Category: Politics

Independent MP contests government agreement with GMR over ADC

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed has said the government is circumventing the Civil Court’s ruling against a US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) by agreeing to deduct the anticipated revenue of US$25 million from GMR’s concession fee.

Nasheed also contends that the government has not breached its contract with GMR, but rather that the contract was breached by outside forces.

The minority Opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) has also announced that it will investigate the recent amendment to the government’s contract.

GMR was set to collect US$25 from all passengers departing on international flights starting January 1, 2012. The expected revenue was to cover certain costs for the development of Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

According to Nasheed, any agreement between the government and GMR will not undo the Civil Court’s ruling against the ADC. He argued that the court ruling rendered the clause allowing for an ADC null and void.

“That’s the only decision that interprets or explains the local law at the moment, and it has not been overturned, it has not been struck down by a superior court, therefore that is the position. You can’t circumvent it by deducting receivables from GMR,” said Nasheed.

“Now, the only viable option for the government would be to amend the legislation, allow for the GMR or any other party to collect ADCs or these kind of taxes in future, and then bring the GMR issue within the legislation as an amendment,” he said, adding that an amendment to the law would protect the government from incurring losses to ensure a base line of revenue for GMR.

A related bill is currently awaiting Parliamentary review in March. Nasheed understood that the ADC would be collected by the government only three times per year, yet “it is only January 10 and already the government is trying to make this agreement and circumvent the court decision.”

Meanwhile, the government is also awaiting the High Court’s verdict on the Civil Court case, which was appealed in December. Nasheed said a contract cannot be revised while it is before a court.

Previously, members of the government including President Mohamed Nasheed have expressed firm support for the contract with GMR. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of a new terminal construction project at INIA, the President said the Maldives was “200 percent” behind the contract, while Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair yesterday stated, “it should be a matter of pride and joy for any Maldivian to help with the development of their airport.”

DQP previously voiced strong opposition to the deal with GMR, filing a case at the Civil Court and releasing a booklet entitled “Handing the Airport to GMR: The beginning of slavery.”

In MP Nasheed’s opinion, however, the government has allowed itself to be bullied into a compromise of terms.

The agreement implies that the government has taken responsibility for the ADC as stipulated in the original contract with GMR. If the ADC is charged for the duration of the 25-year contract, the government could potentially be facing a total payment of US$625 million for GMR’s investment of US$400 million in the airport project.

“The government gets peanuts at the end of the day,” Nasheed said.

“My argument to the government would be, Maldives government too must have gotten into this relationship based on certain calculations. Why should the Maldivian government suffer their calculations to keep GMR’s calculation unaffected by the court decision, over which the government has no control?”

Addressing the matter in a press statement yesterday, the Ministry of Finance claimed that the contract between GMR and the government would be violated in the event that GMR could not collect a stated fee. Therefore, the government had breached its contract.

The ministry did express support for the government’s recent agreement, however, stating that any damages should be deducted from GMR’s concession fee due the government.

Expressing shock at the Ministry of Finance’s statement, Nasheed clarified his intent to defend the government from the ministry’s first point.

“I would like to defend my government and say that the government did nothing on its own or within its control to breach an agreement. They have allowed certain charges to be made based on an opinin of the Attorney General that that charge was permissible under Maldivian law. Now, the Civil Court has said otherwise, and the government has not done anything to breach the contract. It’s a frustrating event that’s happened outside the contract and the government won’t take any responsibility for that.”

Nasheed today said he understood that a only small fraction (12 to 15 percent) of internationally-bound travelers leaving INIA are Maldivians.

“If the ADC was allowed, the burden of payment would have been born by international passengers, and only 12 percent Maldivians. And the government won’t have to bear any burden because the fee would be collected directly from passengers by GMR,” he said, reiterating that under the current arrangement the government would be paying revenue to GMR.

Minivan News asked whether exempting Maldivians from the ADC could put the matter to rest.

Nasheed believed exemption could improve the situation, and added that parliamentarians have discussed exemptions for Maldivians traveling to SAARC countries.

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‘Gold-digger clause’ bans Maldivian women from marrying foreigners who earn less than US$1000 pm

The Family Court has published regulations requiring that foreign men applying to marry Maldivian women must earn at least Rf15,000 (US$972) per month.

“We have been acting on this for a while. This has attracted public attention only because we announced the regulations this year,” said Ahmed Abdullah, Marriage Registrar at the Family Court.

