Tag: india

Maldives to compete in Nehru Cup football tournament next month

The Maldives is anticipated to be the only South Asian representative in an international football tournament to held next month in India, local media has reported.

The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) is reported to have accepted an invite to compete in the Nehru Cup football tournament that will be held in New Delhi from August 23 to September 2, according to newspaper Haveeru.

To accommodate participation in the tournament by local players, the FAM has said it will look to reschedule matches in the country’s domestic Dhiraagu Dhivehi league to allow Hungarian coach Istvan Urbanyi and the Maldives national team time to prepare.

Haveeru has reported that the tournament, which has last held back in 2009 and won by India, will see the Maldives compete against a number of international teams including Syria, Jordan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Thailand, Costa, Zambia and Malaysia.

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A window to Indian culture, literature and dance

For those interested in exploring the diversity of Indian arts, culture and language, the Indian Cultural Center (ICC) is the place to be. Since its opening in July 2011, the centre has been an important platform, where Indians and Maldivians are building friendships through vibrant cultural and linguistic exchanges.

Hundreds of participants, both locals and foreigners alike are today part of the diverse programs run by the Indian Cultural Center. Many are exploring the world of Indian mother tongue and poetry while others are enjoying the experience of Indian classical dance Kathak or classical drumming, Tabla.

Similarly, to those who wants to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the busy capital Male’, the cultural center offers its best – rejuvenating and relaxing yoga classes.

And, the best part of all, every program is offered free. No charges.

“This is a cultural window to India”, ICC Director Dr.Mishra Amrendhra told Minivan News on Wednesday night, following the launch of a new Hindi learning program at the centre.

Currently over 40 centers are opened worldwide, to provide people to the opportunity to learn Indian culture and language, he observed.

Speaking at the ceremony Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives DM Muley said that “we have lost a lot in our culture and language” and today more than ever people are becoming “more segregated  in domestic and narrow corners”.

“There are invisible walls that divide us,” he pointed out. “But it is absolutely imaginary”, and “a phobia cultivated and encouraged by few with selfish interests.”

Therefore, he streesed that “language of humanity” and “attitude of helping each other” needs to be developed through promoting language and culture.

He praised ICC’s efforts, saying that the objective of opening the center seems to have been partially fulfilled. “I welcome all interested in Indian language and culture to join the centre.”

According to ICC Director Mishra, the centre is already receiving a “tremendous response” from the Maldivians, in addition to Indian expatriates and other foreign nationals working in the Maldives.

He added that several Maldivian students are going for higher studies under the center’s scholarship program and plans are underway to sign a cultural exchange agreement between the two government’s.

Currently 250 students, including several Maldivians, are part of the yoga classes running everyday in four batches.

Yoga teacher Sonika spoke to Minivan News about the keenness among the Maldivian participants in her class and how yoga are changing their lives.

“It is a great stress buster,” Sonika noted. “After regular yoga classes, some local students have found out that the cysts in their uteruses have disappeared. Many had joint and thyroid problems too. But, now they they are also feeling much healthier and energetic,” she continued.

“You should join my class. There are free slots. You will feel much light inside and it be be a journey to self evolution,” she added with a smile.

Meanwhile, Mishra pointed out that there have been some interest from local groups to explore fusions of Tabla and the Maldivian classical drumming, Bodu Beru. Although, Maldivian students participating in the Kathak dancing classes few, the center is hopeful that it will attract more students.

Among the few learning the dance is 20 year-old Naufa Nizam and her sister. At Wednesday night’s ceremony Naufa recited a poem she wrote in Hindi, so eloquently that no one would have guessed she’s a Maldivian until they heard her reciting the poem’s translation in Dhivehi.

Naufa told Minivan News: “I’ve always adored poetry since I was a kid. My mother is in the yoga class that’s how I came to know about the centre. I am participating in the Kathak dancing class too,” she added.

Meanwhile, sitting next to her was her sister, dressed in the highly ornately embroidered and decorated Kathak traditional costume consisting of a sari, with loose ankle-length skirt, and the choli, a tight fitting blouse – ready for the dance performance.

“But I don’t perform in front of a crowd,” said Naufa, who is an A-level student of Arabbiya School and student of Law foundation program at Maldives National University. “You know, it’s because of the burqa (head scarf).”

“But it doesn’t matter. I know myself that I know this dance,” she smiled. “I love this place.”

Note: Indian Cultural Center is opened at H.Vavathi, fourth floor. Those interested to join the centre programs can call 330 6612

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Comment: Black magic a national policy priority?

As anticipated, the three-day Bandos Resort retreat for participants at the Roadmap Talks has ended inconclusively. The fact that the representatives for the all-party negotiations, aimed at finding ways out of the current political impasse in Maldives, have promised to meet again should be seen as a success in itself, however limited.

Given the inherent nature of the talks and the stiff positions that the nation’s polity had taken on issues that were at hand, to expect anything more was rather out of the question.

In the ordinary circumstances, the talks could have broken down on the rival positions taken by the Government side and the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on substantive issues. That was not to be. Media reports indicate that the Government parties had a long list of woes that they wanted the MDP to address prior to major issues could be taken up.

Or, so it seemed.

