The 1915 disaster at Kudarikilu

In 1915 World War I was in full swing, but the people of the Maldives were continuing simple lives in relative peace and security.

But, the peace of Kudarikilu, a small island in Baa Atoll, was shattered when local fishermen found an unusual object floating in the sea.

Abu Bakuru Mohamed, a judge at Baa atoll Kendhoo, recalls the stories his old friend Mohamed Manik had told him about the incident.

“Mohamed Manik was alive in 1915, and he saw the events that unfolded on Kudarikilu,” recalls Abu Bakuru.

According to Manik, it was a clear Thursday and fishing vessels from Kudarikilu and Kendhoo were out on a nearby channel.

“The Kendhoo dhoni got a call from the Kudarikilu people, they said ‘we found something, come help us.'”

The round object with the “silver skin” was in fact a drifting contact mine. During World War I, many countries protected their shores by dumping a plethora of naval mines. These were cheap and deadly. Often, floating mines would break away from their moorings and drift with the currents: a disaster waiting to happen, as many of these mines could stay active for years.

Normally, foreign objects would have been taken to the atoll office, but since the weekend was Thursday and Friday and the atoll office was closed, the fishermen decided to tow it back to Kudarikilu.

The crew brought the mine ashore near the eastern side of the island, where all the vessels were moored. Rolling it onto the beach, they left it there.

The next morning, the people of Kudarikilu went about their usual routine and in the afternoon went to Friday prayers.

Manik recalled that in the afternoon, the people went down to move one of the dry docked dhonis back into the water.

In many Maldivian islands, people gather to witness and lend a hand in this process. While down at the beach people also gathered to investigate the strange metal device.

“A young man, started playing with the screws and prodded it with a stick,” says Abu Bakuru.

All of a sudden there was a massive commotion as the mine started to smoke, he said, and it then started spinning and partially dug itself into the sand.

People moved in closer to investigate when it exploded with an almighty bang, sending a massive shock wave through the island.

“There was a massive explosion, it was terrible, there was bits of body everywhere, skin was plastered onto the coconut palms, people even found fingers all the way across the other side of the island.”

Abu Bakkuru recalls people on Kendhoo telling him about the loud bang. Even the island of Kendhoo, which lies four miles off Kudarikilu, felt the explosion.

“People told me of a huge plume of smoke that followed the explosion,” recalls Abu Bakuru.

Over the years the story has had many different versions, while the death toll varies with every telling.

According to Manik, 60 people lost their lives in the incident. Naval mines from that period carried up to 80 kilograms of explosives, and were designed to rip the hulls off massive iron clad ships.

However, Kudarikilu Councilor Hassan Firaaj says according to reports only seven to nine people died.

Immediately after the explosion, fishermen from Kendhoo instantly knew it must have been something to do with the object they found on Thursday.

“That silver ball they found exploded, I am sure of it!” one of the Kendhoo fisherman immediately claimed.

After some deliberation, the islanders of Kendhoo sent a dhoni to investigate the scene.

Manik said that the explosion had caused the whole lagoon to turn into a slight yellow colour.

“It must have been the explosive chemicals inside the mine.”

The Kudarikilu people quickly sent a message to the atoll office who came and investigated.

Abu Bakuru said that since all dhonis were still running on sails, the news of the incident did not reach Male’ for quite some time.

Today, there is a harbour on the site of the mine explosion.

Abu Bakuru recalls, “Sixty years ago I visited the site, the crater was still there, just as if it had happened yesterday. It was massive.”

The people of Kudarikilu still tell the story of the unfortunate events of that Friday afternoon, passing it on from generation to generation.

Although drifting naval mines were banned after World War I, some countries continued to use them.

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István Urbányi takes charge of under 23’s

National team coach, István Urbányi has charge of the under 23 football team who are training for the SAFF games.

Urbányi has been home in Hungary for a short holiday, but has now returned to the Maldives.

Haveeru reports that Urbányi will confirm the names if the three senior players that are allowed in the squad after he consults his technical team.

According to the Sports ministry, the team is set to go to Malaysia and Thailand on the 18th for further training.

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President opens football stadium in Hinnavaru

President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday opened a football stadium in Lhaviyani atoll Hinnavaru built by Palm Beach Resort and Spa.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the president thanked the management of the resort for its “generous gift” to the people of the island.

The president then watched a friendly football match between a team from Hinnavaru and Palm Beach.

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Sink hole discovered on sea wall

A sink hole was discovered on the road near Nasandhura Palace Hotel last Friday.

According to Haveeru, the hole was the result of low-quality sheet piling work done on the sea wall.

Haveeru reported that the sheet piling was above the sea bed in two places by two feet and four feet respectively.

The Housing, Transport and Environment ministry said that it was not a serious issue and repairs would commence very soon.

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Lightning strike victim brought to Male’

One of four people injured in lightning strikes in Haa Alif Dhidhoo has been brought to Male’ for further medical care.

