Category: News in Brief

President received Indian and Danish dignitaries

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan was visited yesterday by both the Danish Ambassador to the Maldives, Freddy Svane, and the General Officer Commanding in Chief of Southern Army Command of India, Lieutenant General A K Singh.

The President’s Office website reported that Waheed had discussed human rights, the rule of law, the environment and democracy during his meeting with the Danish ambassador.

Both local media and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) stated that the Danish Ambassador was scheduled to meet former President Mohamed Nasheed on his southern trip yesterday before Nasheed was arrested and taken to Dhoonidhoo before today’s court hearing.

Former Minister of Finance and Treasury Mohamed Shibab confirmed that there was a meeting between the ambassador and the party yesterday evening in Male’, although he could not reveal any specific details.

Lieutenant General AK Singh was said, by President’s Office spokesman Masood Imad, to have met with Waheed to explore those areas in need of assistance regarding security and disaster management.

Masood also said that some plans for exercises and training were to be carried out in collaboration with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

MNDF Colonel Abdul Raheem said that the senior delegation from the Indian military will be travelling to the southern atolls, and will today visit Gan.

President Waheed underlined the importance of cooperation and sharing of resources in order to maintain security in the region.

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Nasheed treated like “a fugitive”, MDP tells New York Times

The former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, was detained on Monday for failing to turn up for a court hearing in a case involving the unlawful arrest of a High Court judge when Mr Nasheed was president, writes Sruthi Gottipati for the New York Times.

Mr. Nasheed was arrested by the police while on a campaign stop in Fares-Maathodaa island, one of the 1,200 islands that make up the tiny Indian Ocean nation of the Maldives, ahead of the presidential elections in July next year.

While there’s little argument that the police took Mr. Nasheed into custody, there’s plenty of disagreement concerning the manner in which it took place.

Mr. Nasheed’s supporters said he had just eaten breakfast at a party member’s home when masked police broke into the house armed in full riot gear, spewing obscenities, and swept the former president out in what his supporters contend was a politically motivated move solely aimed at stopping him from campaigning.

Maldivian Democratic Party workers said that former ministers and aides in Mr. Nasheed’s government who were in the house were pepper-sprayed and violently dragged out.

“You could only see their eyes,” said Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, the spokesman for Mr. Nasheed’s party, describing the police who he said had burst in to brutally arrest their party leader. “They wanted to make it look like they were catching a fugitive.”

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MP Nasheed alleges criminal activities in legal profession

Kulhudhuffushi-dhekunu MP Mohamed Nasheed has criticised his fellow lawyers on his personal blog, alleging that they assist criminals in covering up crimes, work closely with gangs, and intimidate witnesses, reports local media.

A recent report by the Asia Foundation highlighted the strong links between politicians, businessmen and Male’s numerous gangs.

“Due to lawyers’ influence, people often refuse to provide statements, or wish to revise previous statements, or say that they do not wish to provide statements, or travel abroad to avoid the Court process,” he wrote.

Nasheed argued that recording conversations between lawyers and clients could alleviate some of these problems.

“I am not a criminal defence lawyer. However, when the sunset bill was made, I listened to senior members of relevant state institutions discuss ways to address the challenges faced due to crime in the society,” said Nasheed.

“One and a half years later, they are still discussing the same thing. This article was based on the information obtained from them,” he added.

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Prosecutor General receives corruption case involving STO Managing Director

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has forwarded a case to the Prosecutor General (PG) concerning the case of the Managing Director of the State Trading Organisation (STO) Ali Shahid, reports Sun Online.

It is alleged that Shahid used a corporate credit card inappropriately to pay for the medical treatment of a younger sibling.

The commission, it is reported, noted that the misuse occurred before the STO board stated that cards could be used in personal emergencies.

Shahid is alleged to have defended his use of the card under the STO’s loan provisions for medical treatments although the ACC claim he did not request this loan first.

Last month the ACC sent the PG a case concerning former Chairman of STO Farooq Umar after it was alleged he accepted a $19,000 (MVR292,800) from a Sri Lankan company.

Farooq also stands accused of using an STO corporate credit card for personal items.

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President Waheed returns to Maldives following US visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday returned to the Maldives with First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain after concluding a visit to the US.

The president, who has been in the US since late last month when he spoke during the meeting of the 67th UN General Assembly, was met upon his return by Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen.