The regulation stipulates that a foreigner has to earn at least Rf15,000 and submit written proof of his salary if he is employed by the government, or submit six months of bank account statements if he is working in the private sector.

Abdullah explained that this applies only to foreign men and not to foreign women wishing to marry locals, “as it is the man who has to support his wife.”

“It is mostly women who are victims when a mixed marriage like this goes wrong,” Abdullah said.

Maldivian men do not have to earn the minimum amount to get married: “A local man has a home or a family to turn to, whereas if you are a foreigner you have to rent a place so we have taken that into account when drafting the regulations.”

The court has heard cases in which the foreign man has walked away with the local woman’s money and jewelry, he said.

“When a man does not earn enough he will be desperate, and some men marry local women for ease of life. We had a case where a local woman came out of her shower to find her jewellery missing, and later that her Bangladeshi husband had fled the country with it.”

Abdullah says that even when marriages take place abroad between a foreign man and a local woman, it was often the woman who came in to register the marriage.

“We have cases where the woman comes in for the registration, does not have supporting documents, and when we ask the foreign man to come he does not turn up. A man can easily walk away from a marriage,” he said.

To counter this, the regulation for registering marriages abroad also states that if the marriage takes place in a country that has a Maldivian embassy, the embassy has to stamp a document stating that the marriage was conducted by a person or group that has been authorised by the host country to conduct Muslim marriages: “This way there is additional supporting document by a government authority.”

The regulations also specify that based on “certain factors” the marriage registrar can give permission for those under 18 to get married.

“This also has been practised for a while. In very rare cases we have allowed those under 18 to get married,” Abdullah said.

The marriage registrar has the authority to grant permission for those under the legal age of 18 to marry, after taking into consideration factors such as their physical and mental health, police records, and the view of the guardians or parents.

“We will get a medical doctor’s opinion on the physical health of those concerned, and we ask for police reports so that the person and parents in question can make an informed decision,” Abdullah explained.

The reason why a person under 18 wanted to get married is also taken into consideration.

“If they say they are in love, that is not necessarily a good reason to grant the marriage, as children in Grade 6 and 7 also think they are in love sometimes,” he said. “They have to be in a position to realise what marriage is.”

Abdullah would not say what a good reason was, stating only that “we will take it case by case and this is something we grant rarely.”

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Government agrees to amend GMR fee while rooting for ADC

The government has agreed to deduct expected revenue from the US$25 (Rf385.5) Airport Development Charge that was to be charged from passengers departing on international flights from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) from GMR’s concession fee to the Maldives government.

The agreement is subject to change according to a verdict from the High Court in a related case, and the passage of a bill currently before Parliament.

GMR’s request that the amount be deducted from its concession fee to the government was made to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) last week, and approved following discussions between the Finance Ministry and the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).

MACL officials did not respond to phone calls at time of press.

The ADC was to be charged after midnight on January 1, 2012, however the Maldives’ Civil Court blocked the fee on the grounds that it is essentially the same as a pre-existing Airport Services Charge (ASC) of US$18 for foreigners and US$12 for locals above two years of age.

Citing a contractual obligation with GMR, the government subsequently appealed the case to the High Court, where it is currently awaiting a verdict.

Having received nearly 1 million tourist arrivals in 2011, the government and GMR expected the ADC would generate US$25 million in revenue towards the current renovation of INIA.

Although the expected revenue is said to include fees charged from foreigners and Maldivians traveling abroad, it appears that at US$25 apiece the nearly 1 million tourists alone would meet the revenue needs stipulated in GMR’s original agreement.

President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair informed Minivan News that the notion of exempting Maldivians from the ADC had been raised in meetings, but rejected on the grounds that such an exemption would not generate the necessary revenue.

“The government and GMR have calculated to assure that shareholders and banks are properly recompensed,” he explained. “It should be a matter of pride and joy for any Maldivian to help with the development of their airport.”

Economic Development Minister Mahmoud Razee did not believe the deduction of ADC revenue from the concession fee would impact airport development.

“The government agreed to GMR’s request because the numbers were calculated accordingly” to ensure that the project was not compromised, he said.

Razee added that the agreement is only temporary.

“The government is working through the courts and the Majlis [Parliament] to find a resolution,” he said, affirming that the government continues to favor an ADC.