Already, there was a six-point agenda, and after a lot of haggling, the MDP had agreed to stick to an agreed prioritisation for discussions. Included in the list of woes presented by the Government parties was a demand for MDP cadres not to stop Government party leaders from setting foot on various islands. The MDP could crow about the demand as a measure of its continuing popularity on those islands. Otherwise, it is a law and order problem, which the Government is expected to handle independent of the parties involved.

Then there was a demand on the MDP promising not to practice black magic on Opposition leaders and other opponents, real or perceived. News reports claimed that the police had recovered from Male’s Usfasgandu MDP camp site materials purported to have been used by practitioners of black magic. Marked photographs of some identifiable police officers, against whom it was feared black magic might have been practised at the camp site, were also recovered. The MDP has all along claimed to be a modern, no-nonsense party. It did not contest that such materials were recovered from the camp site.

It was, however, thought that the retreat and the Roadmap Talks were expected to address major policy issues, including the dire economic situation facing the nation. It is anybody’s guess when ‘black magic’ became a national policy, above the nation’s economy, for the Roadmap Talks to expend its time on such trivia. If parties felt strongly about them, other avenues should have been identified for discussing their concerns, without holding the Roadmap Talks hostage to sub-texts whose numbers are many and can be multiplied at will.

It is anybody’s guess why the Government should have also initiated the provocative police action at the Usfasgandu MDP site coinciding with the retreat talks. The court has intervened since, and stalled the process, but the damage has been done. The Government’s move even threatened the retreat talks. It also contributed to the MDP possibly re-visiting its strategy for the retreat talks. Clearly, the prioritisation outside of the six-point agenda for the Roadmap Talks had to undergo a change. The 30-point talks thus aimed at facilitating the Roadmap Talks thus occupied much of the talks time at the retreat.

MDP too not without blame

Yet, the MDP, going again by media reports, too is not without blame. At the talks, the MDP representatives seemed to be playing hide and seek with the Government side on the give-aways and take-aways from the negotiations. They wanted the Government parties to commit themselves to one of the four demands they had made before the MDP could commit itself to one of the 30 points discussed on normalising the street situation – without giving any hint as to what the MDP’s offer could be.

If the MDP strategists thought that they were smart, that is highly doubtful. At best, the retreat process displayed the MDP’s lack of seriousness to the negotiations process. Otherwise, it amounted to a continuing display of the party’s child-like behaviour on issues of serious national importance.

The MDP’s credibility continues to be at stake. In these weeks and months after the abrupt resignation of the party’s Mohammed Nasheed as the nation’s President on February 7, the world is not any more eating exclusively out of the hands of the MDP’s media machinery. It is watching the goings-on, revisiting the information on hand – once perceived as the truth – and is possibly exchanging notes. On a serious note, for instance, for the MDP to send out names of people which it knew would definitely be rejected by the Government for inclusion in the recast Commission for National Inquiry (CNI) on the ‘resignation episode’ was to make the Commonwealth initiative look a joke of sorts. The party was not exposing the Government to the international community. It was exposing itself – and, possibly the international interlocutors.

The MDP list included the name of a serving General in the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), the nation’s military. His presence on the CNI would prove the MDP right, the party had claimed. The Government, while rejecting the nomination, pointed out that the officer was a close relative of former President Nasheed. The MDP has not denied the Government’s statement. As may be recalled, through all these past months since Nasheed’s resignation, the party had said that serving senior officials of the MNDF had proposed a ‘counter-coup’ to the ‘coup’ that Nasheed claimed, after a time-lapse, as being responsible for his ‘forced resignation’. Whether any linkages could and would be made remains to be seen.

Continuing mistrust

The pre-expansion CNI has since come out with a time-line of events surrounding the resignation episode that it was tasked to probe and report on. The MDP having questioned the impartiality of the three-member probe as it stood, the latter seems to be recording its interim findings for the people to judge – before the expanded CNI took over. The party has since described the publication of the time-lines by the truncated CNI as a “blatant attempt to conceal the truth by pre-empting impartial enquiry”.

The publication is a reflection on the continuing mistrust among the stake-holders. This mistrust cannot be allowed to continue if the findings of the expanded CNI, with a former Singaporean Judge identified by the Commonwealth, and an MDP nominee accepted by the Government, have to be seen as being credible and conclusive. A split-verdict is a possibility, and any run-in during the run-up to the functioning of the expanded CNI would not make things easier, either for the impartiality of the probe or the credibility of its findings. The external member on the panel would be under pressure, too, he having to be seen as being impartial as much as he is impartial.

It is still not unlikely the expanded CNI might start off with reviewing the work already done by the probe, starting with the time-lines already publicised. It could only be a starting-point. Having had its way in having the CNI expanded with its nominee to boot, the MDP would have to swear by its report, whenever submitted. Independent of the protestations to the contrary, the party will have to answer queries on the time-lines set out by the pre-expanded CNI, particularly on the controversial questions on the even more controversial situations leading up to President Nasheed’s resignation.

For instance, there is one question on who ordered the pull-out of police men on duty at the site of competing political rallies on the night of February 6 – and, why. Reports at the time had indicated that a section of the policemen on midnight duty for weeks by then had protested to the unilateral withdrawal from a scene of prospective violence without suitable replacements being ordered in. They were among those who had taken to the streets the next day, along with political protestors, leading to the resignation, it was reported further.

