, building harbors in many of the islands, providing ferry services and direct aid to the people through Madhana [a health scheme].”

Maldivian Democratic Party parliamentary group leader MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik recently called on any ministers who applauded when the government was criticised “to resign immediately.”

This was targeted at ministers present at a rally led by GIP, a party of which Dr Luthfy was a member and reportedly one of the people applauding its criticism.

Today Reeko said that the government’s senior posts “should be filled only with people who support the MDP manifesto and accept the President’s thinking.”

Right after the coalition agreement between MDP and GIP was terminated by MDP’s national council last Saturday, Dr Luthfy and Deputy Trade Minister Ahmed Inaz left the GIP to join the ruling MDP.

Dr Luthfy recently said he joined MDP not because he had been influenced or under threat of losing his job, but because he felt that it was “the best way to continue serving the people.”

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Alleged missionary departs with four Maldivians

Daily news paper Miadhu has reported that an alleged missionary named ‘Thomas’, has left the Maldives along with other four Maldivians who allegedly supported Christianity.

The newspaper reported that Thomas, during his times of stay in the Maldives, met with some Maldivians who supported Christianity.

“Anti-Islamic work is becoming widespread and people are concerned that it may spread further unless the responsible sources do enough to prevent it,” Miadhu said.

Miadhu reported that missionary activities are now “widely conducted” in the Maldives.

Correction: A previous version of this article translated Miadhu’s article as saying that “many people are concerned that religious unity among Maldivians is becoming weak”. Miadhu informed Minivan News that a more accurate translation is: “Anti-Islamic work is becoming widespread and people are concerned that it may spread further unless the responsible sources do enough to prevent it.”

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Government to return Maldivian detainees from Syria

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, speaking in a meeting at the Maldvian Democratic Party (MDP) headquaters, has announced that the government will return Maldivian detainees from Syria.

Dr Shaheed said that he would soon travel to Syria with the main purpose of releasing the Maldivian detainees from Syrian jails.

”The main reason of scheduled trip to Syria is to release the Maldivian detainees from prison,”  Dr Shaheed said. ”Hopefully, we can release these prisoners and bring them to the Maldives.”

He said the detainees had been kept there for a long time.

”We will bring them and hand over them to their parents,” he said.

He said the Foreign Ministry was a ministry which worked “in transparency making everything visible to the people”.

Speaking in the meeting, Dr Shaheed responded to claims made by the Peoples Alliances (PA) that the current government was trying “to please white people.”

”When the Maldives ran for a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council, 185 countries voted for us. Are they all white people?” questioned Dr Shaheed.

”Last week the United Arab Emirates (UAE) asked us if they could establish a Maldivian Embassy. Are they also all white people?”

Dr Shaheed did not mention who the detainees were or what they had been arrested for.

Spokesperson for the Foreign ministry Irushadha Abdul Sattar said the ministry was trying to return two Maldivians detained in two different prisons in Syria.

Irushadha said that the two men were detained in Syria due to drug related charges.

”one of them has been detained since 2003 and the other since 2008,” She said.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom said if the detainees were Maldivians and innocent people, “the government should not wait a single minute without helping them.”

”If there are innocent Maldivians detained anywhere the government should help them,” Dr Mausoom said.

The Maldivian government has recently announced that it will resettle two detainees from Guantanamo Bay jail, creating public outcry. President Mohamed Nasheed dismissed concerns and claimed it was a “humanitarian” act.

Parliament’s National Security Committee is now investigating the case of the detainees the Maldivian government allegedly agreed to bring in to the country, which some MPs claimed might disrupt the peace and sovereignty of the country.

Dr Shaheed and State Foreign minister Ahmed Naseem was on an official trip and was unable to get a comment, while the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair is on leave.

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Maldives condemns Israeli attack on aid flotilla

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned “in strongest possible terms” Israel’s act of aggression against a flotilla of ships attempting to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza

Israeli soldiers raided the flotilla of six vessels carrying 663 activists from 37 countries, which was intending to break Israel’s blockade and deliver aid into Gaza.

Nine people were reported killed aboard the main vessel MV Mavi Marmara during the assault in international waters, while up to 60 activists and 10 Israeli soldiers were injured. Surviving passengers have been detained by Israel.

The Maldives Foreign Ministry said the incident was “a clear act of aggression against civilians, especially civilians engaged in humanitarian work”, and called for an “immediate independent international enquiry so that the facts may be ascertained, accountability established, and justice secured for those who have tragically died, as well as their family and friends.”

“There can be no excuse for such violence, which represents a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and a step-back from universal humanist values,” the Ministry said, in a statement.

Yesterday the UN Security Council said it “deeply regrets” loss of life and injuries during the military operation, “and condemns those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians.”

The Security Council further stressed that “the situation in Gaza is not sustainable”, and Israel to provide “unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.”

“The only viable solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an agreement negotiated between the parties,” it said, claiming “that only a two-State solution, with an independent and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors, can bring peace to the region.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as “a clear case of self-defense”, reiterating that “Israel cannot allow the free flow of weapons, rockets and missiles to Hamas in Gaza.”

“We have no problems with the people of Gaza. We do have a conflict with the terrorist regime of Hamas, supported by Iran,” he said.

The Maldives Foreign Ministry denounced the blockade as “not only morally wrong as it inflicts unjustifiable harm on innocent civilians, but also short-sighted in that it breeds mistrust, animosity and hatred – exactly the emotions that led to this tragedy and to the perpetuation of the Middle East conflict.”

The Maldives joins many other international voices deploring Israel’s aggressive reaction, including Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia where President Mohamed Nasheed is currently visiting.

“The Australian government condemns any use of violence under the sorts of circumstances that we have seen,” Rudd said.

One Australian citizen was reportedly shot in the leg, while reknown Australian journalist Paul McGeough is among those currently detained by Israel.

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Minivan News rejects absurd Adhaalath allegations following DhiTV broadcast

Minivan News rejects absurd claims published on the Adhaalath Party website on May 30 that we are running “a campaign” against corporate support of a cultural event organised by Islamic NGO Jammiyyathu Salaf, ‘The Call’ 2010.

The Adhaalath Party fails to distinguish between ‘coverage’ and ‘support’ of an event, in this instance a letter-writing campaign by feminist group Rehendhi. Minivan News has no links to Rehendhi and this represents a leap in logic akin to suggesting that by covering a tsunami disaster, we are promoting tsunamis.

The Adhaalath Party further claims that Minivan News is conspiring with Rehendhi to promote “national sissyness” and “lesbian relations among women”.

Minivan News has translated and published these allegations in their entirety, allowing our readers to make up their own minds about these ridiculous and bizarre claims.

We also understand that as homosexuality is a criminal offence in the Maldives, such false allegations are strong grounds for a defamation suit.

We were disappointed to learn today that DhiTV has aired this Adhaalath Party statement without contacting Minivan News for comment. ‘Both sides of the story’ is a central tenet of journalism and Maldivians have a right to demand a higher standard from their news media.

Furthermore, Minivan News also rejects DhiTV’s echoing of the Adhaalath Party’s claims that we are connected to the current government.

This is due to frequent confusion with the now defunct Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) newspaper ‘Minivan Daily’, a confusion DhiTV is aware of but has seen no need to clarify.

Unlike most media outlets in the Maldives, Minivan News has no active links with the current government, former government or big business interests, and is entirely self-funded through banner advertising. This allows us to report fairly and impartially on all issues affecting the Maldives, without fear or favour.

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