“When the IFC (International Finance Corporation) did the sums it took as part of the income the ADC revenue,” he explained. “Maldives receives a couple million passengers coming and going every year, but if you compare it to a place like Singapore which transits 30 to 40 million passengers a year, and you need to ensure that you are getting an internal rate of return satisfactory to the investor, you need to adjust that rate.

“So we are trying to maintain a good rate of return for the government and the airport,” he explained.

The matter is being addressed at the parliamentary level in an Amendment of Collection of Airport Tax (international travelers) Act 7/78 Bill. However, Parliament is in recess until March.

GMR previously noted that the payment of a development fee was “a common concept in many airports globally”, particularly as a part of concession agreements where airports are privatised.

“The reason for the inclusion of ADC in many global concession agreements is to address the funding needs to meet the investment model required to upgrade and develop new airport facilities at significant costs,” GMR stated.

The company further claimed that the charge was included in the concession fee proposed between GMR and the government in 2010.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for INIA’s new terminal on December 19, President Nasheed said he wished to assure GMR that the government was “200 percent behind your contract, and every single other contract the government has signed with any other foreign party in this country. Not just contracts signed by our government, but also contracts that any ruler of the Maldives has signed with any party. We will honour it.”

GMR’s 25 year concession agreement to construct and manage a new US$400 million terminal (to be competed in 2014) is the single largest foreign investment in the history of the Maldives.

Meanwhile, in April India’s Supreme Court ruled against the charging of airport development fees which are not approved by India’s Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). However Delhi airport, developed by GMR, continued to charge the fee as GMR had obtained permission to collect the sum in 2010.

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Elections Commission “has damaged the people’s trust in me”: Gayoom

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom slammed the Elections Commission (EC) President Fuad Thaufeeq, following a letter forwarded by the commission, requesting Gayoom clarify his claim that “election results do not turn out the way people vote”.

“Fuad misinterpreted my words,” Gayoom alleged in his response letter to the EC on Sunday night. “By claiming that I spoke in an irresponsible manner, [Fuad] has damaged the people’s trust in me”, he continued.

He also defended the remarks, pointing out that he did not say that the results do not turn out the way people want “because of the Election Commission’s actions”.

Gayoom made the remarks at a meeting of opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) on Thursday, after reiterating the PPM interim council’s decision advising against MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla’s intention to resign and contest for the Laamu Fonadhoo seat on a PPM ticket.

“I know that if he resigns he will be re-elected on a comfortable majority on a PPM ticket,” Gayoom said. “I don’t doubt that at all. However, we know the state of affairs in the country right now – election results do not turn out the way people vote. So what are we going to do?”

Following the remarks, the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) released a statement condemning Gayoom’s remarks, contending that it was an attempt to “bring the Elections Commission, an independent institution, into disrepute, turn the public against it and plunge the nation into a pit of discord and conflict.”

The statement noted that former Elections Commissioners were directly appointed by Gayoom while island chiefs “hovered around ballot boxes.”

The EC also conceded that Gayoom’s remarks damaged the people’s confidence in the institution.

Fuad Thaufeeq told Minivan News on Sunday that the commission was “shocked” to hear the remarks and wanted to understand the reasons as to why Gayoom made such a claim.

In its letter, the EC asked Gayoom whether he had made the remarks because vote rigging was involved during his 30-year tenure as the President.

Fuad noted that the comments implying vote rigging have “provided reason for people to look at the commission with doubt” as it came from the former President, who has many supporters and currently leads the third largest political party in Maldives. “That is why we wanted him to clarify the claims”, says Fuad.

Meanwhile, in a press statement issued by PPM, the party claimed that the commission has not taken action against the people who have disgraced the commission’s integrity in the past.

Referring to the letter sent to Gayoom, PPM alleged that the EC’s actions imply that the commission is getting “personal” with PPM.

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Raajje TV runs footage of Sheikh Shaheem and alleges sex scandal

Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, chief spokesperson of the religious Adhaalath party and former State Islamic Minister, has been accused of sexual misconduct in a video broadcast by local media Raajje TV, in which he is seen speaking with a figure in a hijab before leading her through a doorway.

“The video shows Shaheem with a woman who is not his wife, talking and holding hands and going into a bedroom,” said Raajje TV’s Assistant News Editor Dhanish Nasheed.

When Minivan News expressed doubt that it could be accurately concluded that the room was a bedroom, Nasheed claimed that the corner of a bed was visible in the video.