During an address to the UN General Assembly last month, President Waheed said his government’s dealings with powerful international actors since coming to office during February’s controversial transfer of power had “not been pleasant”.

“We believe that the story of the Maldives needs to be told. It is a lesson to be learnt by other small states. The application of the rule of law is to protect the smaller and the weaker; to prevent small justice being served to small states,” said the president at the time.

The comments were made at a high level meeting designed to reaffirm global commitment to the rule of law in order to further the UN’s goals of international peace, human rights, and development.

During the visit, Waheed also attended a Commonwealth’s Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting that saw the country’s suspension from the international body’s democracy and human rights arm revoked.  However, the Maldives has remained on the body’s agenda under the item “Matters of Interest to CMAG”.

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Driver receives minor injuries after driving off airport runway

A Maldivian national received minor injuries today after losing control of a vehicle on the runway of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) that crashed into the site’s surrounding waters, local media has reported.

Police confirmed that only one person was in the vehicle during the time of the incident, which occurred at about 11:30am today.  Officials at the airport said the driver, who was taken to Hulhumale’ Hospital for treatment, had not been seriously injured, according to local newspaper Haveeru.

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How the romantic idyll of the Maldives is in danger: The Daily Express

“Away from the warm turquoise waters and sun-bleached beaches, the romantic idyll that has made the Maldives a popular honeymoon retreat is under threat,” writes Stuart Winter for UK-based newspaper, The Daily Express.

“The thousands of newlyweds arriving on the coral islands each year looking for peace and solitude have little notion of the simmering tensions crippling this Indian Ocean paradise’s fragile democracy.

A damning report on the archipelago’s civil rights record, along with an open letter from an eminent group of luminaries calling for free and fair elections, is damaging the lustre of one of the planet’s most tranquil holiday destinations. The murder of an Maldivian MP last week and the machinations surrounding the trial of former president Mohamed Nasheed have only added energy to the political storm gripping the island.

Nasheed, the islands’ first democratically elected leader, claims he was forced to resign at gunpoint earlier this year when mutinying police and military loyal to long-standing former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom staged an effective coup.”

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GMR tells Indian television of Maldives government’s silence

Sunanda Jayaseelan, reporting for India’s CNBC -TV18, has been told by GMR’s management that it has received no official word from the Maldivian authorities regarding the troubled Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) development.

CEO of the GMR Maldives Andrew Harrison told the station that the company was open for dialogue.

“I don’t really understand how there could be a lack of transparency. Our position is quite clear. We are very transparent and open,” he said.

Sidharth Kapur, Chief Financial Officer of airports at GMR told the station that the investment climate in the country was not good.

“While we have invested both debt and equity into this project, these kind of problems naturally affect the investment climate of any region,” said Kapur.

Discussing the GMR case last week, the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) assured Minivan News that investor confidence was not being harmed due to the legal wrangling, though he did describe the investment climate as “challenging”.

Government aligned parties have called for the airport to be nationalised while questions concerning the legality of the deal have seen the matter taken up in a Singapore arbitration court.

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It’s time to dial down the political rhetoric: Dhiraagu Chairman

“In the specific political context of today, moderateness is a sign of weakness. The best politician is the person who is the most intolerant and whose invective is the most extreme,” writes Dhiraagu Chairman Ibrahim Athif Shakoor in an opinion piece for Haveeru.

“The most polished speakers are those who energise the troops not through rallying them to the cause, but by getting them angry and excited against the opposition.

If you are on a talk show, and there are so many of them, the best speaker is the person who can bundle together the worst polemic. Doesn’t really matter what the topic is or on which side of the political divide the speaker is currently straddling. The trick in being invited again and to be a regular feature of the program is to be intolerant and fanatical.

If you are on the Parliament floor the way to guarantee your words will be repeatedly aired is to use extreme language and be blinkered about the complexity of the issue. If you are a speaker in a political rally make sure that all your statements are extreme. Never use the word ‘moderate”’ or even adopt the concept. It will not be accepted. Your speech will not be appreciated, and for a politician the worst possible thing, it will be ignored.

This is the political reality of today.

Unfortunately there are consequences, dire consequences of such extreme level of rhetoric and oratory. Our children are growing up in an environment of intolerance and narrow mindedness. Society as a whole is totally pervaded by prejudice and partisanship.

But more importantly words have power. Very real power. They impact and change the society. It transforms and energizes the people. It shapes and fashions the environment and defines the conduct of the society.”

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