News in Brief – Page 317 – Minivan News

Ahmadinejad sends independence day congratulations to President Waheed

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has congratulated President Mohamed Waheed of the Maldives for the occasion of the country’s Independence Day, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday congratulated anniversary of Maldives Independence Day to his Maldivian Counterpart President Huhammad Hassan Vahid,” IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad expressed hoped “that the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Maldives would expand comprehensively more than ever before,” the agency added.

“The IRI president meanwhile in his message hoped for the establishment of peace and security throughout the world, and prayed to God for good health and evermore success of President Muhammad Hassan Vahid, as well as prosperity and wellbeing of the Muslim Maldivian government and nation.”

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Paradise Island Resort to host 2012 GMR Maldives Travel Awards

Paradise Island Resort and Spa is set to host the 2012 GMR Maldives Travel Awards ceremony on September 28, organisers have said.

The North Male’ Atoll-based resort will be hosting the event, which has been launched by the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO).

GMR, presently contracted to manage and develop a new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), will serve as the awards’ main sponsor.

Local group High Rise Pvt Ltd has said it will be organising and managing the ceremony over the next three years.

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MDP calls for independent commission to probe death of Lance Corporal Haleem

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group has alleged that there were “hidden factors” in the murder of policeman Lance Corporal Adam Haleem last week, and called for an independent commission to probe the matter, reports Haveeru.

The party alleged that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik had sought to implicate the MDP in the murder, while at the same time the alleged killer had been photographed in the company of Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim and the party’s Deputy Leader, Abdulla Jabir.

“It was noticed that former Vice President Waheed speaking on behalf of the illegitimate December 23 coalition had tried to pin the blame on a specific party during an interview with DhiTV via phone,” the party said.

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Trouncing worth every minute for Maldives player: Reuters

“So how does it feel flying halfway round the world from the Maldives and losing your Badminton debut at the Olympics in straight sets?” Paul Majendie, writing for Reuters, catches up with the progress of the Maldives’ Olympians during the London 2012 games.

“The reaction from Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed was remarkably upbeat, especially as he had fulfilled a boyhood dream only hours earlier by carrying the flag for his tiny Indian Ocean island state at the spectacular opening ceremony.

‘Basically I am thrilled to be here. I take it as a positive experience,’ he told Reuters.

For the ebullient and eloquent 22-year-old, invited to the London Games as part of an International Olympic Committee scheme to encourage sport around the globe, just being there is what the Olympics is all about.

The tourist paradise of the Maldives, famed for its sun-kissed atolls that face the ever present threat of global warming and rising sea levels, has sent five athletes to London 2012. He is still pinching himself at being one of them.

‘It is difficult to explain in words. It is a great excitement for us,’ he said, still pouring with sweat after his first-round 21-9 21-6 trouncing in the humid Wembley Arena by European champion Marc Zwiebler.

The German was 14th seed. Rasheed is ranked 209 in the world.

His only moment of glory came in the first set when the scoreboard showed he was leading 7-1. Hasty electronic adjustments by the umpire returned the harsh reality to 1-7.

‘He knows how to keep the rallies going and is very experienced,’ Rasheed said. ‘It is my first time playing a European player.’

‘The Maldives is a small country. We don’t have many players. We don’t get the best coaching and I have been training in Malaysia for the past year,’ he added.

His Olympic memories, though, will be cherished for a lifetime.

‘I was flag bearer for my country. It was a big thing for me. It has been my dream since I was very small. Now that I have achieved my dream, I am very happy,’ he said.

President calls for “unanimous” patriotism with Independence Day address

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan used his Independence Day address to stress the importance for all Maldivians to “practice solemn allegiance to the principles of Islam, and observe firm adherence to fine social etiquette”.

Speaking at a special ceremony at Male’s Republic Square on Thursday (July 26) to celebrate 47 since the Maldives became an independent nation, the president was reported to have called upon Maldivian people to cooperate with the state’s “relentless peace efforts”, according to the President’s Office website.

Aside from calling for national laws and legislation to be held in high regard, the address was also said to have focused on asking Maldivians to convey unanimous national pride and patriotism through “loyalty and respect” towards the country and peoples’ rights.

According to the President’s Office, Dr Waheed also emphasized the importance of “strengthening” the country’s independence to ensure continued national development.

The president was said to have highlighted the need to safeguard the country’s religion, a consolidation of military and “unifying our people” to further ensure planned developments went ahead.

In addressing national politics, the president said that nearly a decade had been spent to establish democracy in the Maldives, which he contended had “flourished so rapidly”. However, the speech emphasized that the “poor social and political condition of today” were the result of “certain changes” to the judicial and legislative system that had been made in the past.

The speech saw the president call on parliament to move ahead with passing bills to reinforce and strengthen the country’s judicial and legislative system in a bid to reduce crime and improve safety and security.

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Choking Off Freedom in the Maldives: New York Times

“In February, a cabal backed by an ousted dictator and a group of extremist Islamists dealt a severe blow to nascent democracy in a country many people consider an island paradise: the Maldives,” writes Deputy Chairman of the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission Benedict Rogers in the New York Times.

“In the past few weeks, the forces behind the new rulers have driven the knife deeper into the country’s wounded democracy. Without serious international pressure, people who struggled for freedom against dictatorship for so many years — and briefly tasted liberty — will be plunged into authoritarian rule coupled with a rapidly growing extremist Islamist agenda.

Three Danish legal experts published a report this month on their independent investigation into the events surrounding the resignation five months ago of the Maldives’ first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed. They concluded that, according to international law, his ouster amounted to a coup d’état. The international community needs to take this report seriously.