Nasheed said Raajje TV obtained the video from the video-sharing website Daily Motion, however it has since been removed from that site.

Broadcasting the video as evidence of a “sex scandal”, Raajje TV claimed the station could not release further footage in the interest of public decency. Today media was speculating that the woman in the video was the daughter of a senior member in the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), however her face was not visible in the footage.

Although the only identifying features visible in the video were a profile of the woman’s nose, her watch and a white-cased phone, Raajje TV claimed she was not a wife of Shaheem.

Local media Haveeru reported the alleged scandal on January 7, but the story was removed within an hour of its publication online.

Shaheem has spoken several times to the media in recent weeks expressing Adhaalath’s discontent over the government’s reaction to demands made by religious protesters on December 23, 2011.

Asked whether the tape might be a set-up engineered for political purposes, Dhanish Nasheed insisted that it was not a set-up and that the station believed “something was definitely going on.”

In the video, currently available on Raajje TV’s YouTube channel, a camera at hip-level captures Shaheem speaking with a woman in a black hijab. Aside from her phone, watch and black bag, as well as a brief profile of her nose, no identifying features of the woman are visible during the film.

Shaheem smiles throughout the meeting, raising his eyebrows a few times in a playful fashion, and the two check their respective phones.

At one point the girl is directed to a water bottle behind the camera. The camera moves when she rises to take the bottle.

The meeting concludes when Shaheem takes the girl’s hand while circling around to sit next to her, just behind the camera’s view. The footage of the two holding hands appears to have been repeated several times, implying a longer grasp.  The two subsequently rise and leave the room.

Shaheem, who has been identified as one of the world’s top 500 Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, told Minivan News he would issue his comment on the matter at a later date.

“I do not wish to comment on matters regarding my private life while I am waiting for evidence. I will issue my comment when the time is appropriate,” he said.

Shaheem indicated that his work with Adhaalath Party has not been interrupted.

Police officials did not wish to comment.

In early 2011 a series of sex scandal videos were released implicating members of Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and the former Cabinet Secretary.

A police investigation was launched in response to the videos and several arrests were made, including minors. They have since been released, however the cases have not yet been prosecuted as the investigations are ongoing.

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Elections Commission demands Gayoom explain allegations of “vote rigging”

The Elections Commission (EC) has forwarded a letter to the Former President Maumoon Abdul requesting he clarify his claim that “election results do not turn out the way people vote”, as the remarks have raised public concerns over the commission’s integrity.

Elections Commission President Fuad Thaufeeq said on Sunday that the commission was “shocked” to hear the remarks and wanted to understand the reasons as to why Gayoom made such a claim.

Fuad said that the comments implying vote rigging have “provided reason for people to look at the commission with doubt” as it came from the former President, who had many supporters and currently leads the third largest political party in Maldives.

“So we have sent a letter to Gayoom today requesting he clarify his remarks” Fuad said.

Gayoom made the remarks at a meeting of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) on Thursday, after reiterating the PPM interim council’s decision to advice against MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla’s intention to resign and contest for the Laamu Fonadhoo seat on a PPM ticket.

“I know that if he resigns he will be re-elected on a comfortable majority on a PPM ticket,” Gayoom said. “I don’t doubt that at all. However, we know the state of affairs in the country right now – election results do not turn out the way people vote. So what are we going to do?”

Under parliamentary rules of procedure, only parties that contested and won parliamentary elections can be officially represented in parliament.

He added that PPM would be officially recognised by parliament when it resumes in March.

MDP

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meanwhile released a statement yesterday condemning Gayoom’s remarks, contending that it was an attempt to “bring the Elections Commission, an independent institution, into disrepute, turn the public against it and plunge the nation into a pit of discord and conflict.”

The statement noted that former Elections Commissioners were directly appointed by Gayoom while island chiefs “hovered around ballot boxes.”

Speaking at the MDP headquarters Haruge last night, President Mohamed Nasheed recalled that he was jailed for two years under the previous government for writing about alleged election fraud in a Sri Lankan newspaper.

Nasheed explained that the article pointed out irregularities in the results for a parliamentary election contested by current Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed and former minister Ilyas Ibrahim, brother-in-law of President Gayoom.

In another election where Nasheed contested a seat in parliament in the late 1990s, “after the ballot box was kept in [presidential retreat] Aarah for three days, the results were announced with 300 votes between myself and [former minister] Abdulla Kamalludeen.”

