World famous Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik and his family yesterday arrived in the Maldives.
Naik is scheduled to deliver sermons tonight at the Maafannu Stadium on the topic ”Misconceptions of Islam”.
Naik’s wife is also scheduled to deliver a sermon to women at the Islamic Centre.
Zakir Naik will depart on March 31.
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(0)Bangladeshi expatriates can help strengthen the cultural relationship between the Maldives and Bangladesh, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan said at a forum organised by the Bangladesh High Commission to the Maldives.
Dr Waheed said historically the Maldives had focused on Bangladesh’s economic input to the Maldives, “but should appreciate the cultural and human dimensions of Bangladesh’s rich culture.”
He noted that Bangladesh had one of the world’s most advanced civil society movements, from which the Maldives could benefit.
The forum marks the beginning of a cultural exchange programme between the two countries.
(0)Dislikes(0)A 52 year old man was found dead in the woods of Faresmaathodaa in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, after he was believed to have fallen from a coconut tree.
Miadhu reported that Ali Hussain Manik was found by other islanders at 6:00am this morning, nearby a rope used for climbing coconut trees and a carving knife.
The body was taken to the Faresmaathodaa Health Centre where the attending doctor concluded Manik had died on the May 23.
The Police are continuing to investigate the incident, Miadhu reported.
(0)Dislikes(0)A team of Commonwealth Election Observers have released a report claiming that the UK electoral system is corruptible “and open to fraud.”
While believing the recent UK election was undertaken in a free and fair manner, this was a success based on “trust” rather than “controls and deterrents.”
The observers suggested improving the identification of voters at registration and polling stations, better verification of postal ballots to close certain loopholes, centralisation of electoral roll records to prevent multiple registrations in more than one constituency, and more staff at polling stations to ensure people can vote in a timely manner.
This last issue caused widespread condemnation following the day of the election, with thousands of voters queuing outside venues turned away when the ballot boxes closed at 10pm. Many people in London reported waiting in lines for several hours, with many office workers struggling to vote in time.
(0)Dislikes(0)“The Maldives, once considered a liberal Islamic nation, has been increasingly adopting fundamentalist Muslim practices,” the Washington Times newspaper claimed yesterday.
The piece, which appeared in the paper’s diplomatic news column Embassy Row, noted that the Maldives has been “hosting Taliban terrorists from Afghanistan and breeding a youth attracted to Islamic jihad. Many analysts report that Maldivian young people have been recruited by Pakistani terrorists.”
“The US ambassador to the Maldives is discussing the possibility of transferring some terrorism suspects from the USmilitary prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the tropical island nation in the Indian Ocean, which some analysts say is a ‘paradise for Islamic radicalism’,” the newspaper claimed.
(0)Dislikes(0)Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Nihan has said that he has information that the Guantanamo Bay detainees have been brought to the Maldives secretly.
”I am 99.9 percent sure that they are here. The information I received on the issue was from senior officials of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who are very familiar with the case,” said Nihan.
Nihan said the absence of Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed from yesterday’s National Security Committee proved that there were “still hidden secrets behind the scenes.”
”If the government has not done anything unlawful and if they are so confident, why would they be so afraid to face the parliament and the people,” Nihan asked.
He claimed the government had kept the matter a secret ”but when the document was leaked the issue became heated and people became aware that this was happening.”
Nihan claimed that the Maldives was now at risk of becoming “a nest for terrorists.”
”When the country becomes a nest for terrorists, others will start hating us,” h said. ”Then we will see our little nation under attack by another country.”
He accused President Mohamed Nasheed of failing to disclose details of the case during his presidential radio address.
”He only briefly said that we should help the detainees in Guantanamo Bay, and urged the President of the United States to release the detainees and shut down the jail.”
Furthermore, Nihan claimed that the act of government could potentially disrupt the peace and sovereignty of the country, and claimed the Maldives may “turn into a terrorist hub.”
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem said the foreign ministry did not want to comment on the issue.
However, Press secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair denied the suggestion made by Nihan and dismissed it as ”all lies.”
Zuhair said that Nihans aim was to hype up the population.
”The President gave information about the Maldives accepting Guantanamo detainees last year on November 9, 10 and 11 during his official speeches,” Zuhair said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed has said the ministry yesterday asked police to investigate the case of leaked documents concerning Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Dr Shaheed said the documents consisted of unofficial communications to the Maldives government from the US government, and a document sent to the Attorney General’s office by the Foreign Ministry.
Dr Shaheed said the documents included an unofficial letter sent from the US to discuss how a legal framework could be established to bring in the detainees.
”The documents were sent to Parliament’s National Security Committee by an MP,” Said Dr Shaheed. ”MP Ali Waheed was the person who first spoke about these documents.”
Dr Shaheed said that the person who leaked the documents and delivered them to MPs was responsible for the act.
”The Maldivian government has not officially agreed to bring in the detainees,” he said. ”It is just at an early stage and a group of people who do not properly understand the matter are worried and concerned.”
Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed said the government’s desire to investigate the case was “stupidity and weakness”, ”as there are more concerning issues than the leaked document.”
Nasheed claimed to have seen the documents, summarising the communication in his blog and identifying it as an official diplomatic document sent by the US government to the Maldivian government.
”The government cannot take action against the person who leaked the documents,” said Nasheed. ”There is a law allowing people to inform others if an unlawful activity was going on inside the area in which he or she works, and according to that law, no action can be taken against that person.”
