Category: News in Brief

It is not the government that is prosecuting Nasheed: President’s Advisor

Political Advisor to the President, Ahmed ‘Topi’ Thaufeeg, has today said that the government does not have the authority to prosecute former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Thaufeeq told Sun Online that, owing to the separation of powers enshrined in the constitution, only the Prosecutor General (PG) could pursue charges against Nasheed.

However, Thaufeeg told Sun Online that it was the responsibility of the PG to pursue anyone guilty of a crime.

“The government has no influence over this. When the relevant institutions complete their investigations and submit cases to the PG, the PG will file those cases to Court. It does not matter whether it is Nasheed or anyone else,” Thaufeeg is reported to have said.

The response follows the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) resolution to protest the government over its move to prosecute Nasheed.

After Nasheed yesterday claimed the judiciary was heavily politicised, Thaufeeg told Sun that the institution was strong and was constitutionally protected from political influence.

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Director General of Elections Commission sacked “without warning”

Director general of the Elections Commission (EC), Mohamed Tholal, has been dismissed without warning, reports Sun Online.

It has been reported that Tholal was informed his association with the Athletics Association, for which he receives no salary, was cited as the reason for his dismissal.

Secretary General of Elections Commission, Asim Abdul Sattar, told Sun that Tholal’s dismissal had been in line with EC regulations.

Tholal himself is reported to have Tweeted on the subject: “The reason for my dismissal is to retaliate because we protested, and also because votes cannot be rigged at 2013 Elections if we are there.”

Tholal’s dismissal comes as the country’s independent institutions come under increasing scrutiny as additional pressure is placed upon them following the fallout from the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI).

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Sri Lankan Business Council president calls for support mechanisms to enhance Maldives trade

“Lack of support or mechanisms to solve legal issues faced by Sri Lankan companies dealing with Maldivian counterparts [is causing] serious frustration in trading,” writes the President of the Sri Lanka – Maldives Bilateral Business Council, Hussain S. Hashim.

“It is necessary to establish a commercial mediation centre as an alternate means of trade dispute resolution,” he said, reports Sri Lanka’s Daily News.

Hashim was reported as saying that there had been a marked increase in Sri Lankan exports to the Maldives between 2010 and 2011, resulting in a positive trade balance for Sri Lanka.

He also noted that Maldivian visitors to Sri Lanka has increased from 35,791 in 2010 to 44,018 in 2011 .

“We anticipate a positive solution for the shortage of US dollars in the Maldivian market which has caused an impact on trade,” Hashim said.

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Fenaka says halted Biwater projects unrelated to political turmoil

Government utilities corporation Fenaka has denied that changes to a sewage project in Addu Atoll were influenced by February’s transfer of political power, according to Sun Online.

UK company Biwater International Ltd signed an agreement with the Southern Utilities Company to improve the supply of drinking water and sewage treatment in South Province.

The Fenaka Corporation has claimed that the decision to remove the sewerage work from Addu, and to halt all the company’s projects in Fuvahmulah, was due to the company’s failure to provide the $27million (MVR415.8 million) originally agreed upon.

It added that the decision to halt the Fuvamulah projects had been made before the change of government.

The Fenaka Corporation was established to take over from the seven utility corporations established during the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed, under its policy of decentralisation.

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President speaks at China-Eurasia Expo

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has spoken at the opening of the opening of the 2nd China-Eurasia Expo & the 2nd China-Eurasia Economy Development and Cooperation Forum, as part of his official state visit to the country.

“As China continues to make great strides in the various facets of its development, it has indeed become an outstanding example of the good international citizen,” said Waheed.

“The Maldives has always looked to China as an invaluable friend. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the contribution from China to the social, cultural and economic development of our country is immense and numerous.”

“For over two decades, China has supported housing development in the Maldives, along with other infrastructure projects. The support towards promoting athletics and other sports as well as cultural cooperation is noteworthy.”

“We recognize China as one of the leading economic powers globally, and we are keen to strengthen our relationship with the country. Maldives has always promoted an open economy with liberal trade and investment policies. We are happy to note that we maintain one of the most liberal trade regimes in the SAARC region.”

“To further strengthen our investment policies, the Government is taking steps to further improve the legal and regulatory framework governing private sector growth and foreign direct investments. Maldives is open for business and it is with pleasure that I note, companies from China are already involved in Maldives.”

“I call upon potential investors to consider Maldives as an attractive investment destination in addition to a popular tourist destination. Potential opportunities are available in real estate development, especially residential and mixed development projects, public infrastructure projects as well as investments in the tourism sector.”