Mixed bag for stake-holders

It’s at best a mixed bag for all stake-holders. Expelled MDP president Ibrahim Didi and vice-president AlhanFahmy have since taken the easy way out, by joining the Jumhoree Party of billionaire-politician Gasim Ibrahim, who had chaired the constitutional negotiations in 2007-08. The duo had threatened to challenge their expulsion by a nominated national council of the MDP in the court after the Election Commission refused to entertain their petition. The CNI time-line now indicates that Didi, then also a Minister, had chaired a Cabinet meeting when President Nasheed was in the MNDF Headquarters, talking to commanders and possible protestors, during the fateful hours preceding his resignation on February 7. Didi’s version, if any, to the CNI could thus be seen as being coloured. So could it contradict his pro-Nasheed protestations while in the party.

The MDP however has suffered a reversal since. The People’s Majlis, or Parliament has voted out the no-confidence motion moved by the party against Speaker Abdullah Shahid. Numbers did not add up, as two MDP parliamentarians voted against the party resolution and two others abstained. The party is in a quandary about initiating disciplinary action against them. It cannot afford to lose numbers. Nor could it allow individual violation of the three-line whip for MPs to become a greater issue of indiscipline that it may not be able to handle after a time. Already, the party has lost two parliamentary by-elections held since the resignation episode, bringing its strength to 31 in a House with 77 members.

The MDP cannot complain that the Government was inducing/encouraging defections from the party. It had adopted a similar tactic when President Nasheed was in office, with mixed results after failing to muster a majority in the parliamentary polls of 2009. Otherwise, too, the party needs to sit up and review its strategy in terms of targeting every democratic institution in the country as being inimical to the MDP – and by extension, to democracy as a concept. The MDP needs to look at the mirror and apply correctives if the international community on the one hand and discerning Maldivians, whose numbers are not small, have to take the party, and also its claims and allegations more seriously than at present.

Internal contradictions

The Government too cannot settle down to business as usual as if nothing had happened between December last and the present. The delayed processes pertaining to the CNI and the Roadmap Talks may have conferred post facto justification for delayed elections to the presidency than was perceived. That is not saying all. Political administration may be about processes and procedures. It is not so with politics, per se. There is a growing feeling that the Government parties are shying away from early polls, not sure of the MDP’s continuing popularity – and also owing to the internal contradictions within the ruling coalition and the internal problems facing some of the parties in power.

These internal contradictions will remain, whenever the presidential elections are held – now, or when due by July-November, 2013. Nor could the internal differences within some of these political parties, notably the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), founded by former President Maumoon Gayoom, be wished away at any time in the foreseeable future. The run-up to the presidential polls, whenever held, could be an occasion for furthering these differences, not cementing them. That being the case, the Government parties would need to come clean on their strategy for the future. Only based on such a strategy could they work back, on accommodating the MDP’s demand on advancing the presidential poll. Other arguments in this regard, including constitutional constraints, would fall flat on the face of mounting evidence to the contrary.

The writer is a Senior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Indian High Commission slams Education Ministry over stranded expatriate teachers

The Indian High Commission in the Maldives has claimed skilled expatriate workers such as teachers employed in Maldives continue to be “penalised” due to government and private sector employers failing to fulfil their responsibilities.

First Secretary of the Indian High Commission in the Maldives S. C. Agarwal has said he continues this week to receive complaints from expatriate teachers unable to return home as a result of education authorities failing to reissue visa documentation.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration, whilst under former controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim, claimed last week that a solution had been reached to allow the state-employed Indian teachers affected by the visa renewal issue to return home.  A spokesperson for the immigration body added that the issues regarding the teachers’ out of date visas were the result of an “administrative problem” that had now been resolved.

However, First Secretary Agarwal maintains that teachers from India continue to be penalised under the present system for no fault of their own.

More than 30 teachers during the last week were said to have been unable to reclaim their passports from authorities after their visas were found to not have been renewed.

According to the Indian High Commission, the teachers, who are said to work at various public schools across the country, had effectively been left stranded in the Maldives after they were not permitted to leave the country.

In some cases, teachers are believed to have only discovered their visa documents had not been renewed by their employers after reaching Male’ to return home temporarily.

Agarwal said that although some teachers had returned to India on an emergency basis, others were still waiting on authorities to regularise their visas before being allowed to leave the country.

“Two teachers came to see me this morning after being in Male’ for more than a week now. They were told that they will not be able to leave at least before Tuesday until their visas are renewed. They have spent about Rf5,000 to stay here in Male,’” he said.

“I will not consider this issue resolved until all expatriates, whether from India or elsewhere, have their visas renewed or are sent home. Either expatriates are provided with the documentation they are promised by the government or their employers, or they should be sent home. There is no third option.”

Agarwal stressed that many of the teachers, whose passports are routinely taken from them by the Ministry, were being punished for mistakes made by the Ministry of Education, as well as immigration officials.

“My problem is we are getting teachers coming to us who have been stranded here in Male’ unable to return home. In many cases they are trying to return for emergency reasons and are unable to do so,” he said. “It is the responsibility of the employer – in this case the government – to ensure work visas are renewed on time.”

Agarwal said that he was concerned that a much larger number of teachers from India could have been affected by the visa renewal issue beyond the 30 cases brought to the attention of the high commission.