Nasheed said the letter to the AG from Foreign Ministry revealed that the government has already agreed to bring the Guantanamo Bay detainees in the country, but legal advice was needed on the matter.
”That was an official agreement and they are just pretending to make it an ‘early stage negotiation’,” Nasheed said.
He added that the document from the US government consisted of a list of things it believed had been been agreed by the Maldives, and was requesting confirmation.
”One of the leaked document gives information that the former inmate’s communication will be under surveillance and they cannot leave the Maldives,” Nasheed said.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the document was not leaked but was “deliberately stolen”.
Zuhair said anybody who stole the documents has causes “a lot of trouble” for the Maldives, by disrupting diplomatic relationships between countries.
”Now the US government may think that we deliberately leaked the document,” Zuhair said. ”The recipient should be aware that it is unlawful to have a leaked document of the government and should have clarified whether the document was the original before distributing it to everyone.”
Zuhair said the US government had approached the Maldives to handle two detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison.
”One of them was a man born in the West Bank,” he said. ”We do not have the information on the other person yet,”
He said the Maldives would be receiving “numerous benefits” for accepting the two detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison.
(0)Dislikes(0)CEO of the Bank of Maldives (BML), Ganesan Subramanyam, left the country on Sunday amidst an internal investigation by the Board of Directors concerning sexual assault.
A source familiar with the matter said the Indian national left as soon as the investigation started.
“He didn’t resign, didn’t tell anyone,” said the source.
“We knew someone complained that he was doing this,” he said, adding that this was the second complaint made by a female BML employee.
“The first girl complained to the assistant manager shortly after Subramanyam began working at the bank,” he said, but added “the story just vanished” shortly after the complaint. The employee is still working at the bank.
Subramanyam “took everything from his office, all his personal effects,” according to the source, and no one has heard from him since.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed today neither case has been sent to the police.
BML said a staff member had “reported to the Board alleging improper conduct on the part of the MD and CEO, Mr Ganesan Subramanyam, and the matter is engaging the priority attention of the Board.”
They added “the MD is outside the country” and “a decision about his employment status will be taken after completion of investigations.”
Chief Credit Officer, Ramesh Krishnan, has taken over Subramanyam’s post for the time being, and “normal business is being conducted.”
(2)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has warned the government that its plans to resettle Guantánamo Bay prisoners in the Maldives, and the recent Afghan peace talks that took place in the country, could “tarnish the prestigious name” Maldives has made for itself as a tourism destination.
“The association notes that the international media has been writing on the matter of bringing in the prisoners, who have been allegedly linked to severe inhumane crimes,” the association noted, adding that the BBC had described the government’s plan as “transforming a tourists’ paradise to a paradise for terrorists.”
Their concern was that tourist arrivals would decline due to the international perception of the country, creating a devastating domino effect in the country’s tourism industry.
Furthermore, they said “bringing Guantánamo Bay prisoners will badly affect the tourism industry and so this association calls on the government not to do anything that would pave the way for such a thing.”
MATATO board members have been planning a meeting on the issue this week, but it has been postponed twice due to several members being out of the country.
Secretary General of MATATO, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, said they did not have quorum to hold the meeting yesterday, but are trying to gather enough members to hold it as soon as possible.
He told Minivan News yesterday “we are meeting regarding the Afghan talks, which is quite a sensitive issue.”
Board and council member of MATATO, Sharif Ibrahim, said whether or not the recent events will have a negative impact on the tourism industry in Maldives “is all about how you see things.”
Referring to the Afghan peace talks, he said the international community “might see us as a loving, peaceful country. Somebody had to step in and help. Some people will see this as a good thing.”
As to the resettlement of Guantánamo Bay prisoners, he said “it may have a negative effect,” but added everyone must keep a “broad mind” before jumping to conclusions.
“I haven’t seen any bad reactions yet,” he said, “I don’t think it will have a bad impact. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Although MATATO have voiced their concern, other associations are not so worried about the Maldives’ reputation, or its effect on the tourism industry.
Maldives Resort Workers posted an article on their blog titled ‘Gitmo resettlement will NOT damage Maldives’ reputation’.
In the article, they repeatedly argued that MATATO’s concerns of the resettlement of Guantánamo Bay detainees and the recent Afghan peace talks are exaggerated views, and are sure that neither issue will have a negative effect on the industry.
They gave several reasons back up their argument, saying that resorts in the Maldives are usually visited by “high spenders” who “generally have their heads with them. So they could not possibly be unaware of world politics or ramifications of it.”
They also argue that Guantánamo Bay detainee centre is “not a terrorist camp or training ground for terrorists,” and they support US President Obama’s bid to close it down. They also added that, “this time, the president [Mohamed Nasheed] is correct. Absolutely correct to ZERO decimals without error.”
The article further reads the opposition parties in the country are “taking advantage of the ignorance of the masses to gather support,” and they have applauded President Nasheed for refusing to answer journalists’ questions at a press conference last week.
“In this case,” it continued, “the opposition is using media to the hilt to discredit a rather commendable move by the president.”
They add that MATATO members are “just individuals who make a life selling package holidays to unwary tourists” and they are “the most worker unfriendly people who works [sic] in the tourism industry.”
The Maldives Association for Tourism Industry (MATI) did not wish to comment on the issue, because “we don’t want to lend anything to either side of the argument.”
The government has sustained any prisoners resettled in the Maldives would be first cleared of any criminal charges, and have repeatedly assured “they are not terrorists” and the transfer is “purely humanitarian.”
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ali Sawad, did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.
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