Under the former government, Nasheed continued, there were cases where “more than double the population was supposed to have voted” and “people whose death had been confirmed was said to have voted.”

PPM rally

At Thursday night’s rally, Gayoom urged supporters to intensify efforts to double party membership ahead of its inaugural national congress in April.

While the EC currently lists the number of PPM members as 13,859 as of December 25, Gayoom revealed that the party was in the process of correcting administrative errors in forms returned by the commission, adding that “the true number of PPM members is over 20,000.”

PPM “is the future of the Maldives,” Gayoom continued, as it is the only party that could foster national unity and “get rid of the conflict, discord and enmity among the people.”

“Our only purpose now, and the focus of all our thought and capabilities, should be winning next year’s presidential election,” he said.

A PPM government would restore national unity, revive the spirit of working together and ensure economic prosperity, Gayoom said.

“Our government will not be one that takes revenge or offers opportunity to only certain people,” he continued. “[Our government] will not defame persons for political ends and expose them in parliament and media. Our government will not give over state assets and property to foreigners. Our government will serve the public in line with Islamic principles and through the democratic process.”

The number of days left “for the formation of this government” is now “765 days,” he said.

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Piracy threat prevents passenger line from leaving Maldives

An American luxury passenger line en route to the Seychelles is stranded in the Maldivian waters due to “piracy risk”, while the passengers depart to the Seychelles through airline flights.

Secretary General of Maldives Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA), Mohamed Ali, told Minivan News on Sunday that the passenger line had arrived on December 29 and was scheduled to leave the same day after a brief stop near Male’.

However, he said the cruise captain had decided not to leave with the passengers on board due to “security reasons”, as there have been several attacks by pirates near the Seychelles.

“To avoid the risk, the 67 passengers on board were taken to Seychelles via Qatar Airways and Emirates last week,” Ali said.

As the passenger line is subjected to a daily fee of US$600 as long as it stays in Maldivian waters, he continued, “we are trying to send off the passenger line as soon as possible.”

He noted that the crew is taking the necessary security measures to ensure safety from a possible pirate attack.

“There are some maritime security companies which provide security to large cruises or shipping vessels like these. So the passenger line is arranging security before departure,” he said.

Pirate activity is predicted to be higher during November to February, with the increased number of cruise ships and yachts travelling this time of the year, according to Ali.

Meanwhile, due to increase in the pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean and the frequent encounters with Somali castaways in Maldivian territory, maritime experts have speculated that the piracy threat is growing in Maldives.

However, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has steadily countered that the country’s territorial waters have not come under direct attack from piracy originating in Somalia.

MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem earlier told Minivan News that despite small vessels originating from Somalia washing up in the Maldives’ territorial waters – often with engineering problems – no reported attacks or activities linked to piracy were believed to have occurred in the country.

According to the Foreign Ministry, 37 Somali “castaways” are under police custody and are waiting for repatriation. They had been joined by three other Somalis, discovered last month on board a small dinghy drifting near Gaaf Alifu Atoll.

Potential pirate threats remain a major problem in ensuring the security of the archipelago, which depends on tourism for as much as 90 percent of its economy.

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Former DRP councillor wins Filladhoo council by-election on MDP ticket

Dismissed Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) councillor for Haa Alif Filladhoo, Adam Inaz, regained his seat on a ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ticket in Saturday’s by-election.

Inaz was dismissed from his post after being expelled from the DRP for voting against the party line in a no-confidence motion against DRP councillor Mohamed Vijan, chair of the Filladhoo island council.

An opposition-sponsored second amendment to the Decentralisation Act passed in December 2010 stipulates that councillors elected on a party ticket must remain a member of the party or be stripped of the seat.

According to provisional results announced by the Elections Commission (EC) last night, Inaz received 331 votes (55.7 percent) to DRP candidate Mohamed Jameel’s 263 votes (44.3 percent). Of 674 eligible voters, 598 cast their ballots.

Saturday’s win secures a majority of the five-member council to the ruling party, which also won by-elections last week for two Shaviyani Milandhoo constituency atoll council seats and one Alif Alif Mathiveri island council seat.

On November 19, MDP won by-elections for a Faafu Bilehdhoo atoll council seat and Alif Alif Himandhoo island council seat while a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) member won the mid-Fuvahmulah atoll council seat.