“I believe most of the workers affected will have gone to the Ministry of Education or the Immigration Department first to try and resolve the issue. The most desperate people will have come to us directly for assistance,” he said.

Complaints from the Indian High Commission about poor treatment of their nationals echo those made by the Bangladeshi High Commission on May 9.

Earlier this month, High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal claimed workers were being brought to the Maldives to perform unskilled work, and often suffered from the practices of ”bad employers”.

“This is a real problem that is happening here, there have been many raids over the last year on unskilled [expatriate] workers who are suffering because of the companies employing them. They are not being given proper salaries and are paying the price for some of these employers,” he said at the time.

In line with concerns raised by counterparts within the High Commission of Bangladesh, Agarwal claimed that the Indian High Commission had also been speaking out about private sector employers who have left their foreign workers “in the lurch”.

“We have been made aware of cases where Indian workers are not being provided with the visas they are promised or, in some cases, even their salaries.  My concerns today for these teachers is that they are trained professionals working in the government sector,” he said. “These workers are  following the legal procedures here, but they are being penalised for it. There is even more concern for teachers based out in the islands, who may not know what is going on. The police will still be entitled to arrest them as illegal immigrants.”

Immigration solution

Former Controller of Immigration and Emigration Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim told Minivan News on Thursday – prior to his replacement by Dr Mohamed Ali – that the visa issues affecting the Indian teachers had been resolved.

“Now they can fly, but when they return they have to complete their visa document. I issued an order to our chief in that section to handle this as soon as possible,” he said at the time.

A spokesperson overseeing the visa issue for the Department of Immigration said that the difficulties in returning the Indian teachers home had been the result of an “administrative problem” that had since been solved.

“The problem had been that their visas had not been regularised by the Ministry of Education,” he said.  The spokesperson claimed that the problems in regularising the teachers’ visas had been solved by allowing the workers to renew their documentation once they returned to the Maldives for work.

Deputy Education Minister Anthu Ali  forwarded Minivan News to State Minister of Education Imad Solih. Solih was not responding to calls from Minivan News at  time of press.

Regional concerns

Last month Indian High Commissioner Dynaneshwar Mulay raised concerns over the treatment of expatriates from across the South Asia region – particularly by the country’s police and judiciary.

Mulay claimed that alongside concerns about the treatment of some Indian expatriates in relation to the law, there were significant issues relating to “basic human rights” that needed to be addressed concerning expatriates from countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Mulay’s comments were made following an alleged attack on a Indian resort worker, who was reported to have been struck with a hammer and mugged while staying in a hotel in Male’. The attack was allegedly committed by a former employee of the same resort.

Big business

Beyond concerns about the basic human rights of foreign employees in the country, labour trafficking is also represents a significant national economic issue.

An ongoing police investigation into labour trafficking in the Maldives last year uncovered an industry worth an estimated US$123 million, eclipsing fishing (US$46 million in 2007) as the second greatest contributor of foreign currency to the Maldivian economy after tourism.

The authorities’ findings echo concerns first raised by former Bangladeshi High Commissioner Dr Selina Muhsin, reported by Minivan News in August 2010. The comments by Mushin were made shortly after the country was placed on the US State Department’s Tier 2 watchlist for human trafficking.

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Waheed secures release of additional US$25million credit during India trip

As President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s first visit to India nears its end, a joint press release from the two governments has summarised the trip.

“The President of Maldives conveyed appreciation for the release of an instalment of US$ 20 million from the Standby Credit Facility from India in February 2012 as well as the rollover of the US$ 50 million State Bank of India (SBI) Treasury Bonds by a year,” the statement read.

The President of the Maldives also thanked the Prime Minister of India for agreeing to an additional release of US$25 million from the Standby Credit Facility to the Government of Maldives,” it continued.

India extended a US$100million credit facility to the Maldives in November last year with the aim of increasing economic ties between the two countries.

A standby line of credit is normally forwarded to countries which have reached macroeconomic sustainability but experience short term financing issues.

The Maldivian Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) recently reported that government income has increased 91.8 percent based on the same point in 2011. This increase, however, is expected to be offset by the reduction in customs duties after amendments were made to the import/export legislation last year.

The Majlis finance committee this month revealed that this year’s budget deficit will reach Rf9.1 billion (US$590 million), which is equivalent to 27 percent of GDP.

Today’s joint statement confirmed that all agreements made during the November 2011 visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s November 2011 visit to the Maldives would be upheld.

“In this context,” the statement continued, “it was agreed to expeditiously implement the projects for renovation of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Male and the establishment of the National Police Academy under grants-in aid from India.”

The release also highlighted President Waheed’s gratitude for last year’s extension of a $US40 million line of credit for the construction of 500 housing units.

Prime Minister Singh’s hopes for Indian investment in the Maldives were also mentioned in the joint statement.

“[The Prime Minister] expressed the hope that the Government of Maldives would ensure a climate conducive for the promotion of investments and that the existing projects with Indian investments, including the Male International Airport project, would proceed satisfactorily.”

President Waheed has been meeting with prominent members of the Indian business community during the trip assuring them of the government’s commitment to signed contracts, whilst in the Maldives the dispute over the details of the airport development deal between the government and GMR continues unabated.

Media offensive

Waheed’s first overseas visit since assuming office has been accompanied by extensive international media attention.