Nasheed was charged this month with illegally arresting a judge while he served as president. It is clear that the charges are politically motivated, designed to eliminate him from contesting any future elections — if any are held. There is no chance he can expect a fair trial. If convicted, he could serve three years in jail.

The former president is not the only opposition activist being harassed by the new regime. The leader of the youth wing of his party, the Maldivian Democratic Party, Shauna Aminath, was arrested and detained, and other people who have taken part in pro-democracy protests have been severely beaten by the police. Demonstrators were released on condition that they did not participate in another protest for 30 days, in violation of the Constitution. Exiled democracy advocates have received death threats.

The Maldives’ journey to democracy was long and arduous. For 30 years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ruled the archipelago with an iron fist. Opponents were jailed, torture was rampant, freedom of speech nonexistent. Toward the end of his rule, however, he developed a thirst for legitimacy and respectability, and appointed several reformist ministers in the hope that they could give him a better image in the international community.”

The many promises of Mohamed Nasheed: Dr Hassan Saeed

“I have said in the past that many people find it hard to trust Nasheed and recent revelations about his relationship with President Waheed put this into perspective,” writes Dr Hassan Saeed, Special Advisor to President Waheed, in Haveeru.

“At this time of reflection, I want to put on record my own experience.

Shortly after my resignation from President Gayyoom’s cabinet in 2007, I visited London accompanied by two close friends. Through a series interviews with the BBC and the Independent, I and my team launched our 2008 presidential election campaign. We were then known as the New Maldives movement.

Whilst in London we also held a number of meetings. This included some with members of the then opposition UK Conservative Party. One such meeting was with a senior Conservative MP who had been closely working the MDP. During the meeting in his office, he remarked that the MDP leadership lacked experience and competency and that he would ask the MDP leadership to back the New Maldives team in the 2008 presidential election.

Perhaps he did?

Shortly after we returned from London the MDP held primaries to pick its presidential candidate. A number of senior MDP officials from Addu and elsewhere met me conveying a message from Nasheed. That message was very clear; Nasheed would contest the MDP primaries, but he did not intend to contest the Presidential election. If he were to win the MDP primaries, he would back me.

This was not just local MDP officials making rash promises; Nasheed himself came to visit and told me that I commanded substantial support within the MDP. He asked for my support to win those primaries. He even told me further that his own mother supported me. Almost immediately after our meeting an older woman called me. She said she was Nasheed’s mother and how big a fan of me she was and that she would get fully involved in my election campaign.

Many in Nasheed’s door-to-door campaign teams would call and tell me that he was making it crystal clear to MDP voters that if he won in the primaries he would back me.

Nasheed did win. Initially, I did not hear from him for several days. My colleagues contacted him. A meeting was arranged. Nasheed’s team consisted of Ibrahim Mohamed Salih, Ameen Faisal and Nasheed himself. From our side Dr Jameel, Dr Shaheed and myself attended.

Nasheed agreed to be my running mate with the MDP to get 75 percent of cabinet posts. However if elected President on this ticket I would have had the authority to veto incompetent and corrupt nominations from the MDP. In view of what seemed a good arrangement for all sides, we agreed this. We even shook hands on it before we finished the meeting.

Nasheed called an MDP Qawumee Majlis (Nations Council) meeting. He then contacted his close aides to mobilize their support for our agreement. The MDP member for the Constitutional Assembly Mr. Adnan Haleem floated the proposal to the MDP National Council. The Council unanimously endorsed the arrangement for Nasheed to be my running mate.

A meeting of senior officials from both sides was arranged to discuss joint campaign funding.

All seemed to be arranged. We would have change in the Maldives and it would have comprised an alliance that the subsequent first round Presidential election results shows could have secured up to 41.58 percent – ahead of Gayyoom’s 40.34 percent.

However what seemed to be solid turned out to be thin air. To my surprise immediately after the meeting a senior official from Adalat Party called me and said that Nasheed had asked MDP backing for his presidential campaign!”

President to mark 47th Independence Day with Republic Square address

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan will deliver an address this evening from Republic Square in Male’ to commemorate 47 years since the country became an independent nation.

According to the President’s Office, Dr Waheed will host a special Independence Day function, organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, that will include a ceremonial hoisting of the national flag at the square.

Maldivian Independence Day commemorates the nation obtaining the right to self determination on July 26, 1965. The country had previously been a British protectorate since the late 19th century.

As part of Independence Day festivities held in the country this week, President Waheed and First Lady Ilham Hussain also hosted an official reception yesterday evening at the National Museum.

Foreign dignitaries, former presidents, Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid and serving MPs and cabinet members were said to be among invitees to the function, according to the President’s Office website.

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President Waheed’s brother protests outside London Ruder Finn office

A small group of protesters gathered outside PR firm Ruder Finn’s London offices to mark Maldives Independence Day, reports PR Week, including President Mohamed Waheed’s brother, Naushad Waheed Hassan.

Naushad previously stepped down the post of Deputy High Commissioner to the UK as of now “because I cannot serve a regime that has brought down the democratically elected government of my country in a coup d’état.”

The protest saw placards bearing slogans ‘Islamophobes and dictators’, ‘Ruder Finn: no client too toxic’ and ‘Gold medallists of spin: Ruder Finn’, reported PR Week.

“The criticism came after Ruder Finn was blasted by British-based pro-democracy group Friends of Maldives for accepting a brief to promote a tourism drive by the Maldives government. This followed claims that president Mohamed Nasheed was removed in a coup d’etat in February.

“Agency boss Nick Leonard had not faced protesters himself as he was on holiday. But he defended the agency’s actions, saying: ‘I believe in freedom of speech and they have the right to voice their opinion.’”

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