Mission to save a Kimboo

As 30 odd students from Billabong High EPSS International school traipsed to Kudakudhinge Bageecha (children’s park) on the southeast side of Male, one might have thought they were on an outing for enjoyment.

But these students were on a mission. To save the crocodile, or ‘kimboo’ as they say in Dhivehi.

Grade eight student Shiman Shiyam had come to see the kimboo before. It is one of the major attractions at the park along with some birds in cages, and tortoises.

“It was sad to see it before also like that, but we never got a chance to do anything about it,” she says.

Shiman is busy painting a banner on the grounds of the park along with five other students, calling for the freedom of the kimboo.

Here and there pockets of students milling about preparing banners. From time to time, some go to take a peek at the kimboo.

The kimboo was caught off an island in Maldives in 1998. When it was first displayed in the little enclosure at the park, you could sometimes barely see it as it was so small the water at the enclosure could completely cover it.

But after 12 years in captivity it has grown to nine feet in length, and the water in the enclosure no longer even covers it. It can stretch its body, but the enclosure is too small for it now.

Billabong High School’s Biology Teacher, Kate Wilson, was out running with a friend when a detour in the park led them to discovering the crocodile.

Billabong students are on a mission to save the Kimboo, a nine foot crocodile
Billabong students are on a mission to save the Kimboo, a nine foot crocodile

“We were horrified by the size of the enclosure,” she says.

Calls were placed to Environmental protection Agency (EPA). The EPA told them that they had already tried to rescue the crocodile in conjunction with a Sri lankan outfit, to try and send it to a better place, “but for some reason it didn’t work out.”

Kimboo occasionally makes it into local media and even has his own Facebook page calling for his release, but so far nothing has eventuated.

Kate shared the story with her students, who were very keen to help and do what they could to begin the process of finding the crocodile a better home.

“We got in touch with an international agency in Australia, which rescues crocodiles that are injured or in bad conditions,” she says.  The agency is currently holding discussions to see if it is feasible to rescue the crocodile.

To encourage the agency to take action, today the students were making banners and producing a video with messages calling for support.

Shiman is confident kimboo will be rescued.

Aishath Suha, also in grade eight, says she volunteered for the operation ‘because I don’t want to see kimboo suffer.”

She points out the lack of space and says “it will be better off somewhere else in a better habitat.”

Like Shiman, Suha had also come to see the crocodile before and been concerned.

“This is all part of marking  World Environment Day, albeit belatedly,” says Billabong’s Principal, David Key.

Billabong High could not mark the day, as it fell on a holiday.

But now, as part of the activities, groups of students are planting 30 trees along the beach front area, and the beach near the tsunami monument.

“This is to create awareness among students about what they can do, and how they can help in contributing positively to preserving the environment,” says David.

Reasons for rescuing kimboo

Banners completed, the students gathered on the steps in the park. Each group of students gave the message they wanted to say for the video.

A group of young boys likened the kimboo’s captivity to “holding a person in a cage, through no fault of his own.”

Most students mentioned the small enclosure as the prime reason for wanting it to be rescued.

“It would be better off in a better home with others of its kind,” was another reason.

Sadly, after 12 years in captivity, the kimboo can most likely never be set free. But for the grade 7, 8, 9 and 10 students of Billabong, the fact it might get a better home is reason enough to try.

Meanwhile the kimboo lies in its enclosure, its powerful jaws wide open, oblivious to the fact that its future might soon change dramatically for the better.

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Gayoom to pursue defamation case against Miadhu, Hashim and Naeem over NYT article

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has confirmed he is pursuing legal action against newspaper Miadhu, after it reported that the New York Times had published a story containing allegations he embezzled US$400 million during his time in government.

Spokesman for Gayoom, Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, confirmed that Gayoom was also building a case against Finance Minister Ali Hashim, who was quoted in the NYT article, and former Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem, upon who’s 2009 report the article was largely based, as well as the proprietor and managing editor of Miadhu.

Contrary to earlier reports, Gayoom was not seeking to sue the NYT or the author of the article, Matthew Saltmarsh, Mundhu said.

“I think that’s been misinterpreted, we have no interest in Saltmarsh,” Mundhu said.

“We don’t know him but we’re sure he’s a good journalis, and the NYT is obviously reputed and widely circulated globally,” he said, adding that Gayoom’s response had been to send a letter the NYT editor.

Mundhu noted that according to the NYT article, the journalist Saltmarsh had claimed he attempted to contact Gayoom for his side of the story.

“Mr Gayoom was not in town, but has confirmed he received no calls, either to himself or his secretary,” Mundhu said. “I too was not in town, but my Maldivian mobile was switched on. Mr Saltmarsh says he could not get through, but there was not even an email or a message.”

Mundhu said he did not believe such an article was justified without a right of response, and that Gayoom had written to the NYT editor requesting a right of reply, or a correction.

“This is not the first time we’ve come across issue. We can only ask for the right to respond and the opportunity to put forward our point of view – our letter serves that purpose and there is no need to take Saltmarsh or the NYT to court.”

Mundhu said Gayoom was more concerned with the story being reported in the local media.

“We want to address [the matter of] the ruling party’s engineering of the article for political benefit,” he said.

The foundation of the NYT article was the former Auditor General’s report, he said, “and the Auditor General has been discredited – by the Anti-Corruption Commission, not just us. The report doesn’t stand to scrutiny.”