President Waheed spoke at length to New Delhi Television (NDTV) on Sunday in an interview that encapsulated all of the topics covered during his media campaign in India. These included the Commonwealth, former President Nasheed, radical Islam, investment, China, and former President Maumoon Gayoom.

Waheed told his interviewer that the fact that the Maldives was a young democracy had not been understood by some of its “international partners”.

“They assumed that Maldives has now embraced democracy and that democracy has arrived, but the early stages of democracy involve many obstacle sand many tendencies that come and haunt us from the past,” said Waheed.

When asked about the possibility of earlier elections he argued that he was willing to move them forward as far as he is able under the terms of the constitution.

“I will support that, but we had an independent elections commission appointed by the parliament. The moment I give a date the Elections Commissioner will come out and say it’s none of your business,” he responded.

Newstrack India and the Indian Express have reported Waheed as saying that no party other than Nasheed’s supported elections any earlier than July 2013.

Asked about the demands of the Commonwealth for early elections, Waheed said “the Commonwealth is not pushing for early elections as vehemently as before, as I believe they understand the situation in the Maldives a little bit better than they did.”

Regarding the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) and the demands of the Commonwealth for its reformation, he said “we will do whatever is necessary to make everybody feel comfortable”.

“We did the best we could , at the time, to identify three very prominent people in Maldives who are apolitical, who have not been involved in any part politics for the last couple of years and who are well-qualified,” he said.

“I think it would have been proper for the Commonwealth to observe the proceedings of the commission and to understand the terms of reference better before they came to a conclusion about its integrity and impartiality.”

Asked whether he was “bothered” by the meetings between Nasheed and Indian leaders, he said: “No, he is a former president and as a former president it is proper for the Indian government to receive him.”

When the topic of rising Islamism was raised, specifically the inclusion of two Adhaalath members in the cabinet, Waheed said “we have to engage with the Islamic scholars – if we try to isolate people, the situation can get worse.”

He said he was not worried about a growing trend and that any Muslim country was bound to have small extremist elements: “I think it is manageable… people tend to get associated with extremist factions because they don’t have the economic benefits of development.”

Relations with China also came up for discussion, with Waheed offering assurances that there was “no real chance” of the Maldives moving into China’s orbit. “We have a preferential relationship [with India] as our closest neighbour and this is a concern Indians should not be worried about.”

The interviewer also asked why the visit was an official rather than a state visit, to which Waheed responded that this was not significant, saying that he thought the Maldives had requested an official visit.

Regarding the safety of Indian investment in the Maldives, Waheed said that it was common for commercial deals to encounter difficulties and that the country was committed to honouring all deals – “they will remain”, he said.

President Waheed has also claimed in Indian media that his government is a continuation of that of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

IBN-CNN today reported that Waheed had discussed with the governor and chief minister of Maharashtra state. the possibility of Indian companies assisting the Maldives’ in addressing its power deficiencies.

Waheed was asked about India’s stance on the dispute between his supporters and those supporting former president Nasheed.

“India is the world’s largest democracy. I can understand its concern for other democracies. The Maldives is a success story, it’s just that we are very early on in our path to democracy.”

He added that a new system, consisting of elements of a presidential system mixed with elements of a parliamentary democracy, will not always work as smoothly as people would like straight away and will need “refining” and “polishing”.

Asked about the comment attributed to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon regarding Indian interference in Maldivian domestic affairs, Waheed said he felt that the comment had been taken out of context.

The interviewer concluded the interview by asking for Waheed’s response to rumours that former President Maumoon Gayoom was influencing his government’s policy.

Waheed explained that Gayoom was still head of a large political party and so, as part of a political process, could not be discounted. He also explained that many parties were represented in his cabinet.

“It is not entirely fair to assume that Gayoom has too much influence in this government,” Waheed claimed.

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Commonwealth “intimidating”, “punishing” Maldives without mandate, Waheed tells diplomats

While the Commonwealth’s Special Envoy Sir Donald McKinnon meets with a team of government figures in Male’, local media reports that President Dr Mohamed Waheed has told a gathering of diplomats in India that the Commonwealth is being unduly influenced by opposition politicians in the Maldives, and that it is acting beyond its remit.

Speaking at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi during his five day official visit to India, Dr Waheed reportedly told the room that the Commonwealth’s Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) had followed the lead of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in attempting to intimidate the government.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth’s Donald McKinnon arrived in Male’ yesterday with proposals to double the current size of President Waheed’s Commission of National Enquiry (CNI) to include two representatives favourable to former President Nasheed as well as a Commonwealth judge.

This suggestion comes as the deadline given by CMAG for improved independence and impartiality draws near. President’s spokesman Abbas Adil Riza told Minivan News that the discussions between the government team and McKinnon were expected to finish tonight.

There have also been calls from the MDP and civil society groups for international involvement with the investigations.

Abbas said that the make-up of the team involved in discussions with Donald McKinnon was confidential, although Haveeru has reported the team to include the Attorney General Azima Shukoor, Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Minister for Gender Dhiyanna Saeed, Minister of Defense Mohamed Nazim, and Special Advisor to the President Dr. Hassan Saeed.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with the Special Envoy yesterday, International Spokesman for the MDP Hamed Abdul Ghafoor summarised his party’s concern over the CNI as it stands: “The people we are accusing of overthrowing the government in a coup d’état can’t be the same as the people investigating it”.