Moosa Rasheed, 17, was admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) because his condition was deemed too serious, reports Haveeru.

According to Haveeru, he has been taken into the intensive care unit and has not regained consciousness.

Of the four that were struck by lightning, one is stable and recovering at Kulhudhufushi regional hospital, while the other two have been released.

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Imaadhudeen to introduce grade eight

Imaadhudeen school will introduce grade eight studies this year.

The academic year will begin on 10 January. Until 2009, the school only taught from grades one to seven.

According to Miadhu, the school has 243 students that will enroll in grade eight this year.

The only facility not available when classes begin would be the laboratory, which is scheduled to be completed in one month.

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President appears on live radio call-in show

President Mohmaed Nasheed took questions from the public on DhiFM’s one-to-one programme on Friday, the first ever live call-in radio show featuring a sitting president.

The president addressed a number of issues and answered questions on subjects ranging from the government’s pledges, the electricity tariff hike and media subsidies.

Hundreds of questions in the days before the show via email and text messages.

On his New Year resolution, the president said, “My determination and goal is finding ways to fulfil the government’s key electoral pledges.”

Some political parties wanted to overthrow the government, he said, but it could only be done within the bounds of the law.

On media subsidies, the president said he did not favour adding to recurrent expenditure and praised private broadcasters for their efficient operations with a small number of staff.

Asked about the government’s pledge to provide affordable housing, he said an agreement had been reached with India’s Tata Company but the project was delayed due to a dispute over the 11 per cent interest proposed by the company.

The government wanted to ensure that citizens would not have to pay more than Rf3,500 a month for the housing units, he said.

He added the government hoped to sign contracts with five companies this month to construct 4,000 housing units.

The president said he regrets that electricity tariffs had to be increased after he pledged not to do so during the campaign.

Apologising to citizens, Nasheed said the hike was temporary and referred to targeted subsidies introduced for poor income families.

On the campaign pledge to hold a mid-term presidential election, the president said the thinking behind it was to assess the political landscape in the country after emerging from a dictatorship where free and fair elections could not be guaranteed.

But, he added, the first opportunity to take stock of the support for political parties came during last year’s parliamentary elections.

“All political parties contested. Those who advocated for a mid-term election won only two seats. And of all those two seats, it is questionable to what extent they belong to the party,” he said.

Following the first round of the October 2008 presidential election, all opposition parties united around the Maldivian Democratic Party candidate and formed a coalition to end the 30-year rule of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Of the coalition partners, Dr Hassan Saeed, former presidential candidate and attorney general, now of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party, pushed the most for a mid-term election.

Nasheed said the parliamentary elections last year six months after the presidential election showed that support for the ruling MDP had not diminished.

In the May parliamentary elections, MDP won 51,184 votes while the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party won 40,886 votes.

In his radio address on the same day, the president highlighted progress made on fulfilling the government’s five main pledges.

Transport networks had been established in some provinces, he said, while contracts will be signed for the remaining provinces.

He added the government was confident of completing a project for 1,000 housing units within this year.

The amount of drugs seized during the past year exceeded the previous three to four years, he said.

Moreover, two detoxification centres were established under the government’s policy of focusing on treatment and rehabilitation.

Providing universal health insurance under the Madhana programme will eliminate the practice of “begging for healthcare”.

It was essential to reduce the budget deficit to curb inflation, he continued, and the government had to reduce recurrent expenditure to bring down the deficit.

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Clemency bill passed

Parliament passed legislation on clemency and commuting sentences during its last sitting of the year on Thursday before breaking for a two-month recess.

The bill proposed by the government to set guidelines for the president to grant pardons and commute sentences was passed with 59 votes in favour and two against.

Presenting the committee report, Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed, chairman of the home affairs committee, said views expressed by MPs during the debate were incorporated in the final draft.

Among the changes made by the committee include adding a provision for aiding interpretation in determining if convicts have exhausted the appeal process, specifying crimes that will not be eligible for pardon and creating a clemency board chaired by the attorney general to advise the president.

The committee further added provisions to authorise the president to commute death sentences to life imprisonment as well as detailing criteria on granting pardons, said Nasheed.

Moreover, criminal records of those convicted under the old constitution would be wiped clean if they were pardoned.

Article 115 of the constitution states the president has the authority “to grant pardons or reductions of sentence as provided by law, to persons convicted of a criminal offence who have no further right of appeal.”

Under the legislation, convicts who did not get a fair trial and those who have exhausted the appeal process will be eligible for release.

Of the 11 amendments proposed to the bill, only four were passed.

In the debate after voting on amendments, MPs stressed the importance of the legislation to grant pardons for people in jail who were wrongfully convicted or sentenced solely on the basis of extracted confessions.

But, several MPs said the president should exercise caution and good judgment in commuting sentences and granting pardons.

In its 82 sittings since being convened in May, parliament has passed eight bills and adopted five resolutions, while 19 bills remain pending at the committee stage.

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