Popular mandate

MDP meanwhile celebrated the victory last night with short-eats and the traditional rice pudding at its Haruge headquarters, where President Mohamed Nasheed attended and addressed supporters.

Elections in a democratic system reveal the extent of public approval of the government and its policies, Nasheed said.

In the first multi-party elections of the past four years, Nasheed noted, MDP’s share of the vote in Filladhoo rose from 20 percent in the first round of the presidential election of October 2008 to 46 percent in the local council elections of February 2011.

The MDP candidate for the Kelaa constituency which includes Filladhoo lost by 20 votes in the 2009 parliamentary elections, he continued, of which MDP won 31 percent of the popular vote.

Nasheed went on to lay out the MDP’s election returns in detail: 44,293 votes in the first round in 2008 (25 percent); 51,176 votes in 2009 (31 percent); and 61,661 in 2011 (44 percent).

“In my view, we now have a comfortable majority, a very good majority in a democracy -that is we are now [governing] with the consent of above 55 percent to our party, our government and our policies,” he claimed.

President Nasheed also referred to a protest by a group of Filladhoo islanders during his visit on December 24.

The protest leader addressed the President’s delegation with a megaphone “from the time we arrived till we went to the office,” Nasheed recounted, adding that he was “very pleased after seeing that as it’s been a while since I’ve seen a megaphone.”

While the incident was reported in local media, Nasheed argued that that “the people’s decision” was not “based on news headlines”.

“Two TV stations and two or three newspapers are constantly, relentlessly, criticising the government,” he said. “And sometimes the criticism goes beyond bounds.”

However, he contended, “the receptiveness of the message” on opposition-aligned media is diminished due to glaring contradictions “between what you can see for yourself and what you hear on TV.”

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Petrol bombs launched into MDP Haruge

Two petrol bombs landed inside ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Haruge (headquarters) around midnight last night, January 7. MDP activists allege that the culprits were paid recruits of opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Police were called to the scene where they spoke to activists then inside the headquarters. Police officials today said the incident was minor, involving a few “bottles with petrol”, and that there was no confrontation.

No arrests have been made, and there is no investigation.

MDP activist Mohamed Areef described the incident to Minivan News.

“Some activists were just sitting near the wall of the haaruge, talking and playing chess. Then one bomb landed from over the wall, and I ran. Next another bomb was thrown just inches from my head.”

Areef said one man had sustained burns to his ankle, but that the injury was minor.

Areef noted that opposition PPM had held a gathering on January 5, and he was “quite sure [the attack] was planned by PPM. The party probably paid some people to do it.”

According to Areef, MDP will not retaliate.

PPM Spokesperson Ahmed Mahlouf denied that the party had any involvement in the matter.

“We have no interest in taking MDP Haruge, and we definitely do not support violence as a way of addressing issues,” he said.

Mahlouf added that the party had not held discussions regarding MDP “for two, three days”, and had no reason to launch petrol bombs into the ruling party’s headquarters.

“We are shocked to hear the news, and to hear that the blame has been put on us,” he said.

The incident follows several weeks of political controversy over demands made during a religious protest on December 23, in which PPM members and leaders joined six other opposition parties and religious NGOs in a call for stronger Islamic policies at the government level.

In response to these demands, the government ordered that all resort spas be closed and announced it was considering a ban on pork and alcohol. The first resorts to experience these effects were those owned by Jumhooree Party Leader and MP Gasim Ibrahim, the owner of Villa Hotels. Gasim subsequently sued the government over the matter.

Meanwhile, PPM argued that the demands against the sale of alcohol did not refer to the 100-plus resorts currently operating in the Maldives. However, going along with the high-stakes game of chicken the party announced that it would support the government’s suggestion to ban pork and alcohol provided “it has the courage” to do so.

Last week, the government requested a “consultative opinion” from the Supreme Court over the legality of selling pork and alcohol in a nation whose constitution is based on Islamic Sharia. Twenty-four hours later the government announced it was lifting the ban on spa operations in order to protect business interests while the court deliberates the matter.

The Judicial branch of the Maldives has been widely labelled as a remnant of the former regime, which appointed all of the current judges. A majority of the judges have little or no legal training, and have not been educated beyond grade seven. This year, MDP activists requested international support over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

Speaking at a press conference last week, President Mohamed Nasheed credited the spa controversy for having “woke the nation from its slumber and sparked a healthy national debate about the future direction of the country”.

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