Abbas revealed that representatives from the government aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) had also been present. The spokesmen for these parties were unavailable for comment at the time of press.

Waheed is said to have reiterated the governing coalition’s previous criticism of CMAG’s assessment, telling those present in New Delhi that CMAG had acted just as the MDP had done, criticising the workings of the CNI without having taken the time to properly study its methods.

Shortly after President Waheed created the CNI to investigate the events surrounding February’s transfer of power, the MDP refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Today’s speech marks the first time that Waheed himself has spoken out against the Commonwealth.

During the speech Waheed is said to have repeated an argument first made by former President Maumoon Gayoom last month, in which the utility of Commonwealth membership appeared to be questioned.

“We used to believe that the Commonwealth was the champion of the smaller nations that extended assistance in every way possible. But to the contrary we witnessed the grouping inclined towards Nasheed, head towards punishing us,” Haveeru reports Waheed as saying.

Last month, Gayoom, now head of the PPM, said that the priorities of the Commonwealth regarding small nations had changed in recent years. He went on to urge a “rethink” of the Maldives’ membership.

Gayoom’s statement was soon followed by the submission of a bill in the Majlis from government aligned MPs calling for the country’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth.

President Waheed also told the assembled diplomats that CMAG was acting without a mandate, citing the criteria under which a CMAG investigation can be initiated. These conditions had not occurred, he argued, in the Maldives.

The Maldives Permanent Representative to the European Union (EU), Ali Hussain Didi, delivered the same argument in a speech to the EU Parliamentary Group on April 24.

Despite his clear disappointment with the 54 nation group, Waheed said that he would not back the proposals to withdraw from the Commonwealth and expected the bill to be dismissed as soon as the Majlis returned from its current recess.

He is also reported to have told the group of ambassadors that the proposal to re-formulate the commission had already been accepted, with the ongoing meetings being held only to formulate the exact details of the changes.

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President Waheed appeals for Indian tourism, investment, financial support

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s visit to India continues to garner international media attention today. During the last 24 hours, Dr Waheed has given interviews to NDTV, CNN-IBN, Times Now, New York Radio, Times of India, Hindustan Times, and UK’s The Daily Telegraph, according to the President’s Office.

Waheed has already met with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the President Pratibha Patil, and the Minister for External Affairs S.M. Krishna. He is reported to be meeting with Indian business leaders before the end of his visit tomorrow.

The UK’s Daily Telegraph led with the headline “Maldives president reneges on deal for early elections.” The article states that President Waheed had agreed to open discussions on early elections upon taking office, on the proviso that peace return to the islands after the unrest of February 8, and that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) stop its protests.

All-party talks, albeit unsuccessful ones, have been continuing in the face of general recalcitrance from government and opposition parties alike. These talks were given initial impetus by Dr Waheed’s all party roadmap document, compiled with Indian diplomatic assistance.

Meanwhile, the MDP has continued its protests which have been largely peaceful after more violence flared during the opening of the people’s Majlis on March 19.

Waheed has repeatedly stated that bringing the presidential elections forward any further than the three months mandated in the constitution is beyond his remit. A constitutional amendment must be passed in the Majlis, with a two thirds majority needed, to avoid two elections within 18 months.

Waheed suggested to the Daily Telegraph that two elections would be prohibitively expensive given the country’s current financial situation.

The Hindustan Times spoke with Waheed about his economic aims during the visit, highlighting the Maldives’ US$2 billion deficit.

Waheed told the publication that the Indian PM had been “generous” and that he was “optimistic about technical and financial support.”

Business Line discussed investment in greater detail with the President, who is set to meet with Mukesh Ambani of India’s largest private sector conglomerate, Reliance Industries.

Waheed talked of the possibility of leasing islands to IT companies along the same lines as they are currently leased for tourism. He also mentioned the need for more Indian based tourism in the Maldives.

“Not enough Indian tourists are coming to the Maldives and that is a matter of concern for us. I am sure it is also a matter of concern for India, particularly when you realise that there are so many Chinese tourists who are coming to the Maldives now,” said Waheed.

Waheed also told Business Line that he would be meeting with the Tata group to discuss its plans for housing projects in the Maldives, saying: “We want these projects to proceed as quickly as possible”.

Reports in the Thai media earlier this month suggested that the real estate company involved in the urban development of Hulhumale’, the Maldives largest such project, was withdrawing from the project owing to financial losses incurred.

The Times of India also led with an economic angle after interviewing Waheed, running with the headline: “Maldives president Waheed looks to India to repair floundering economy”.

“I have requested cooperation to help us craft better economic policies. I have also asked for support for Maldives’ tight budgetary situation and I have been assured by PM Manmohan Singh that Maldives will receive this support,” Waheed told the newspaper.

The issue of the GMR airport deal was raised after the government actions regarding the deal appear to contradict its words regarding the safety of Indian investment in the Maldives.

The UK’s Daily Mail focused on the relationship between the former President Mohamed Nasheed and his successor.

Waheed told the UK paper, “We are not pursuing politics of revenge. I want economic diplomacy to override all concerns surrounding us.”

Continuing on this economic theme, Waheed said: ”Big business will bring jobs, keep the youth engage and silence critics. Indians must head towards Maldives.”