But he added that comments made by Finance Minister Ali Hashim in the NYT report did not come from the Auditor General’s report – “this US$400 million [alleged embezzlement] is something he’s conjured up in the Haruge (MDP headquarters),” Mundhu said.

“The issue is that whether as a former president or an individual, Mr Gayoom has rights, a family and a reputation to protect.”

Miadhu’s Managing Editor Abdullah ‘Gabbe’ Latheef said he would “be glad to go to court”, and that “already three international journalist associations have offered support and want to send observers to the hearings.”

“Until a court rules that the Auditor General’s report was fabricated, the media has a right to report it – it is a public document. Until then, the media can write about it five times daily if they wish,” he said.

Latheef added that he was looking forward to the opportunity the court case would provide to open the orginal audit reports to public review.

“Then everyone will understand where the US$400 million has come from,” he claimed. “Some people misunderstand the government budget – when you include the private-public companies, such as STELCO, Dhiraagu and MIFCO, US$400 million is nothing.”

Latheef said he believed the local media had done a “responsible job” in reporting the NYT story, “as the NYT is the number one newspaper in the world and is a credible source. There’s no obligation on us to clarify all the facts that the NYT has reported, because it is such a credible source. What about when the Israelis attacked the aid flotilla recently? Should we have gone to Israel to check all the facts for ourselves? No – we have to rely on credible sources, and the NYT is not an anonymous blog.”

“Gayoom is used to attacking people who speak out against him. They used to be taken to jail, now they are taken to court. Maybe one day he will invite them to coffee on the beach,” Latheef said, adding that “there are a lot of diplomats here who are very scared the media will die off because of threats like these.”

Speaking yesterday at the Commonwealth’s media development workshop, Attorney General Husnu Suood acknowledged that if an article was published in the Maldives, even if the source was from abroad, the onus was still on the particular journalist to prove its truth.

“But there are defences available,” Suood noted. “In the regulation on defamation there are certain defences – one is the the defence of truth. In this particular instance, if you are relying on figures given by the government’s Auditor General, then I think that might be a defense.”

Hashim had not responded to Minivan News at time of press.

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Commonwealth media development workshop concludes

Media in the Maldives is “now viewed as the fourth organ of the state” and “has an increasingly important role to play in protecting and preserving human rights in society,” President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, Ahmed Saleem, told assembled journalists at a media development workshop, a four day event organised by the Commonwealth.

“In fact, the media, as an independent observer with a social responsibility, should value and have knowledge of human rights, more than anyone else. It is therefore vital for the media, as a watchdog and voice of the public, to act in the name of human rights to establish a genuine democracy,” he emphasised.

However, “with rights also come responsibilities. Like any other freedom or right, we often see the freedom of press being abused and misused. For instance,false claims and accusations in complete disregard of the right to privacy, and reporting against the notion of innocent until proven guilty are matters for particular concern. Those operating media work are under a special duty of care and carry a unique social responsibility.”

Saleem was among several high-level speakers who spoke to the Maldives press pack, who included broadcast, radio, online and print reporters. Minister of Tourism Ahmed Ali Sawad also spoke to the journalists, as well as former Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed, and Attorney General Husnu Suood.

Communications Advisor to the Commonwealth Secretariat and organiser of the event, Geraldine Goh – herself a former practicing journalist – observed that many of the conversations were “pretty vibrant. When we first arrived many of the participants were quite timid and shy, and not very confident – many of them were very young with less than two years experience,” she noted.

“But I saw eagerless to learn, inquisitiveness and drive, which has to come from within.”

The course, led by veteran journalists Bhagman Singh and Jayandra Menon from Singapore, was intended “not just to teach, but also to learn and share mutual experiences,” Goh said.

Media in the Maldives was “very partisan”, she observed, and the workshop emphasised the importance of relying on the facts, reporting without bias, “and showing a conviction in the moral values of the media and a duty towards truth.”

“Media ownership” was one issued Goh said journalists needed to be aware of, with political leanings “filtering through to the newsroom.”

“Credibility is so important – if you lose credibility, you lose yourself,” she said.

Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, President of the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) which helped to organise the training event, acknowledged the political culture was something the media had to learn to understand and adapt to.

“The Maldives faces a difficult challenge in developing an independent media,” he said.

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EU confirms €6 million grant to boost governance

The EU will provide a €6 million grant to boost governance on top of an existing €4 million for areas including climate change and the fight against drug abuse.

“Additional contributions include a further €3.8 million from the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance Funds which has also been allocated towards the on-going climate change project,” the EU said in a statement.

The objective of the new funding for 2011-2013 was “to fight poverty and help the Maldives follow a sustainable growth path, in line with Maldives’ policy priorities,” the EU said.

“Thus, under the single focal sector of governance, in consultation with the Government of Maldives and other stakeholders, EU assistance may be directed towards the areas of environment, combat drug use or public administration (not excluding trade or economic regulations).”

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Maldives Stock Exchange certified carbon neutral

The Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) has claimed it is the first in the world to become ‘carbon neutral’.

The MSE says it has worked to measure and offset emissions caused by its use of energy, waste disposal, business travel and staff commuting.

The stock exchange worked with offsetting company The CarbonNeutral Company to measure total greenhouse emissions and offset it through the purchase of carbon credits.

CEO of the MSE Ibrahim Nasir said that by adopting a leading environmental position within the financial services arena, “we hope to encourage listed companies within the stock exchange to also take action for the impact of their carbon emissions.”

President Mohamed Nasheed has said the entire country will be carbon neutral by 2020.

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