Tag: addu

Next SAARC summit to be held in Addu

President Mohamed Nasheed has announced the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit will be held next year in the South Province.

During his weekly radio address last Friday on the Voice of Maldives, the president said the summit could take place in both Addu and Fuahmulah Atolls.

President Nasheed acknowledged it would take a lot of work and preparation to hold the summit in Maldives, but said he was “confident a successful summit could be held in the South Province.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuahir, confirmed the summit will be held in the Maldives next year, but said a final date has not been set yet. “We are looking at April 2011.”

He said there would be “huge development” in the Southern Province, noting there was already “road building projects” underway in the islands. He said a new conference centre would be built for the summit, as well as other facilities such as indoor halls.

Zuhair added the development projects for the summit will cost “upward of US$10 million.” He said the money will be partly donated by other SAARC countries and partly sponsored by the Maldivian government.

“It’s the first time a SAARC summit is being held south of the Equator,” Zuhair said, “and it will highlight the Southern Province and give us a very good name.”

Maldives was meant to hold this year’s summit, “but due to economic recession” among other things, it was cancelled and held in Thimphu, Bhutan.

“As a member country, it is also our responsibility [to hold the summit],” he said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, said holding the summit in the Southern Province “symbolises unity in the country.”

He said “there are quite a lot of people living in the Southern Province and not everything has to be held in Malé.”

He added there is already a lot of infrastructure in the province, so the cost will be feasible for the government.

Maldives was meant to hold this year’s summit, he noted, but it was cancelled due to “some difficulties.”

“It’s a regional thing,” he said, “every [SAARC] country holds the summit.”

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Maldivian man arrested for rape of 13-year-old girl

A 53-year-old man suspected of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in Addu Atoll Hithadhoo was arrested today.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that the suspect was taken into custody after the case was reported to the police.

Shiyam declined to divulge further information regarding the case.

Local daily Haveeru reported today that the girl had a mental disorder.

Ahmed Mohamed, head of Hithadhoo Regional Hospital, also confirmed the incident occurred, ”but we do not have further information on the case,” he said.

Both the health ministry’s child and family protection unit and the Hithadhoo councillor also declined to provide any information.

Meanwhile, an employee at the hospital confirmed that the girl was brought to the hospital to get a medical report.

The hospital staff member claimed the suspect was an employee at the hospital.

”He is a man from Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll,” he said. ”It happened in another district so we also do not know much about the case.”

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MNJA condemns threats against two journalists covering Addu protest

The newly-formed Maldives National Journalist Association (MNJA) has claimed that two journalists were threatened and attacked while covering a Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)-led protest in Addu Atoll on Friday night.

The MNJA claimed a journalist from Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) and a journalist from daily newspaper Haveeru were attacked and threatened, and that pictures taken by the journalists were deleted by the protesters.

MNJA expressed regret that DRP Vice President Ibrahim Shareef was leading the protest and took no action against the incident.

However, Vice president of DRP Ibrahim Shareef said he was “not surprised” by the reports.

”MNJA is a organisation containing a majority of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters,” Shareef said, ”so they will say stuff like that about us.”

He condemned the MNJA for “misleading people.”

The Haveeru journalist allegedly attacked that night, Ahmed Arsham, said that the protesters became angry at them because they were taking pictures of the protesters damaging the name board of the Addu province office.

Arsham said that he and a TVM reporter were forced away from the incident.

”They grabbed the camera lense and broke it,” he said.

On March 8 a DhiTv Journalist and cameramen was forced out from a Maldivian Democratic Party rally.

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