He added that India’s growing presence could only be facilitated by direct flight between Male’ and New Delhi.

The Indian Express reported Waheed’s confidence/hope that the Indian government would not be unduly influenced by his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed who undertook his own media offensive in India last month.

“India is not crazy… somebody making demands just because he is popular is not going to find response. India’s response is calculated. It is well informed and therefore, there is nothing for me to be worried about,” Waheed told the Press Trust of India.

These remarks were said to have come in response to the Express’s questions over the comments of State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dunya Maumoon, given to the PTI on the eve of the trip.

Dunya, who has travelled as part of the Maldivian delegation, said: “I believe that India would respect our sovereignty and really does not play a role in the internal politics of the country”. She is the daughter of former President Maumoon Gayoom.

The remainder of the Indian Express interview concerned a rebuttal of Naheed’s allegations that former President Gayoom was behind the recent political upheavals.

“He (Nasheed) has been making all kinds of allegation, some outrageous also, even relating to India officials. I think, he is out of his mind too frequently.”

The Gayoom issue also appeared during the interview with the Times of India, prompting the following response:

“I don’t have to rely on President Gayoom. I am grateful that his party supports me. His party is one among six other parties and they have a proportional place in the cabinet. Together, our coalition has the majority in parliament, but we are different parties with competing agendas. We are together because circumstances require us to work together to stabilize the situation in Maldives and move towards elections next year.”

Senior figures from within the Nasheed administration recently went on record for the Indian media, questioning the role played by the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay in February’s controversial handover of power.

Nasheed himself was careful not to go on record regarding the role of the Indian High Commissioner, deferring instead to the interim chairman of the MDP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik.

The comments Nasheed made during his visit concerning the issue of radical islam in the Maldives continued to persist: “This issue kept coming up in my meetings in India,” he told the Times of India.

Waheed told the Daily Mail that, although the country was not immune from such problems: “We practise a moderate form of Islam.”

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New government a continuation of Nasheed’s: President Waheed

“My government is a continuation of the previous one under President Nasheed and there should be no doubt on this score,” President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan said during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reports The Times of India.

Finer details of this meeting are thin on the ground and have led to allegations of  media misinterpretation, prompting correction by State Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon today.

President Waheed’s comments appear at odds with a speech he gave in Kulhudhufushi a week ago, in which he described Nasheed as “a liar lacking in any sincerity”.

Waheed accused Nasheed of becoming a corrupt and authoritarian leader during his presidency who hijacked the Majlis and attempted to destroy the judiciary.

Since assuming the presidency following Nasheed’s resignation, Waheed has appointed an entirely new cabinet after the previous post-holders were asked to resign as well as creating two new ministries.

Just before leaving for India, President Waheed also vetoed three bills submitted to parliament by Nasheed’s government concerning corporate tax reform, including the Business Registration Bill, passed on 23 April 2012, the Corporate Profit Tax Bill passed on 24 April 2012, and the Sole Trader Bill passed on 25 April 2012.

According to the President’s Office, the bills were returned on the legal advice of Attorney General Azima Shukoor, previously the lawyer of former President Maumoon Gayoom.

The new government has also repealed or reviewed many of the initiatives and policies started under Nasheed, often citing poor planning or corrupt practices.

The government has sought to dispel what it considers “untrue perceptions” planted during the visit to India by former President Mohamed Nasheed last month.

However The Hindu on Friday argued that “the most important agenda will be the political issues that have been flagged by Mr Nasheed during his visit to New Delhi.”

During his trip, Nasheed spoke widely on the need for early elections as well as the potential for radical Islam to emerge within the Indian Ocean nation.

Media interpretations

With only scant details emerging from Dr Waheed’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, media outlets have provided differing interpretations of what the most substantive issues of these talks were.

India Today chose to focus on the issues raised by Nasheed in its summary of the meeting.

“India has asked Maldivian President Mohamed Waheed to hold early elections. He was also directed to rein in fundamentalist forces gaining ground in the island nation,” said India Today.

“Waheed… was told to pay heed to all ‘shades of opinions’ and hold elections before the scheduled polls in October 2013,” the paper continued.

The Hindu said: “[Waheed] is a political lightweight, who will be unable to categorically assure New Delhi on issues that are high on the agenda.”

“The Waheed government has neither shown the urgency, nor the persistence to engage all shades of opinion to arrive an early election date,” the paper reported, noting that the possibility of an early election “appears remote”.

The paper suggested that the real powerbrokers in the Maldives were people not present with the Maldivian delegation, alleging that former President Maumoon Gayoom was one such figure, who preferred 2013 to be the election year.

Gayoom’s daughter, Dunya Maumoon, is part of the delegation, currently serving as State Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Dunya was today anxious to correct any media interpretation that the discussions included agreement on elections before 2013.

“He said that an early election will be held within what is allowed in the constitution, but that the matter is not in his hands given that the constitution stipulates a Presidential election can only be held in 2013,” Dunya told local newspaper Haveeru.

The Gulf Times coverage of the meeting noted that early elections were discussed between the two statesman, before adding that “consensus was elusive” in the Maldives in this respect.

The Indian Express said, “the assessment here is that the parties in the Maldives need to have another round of discussions on the question of early elections,” before the article detailed the constitutional amendment that early polls would require.

