Tag: Letters

Maldives disputes allegations of US “climate bribe” to support Copenhagen Accord

The Maldivian government has hit back at allegations of “climate bribery” in international media this week, disputing claims that it pushed for US$50 million assistance from the US government in exchange for uneqivocally backing the Copenhagen Accord.

A leaked US diplomatic cable detailing an exchange between the Maldives Ambassador to the US, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed and US Deputy Climate Change Envoy Jonathan Pershing on February 23, 2010, was described as a “diplomatic dance” by the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

“Ghafoor referred to several projects costing approximately US$50m. Pershing encouraged him to provide concrete examples and costs in order to increase the likelihood of bilateral assistance,” the Guardian quoted from the cable.

In response to growing criticism – including several questions on the subject directed at President Mohamed Nasheed during his appearance on BBC Hardtalk, the Maldivian government today released several diplomatic documents it claimed “show that the country pledged its support to the Copenhagen Accord unilaterally and without reservations on 19 December 2009, just hours after the climate change negotiations concluded in the Danish capital.”

In a letter dated December 19, 2009, Dr Shaheed writes to the Executive Secretary for the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) to “confirm that the Maldives supports and associates itself with the Copenhagen Accord of 18 December 2009.”

In a second letter, dated January 29, 2010, Dr Shaheed again writes to the Executive Secretary stating that “the Maldives’ submission of its mitigation actions is voluntary and unconditional. However we do wish to state, on the record, that the Maldives will be seeking international support for implementation, and that, at such a tie as we do, we are happy for our request to be recorded in the registry and for our mitigation actions to be internationally measured, reported and verified.”

In a statement released yesterday, Dr Shaheed dismissed as “smear” allegations “by some parties” that the Maldives had said it would only sign the Copenhagen Accord in exchange for US$50 million in assistance, and that the release of the letters was “in the interests of full disclosure” to prove that the Maldives supported the Copenhagen Accord on its own merits.

“In fact the Maldives was actively lobbying other parties, including the US, to associate with the Accord. Not the other way around,” Dr Shaheed said. “President Nasheed spent many hours late at night in the final Heads of State meeting which negotiated the Copenhagen Accord, working with other leaders to try to avoid a total collapse of the negotiations and to ensure that the interests of small island and vulnerable countries were protected.

“Having been so intimately involved in negotiating the document, it was natural that the Maldives signed up to the Accord immediately after the Copenhagen negotiations ended.”

The Maldives had led a “diplomatic offensive” to urge other countries to sign the Accord, Dr Shaheed noted. “To suggest, therefore, that the US somehow paid-off the Maldives to support the Accord defies all logic.”

“Some people are trying to spin this non-story into a scandal in order to undermine the progressive voices of small island states such as the Maldives,” he added.

“We are seeking to play a bridging role between rich and poor nations in the interests of getting a deal that will save our countries from a watery grave. But not everyone supports this effort.”

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‘Fat lies’ in leaked letters supporting bribery allegations: Yameen

People’s Alliance party leader Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom says letters published on a Dhivehi language website contain “fat lies” and that he had never asked a MDP Majlis member to join his political party, reports Haveeru.

Seven letters were sent recently to President Nasheed by MDP Majlis members claiming Yameen and Jumhooree party leader Ibrahim Gasim had tried to bribe them. The letters in PDF format published on the website are two letters signed by Hulhumeedhoo Majlis member Ilyas Labeeb, and five letters signed individually by Madaveli member Mohamed Nazim, Kedhikulhudhoo member Ahmed Eesa, Thinadhoo member Mohamed Gasam, Machangoalhi-South member Mohamed Rasheed and Baarashu member Mohamed Shifaz.

At the end of last month, letters were presented as evidence by the police at the High Court as evidence supporting charges of treason and bribery against Yameen and Gasim, but Haveeru ‘could not confirm if the letters are the same’. The letters on the website claim that Yameen and Gasim offered ‘rewards’ if the MDP Majlis members join the opposition People’s Alliance and Jumhooree Party, according to Haveeru. Mohamed Gasam confirmed the credibility of his letter and said it was sent to the President because of offers he had been receiving from Gasim since February.

Ilyas Labeeb told Haveeru he had not seen the leaked letters, but when the contents of the two letters signed with his name were read out, he confirmed that he had written a letter “to that effect”.  President’s Office press secretary Mohamed Zuhair told Haveeru he could not confirm the credibility of the letters. “I have also seen the letters,” said Zuhair. “I cannot say whether the [leaked] letters were the letters sent by the MPs [to the President], since the investigation is underway.”

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