The President’s Office has reported that Waheed is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, who was also present at yesterday’s opening ceremony.

Also in attendance was the President of Krygyzstan, and the Prime Minister’s of Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Tajikistan

Before leaving, the President also announced that he expected to finalise arrangements for a $500 million loan from the Chinese government. Local media has today confirmed that an agreement has been signed.

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The Maldives: Mired in presidential intrigue

“In the end, whether it was a coup or not is academic. The chance to reverse the situation is long gone. Waheed’s government is established,” writes Will Jordan for Al Jazeera.

“But there are two other questions. Was there a conspiracy to cripple Nasheed’s government? And did Gayoom have a hand in bringing Nasheed down?

The evidence is circumstantial.

It centres on what the Danish experts describe as ‘a highly unorthodox meeting’ at the end of January between then Deputy President Waheed and the opposition leaders. Afterwards, opposition figures pledged their allegiance to Waheed.

Two key players in Nasheed’s downfall have also received senior posts. Mohamed Nazim is Defence Minister. Abdulla Riyaz is Minister for State and Home Affairs. They both watched as Nasheed signed his resignation.

Waheed was also fast to reshuffle his government, promoting Gayoom’s son and daughter to the foreign and fisheries ministries respectively.”

Read more.

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Common sense after CoNI: Eurasia Review

As the best hope of unraveling the tangled events surrounding Nasheed’s resignation on February 7, the failure of the CoNI ought to put to rest attempts to determine what happened on that fateful day, writes Daniel Bosley for the Eurasia Review.

CoNI represented the light at the end of the tunnel that has been the country’s attempts at political reconciliation since February. Assembled by Presidential decree and reconstituted by international request, the inquiry has become increasingly important as parallel all-party talks failed to get off the ground.

The revelation that Nasheed’s representative on the commission, Ahmed Gahaa Saeed, was unhappy with the report on Monday suggested that its public release on Thursday would be a disappointing anti-climax. His resignation on Wednesday confirmed it.

It also confirmed the reality that no legal document, governmental report, or political opinion will ever change the differing versions of events that are indelibly scored into the hearts and minds of Maldivians.

After six months of going round in circles, it is time to face reality and find the best way to heal the nation – starting from where it is today – on the edge of a precipice.

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Maldives surfing threatened by privatisation: Zigzag

Telos Investments wants to develop a ’boutique’ surf resort on Thanburudhoo island, home to two of North Malé’s best waves – Sultans and Honkies. If this proposal gets approved – which is looking highly likely according to long-time local surfer Ahmed Nasru (Mickey), who claims the process smacks of underhanded dealings – then the number of quality spots in the area which are open to locals will halve, writes South African surf news website Zigzag.

This will leave only Jailbreaks (on Himmafushi island) and Cokes (on Thulusdhoo island) as the last quality reef passes in the area without exclusive rights and open to local surfers.

Privatisation of surf spots is nothing new. For decades now entrepreneurs and even companies have been buying up land adjacent to quality surf breaks from South America to North Sumatra, claiming rights to the breaks in front of their resorts, and making them exclusive to guests.

Local surfers from the North Malé atolls of the Maldives are very familiar with this process. Some of their finest surf breaks – like Lohifushi and Pasta Point for example – have been deemed off-limits for many years after resorts were built on the islands hosting these waves. It’s something the local surfers have learned to live with, because they always had a few other quality spots in the area to fall back on.

If the Telos Investment proposal goes through, that will all change as their last few quality spots are gobbled up by privatisation.

And then of course there is the ethical question: it’s becoming increasingly clear that privatisation not only infringes on local surfers’ rights to freely access the reefs and islands they’ve inhabited and lived off for centuries. It also ensures any visiting surfers who can’t afford to pay the prices of these ’boutique’ resorts will instead be forced to sit shoulder-to-shoulder waiting for a set at the last two quality spots in North Malé.

The knock-on effect could even lead to surf tour operations going out of business – why go on a surf trip when you’re not allowed to surf half the waves? The end result would mean locals not only lose out on waves, but for those employed by, or operating their own surf tour business, their very livelihood could be threatened.

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MDP requests PG hold prosecution of its members

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairman ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik today met with Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizzu to request that the prosecution of its members arrested on February 7 and 8 be delayed, http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/44307.

Moosa told the press after his meeting that he had requested the PG await the results of investigations prompted by the recently released Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) before prosecuting the cases of over 200 MDP members.

One of the CNI’s findings was that acts of police brutality had occurred on February 6, 7 and 8 this year. Moosa asked the PG if would wait to first determine if all of his party’s members were arrested within the contours of the law.

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