The meeting also received coverage in the United States, with the New York’s Daily News reporting that Waheed talked with Singh about the possibility of constitutional amendment that would facilitate early polls.

The newspaper also highlighted the inclusion in the talks of investment opportunities as Waheed told Singh of the Maldives’ desire for further Indian investment as well as assuring him of the “continued adherence” to all agreements between the two countries.

The most high profile deal involving Indian investment in the Maldives is the GMR deal, details of which the government has challenged.

The Indian infrastructure giant signed a 25 year concession agreement with former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government to upgrade and manage Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA). Under the concession agreement, a US$25 charge was to be levied on all outgoing passengers to part-fund the US$400 million upgrade.

However, while in opposition the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) which today forms part of Waheed’s national unity government, led by Dr Hassan Saeed, now President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s special advisor, filed a successful case in the Civil Court in December 2011 to block the payment of the charge, on the grounds that it was effectively a tax not approved by parliament.

In a bid to try and resolve the issue last week, GMR provided several possible solutions to address concerns about the ADC, by offering exempting Maldivian passport holders from paying the charge.

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President Waheed meets Indian PM during official visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan continues his five-day official visit to India today upon the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Hindustan Times reports that the President has met with Prime Minister Singh, discussing the potential for early elections amongst other things. The same paper has also reported that Waheed will meet with President Pratibha Patil tonight.

Dr Waheed is travelling with a delegation that includes the Maldives’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdul Samad Adbullah, Minister of Finance Dr Abdullah Jihad, and Minister of Housing and Environment Dr Mohamed Muiz, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dhunya Maumoon, as well as the First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain.

The visit marks the first overseas trip for the President since he moved into the President’s Office on February 8. Before his departure from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport yesterday, Waheed said that the primary aim was to strengthen existing bilateral relations.

He claimed that the situation in the country was calming down after the unrest that had immediately followed the transfer of power.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), however continues to conduct regular protests challenging the legitimacy of the current government and demanding fresh presidential elections.

On Friday evening Waheed met with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and briefed him on the current political situation in the Maldives.

Reporting on this meeting, the President’s Office said: “The Foreign Secretary said that India hopes to find a ‘Maldives solution’ for the situation. He further stated that India would always hope to see a peaceful and stable Maldives, and would provide its fullest cooperation and assistance in achieving such an environment in the Maldives.”

In an interview with the Press Trust of India (PTI), reported by Daily News and Analysis, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon – and daughter of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – said that Waheed will work to dispel “untrue perceptions” given by former President Mohamed Nasheed, who visited India last month.

“Maldivian Presidents have always made their first trip abroad to India. And President Waheed is coming to India to… brief them directly about the political situation in Maldives,” Dunya is reported to have told PTI.

“I believe that India would respect our sovereignty and really does not play a role in the internal politics of the country which is why I find President’s Nasheed’s comments unacceptable”, she continued.

Former President Nasheed visited India last month, and also met with Prime Minister Singh. During his visit, Nasheed attempted to rally support amongst politicians, think tanks, and industry leaders, for early elections.

Nasheed told the Times of India: “We want more Indian assistance in bringing democracy back.”

Regarding the accusations of coup-conspiracy levelled against her father, former President Gayoom, Dunya said that Nasheed’s politics had always centred on attacking her father, claiming: “I believe he is using the same kind of argument to try and gain the support of his people”.

The presence of Finance Minister Jihad in the delegation was explained by President’s Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza, who told Minivan News that lobbying for the extension of long-term financial support through various aid mechanisms would form part of the group’s agenda.

The Finance Ministry this week revealed that the government’s budget deficit would reach 27 percent of GDP this year, following a 24 percent increase in government expenditure.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission chief in the Maldives, Jonathan Dunn, recently told Minivan News that, other than cutting expenditure and boosting revenue, obtaining foreign loans would be among the few options left to avoid the far more risky option of printing money.

Representatives of Waheed’s government have already travelled to India on official visits, with both Foreign Minister Dr Samad and Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim having visited in early April.

Since the unrest began, bilateral ties appear outwardly to have been unaffected. In March, India offered to replace police vehicles that flared in the unrest following the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed and joint naval exercises have been conducted between the two nations, alongside Sri Lanka, in April.

The Indian Foreign Secretary Mathai played a leading role in the initiation of the ‘all party roadmap’ talks which were intended to expedite the reconciliation of opposing political factions within the Maldives.

Indian brokerage of these talks, which included a commitment to early elections, came only days after India initially recognised the new government. Former President Nasheed later told Time magazine that he had been “shocked” by the speed of this decision.

The deadline set by the Commonwealth’s human rights watchdog, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), by which it hopes to see improvements in the impartiality and independence of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) passes next week.

“Further and stronger” measures against the Maldives have been threatened if the CNI, charged with investigating the events surrounding the presidential changeover, is not adequately reformed.

India is a member of the Commonwealth but does not currently sit on the eight member CMAG board of foreign ministers.

During the meeting with Nasheed last month, the MDP reported Prime Minister Singh as having great faith that the Indian-sponsored all-party talks between Maldivian political parties were the key to a resolution.

Unfortunately, these talks have continued to stall and are currently on hold while the Elections Commission investigates the recent change in leadership within the MDP.

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