Tag: maldives news

UN “ignored Maldives’ vulnerability” in decision to graduate country, Ambassador tells WTO

The Maldives has appealed to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to soften the impact of the country’s graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) to middle income status.

The Maldives will graduate on January 1, 2011, and lose access to both concessional credit, certain trade concessions, and some of the foreign aid upon which aspects of the country – such as civil society – have historically depended on for both skills and financial support.

The country’s Permanent Representative to the WTO, Iruthisham Adam, told the organisation’s general council that while the Maldives welcome the graduation as a “positive
step in the country’s development”, the country would nonetheless “continue to require special treatment and support from international partners.”

The Maldives ,said Ambassador Adam, remained ”acutely vulnerable at economic, commercial and environmental levels” and would therefore require “certain flexibilities”, particularly in regards to trade.

The UN had “ignored the issue of vulnerability” in its decision to graduate the Maldives from the list of LDC countries “on the basis of its strong socio-economic development over recent decades.”

She noted that the Maldives will be the first member of the WTO to graduate and suffer the deprivations attached to loss of LDC trade concessions.

A World Bank Economic Update Report released last month showed a per capita Gross Net Income (GNI) for the country of US$4090 for 2010, up from US$3690 last year.

However it noted that fiscal consolidation – reigning in the ballooning budget deficit with austerity measures and the introduction of taxation on business profits – “remains the foremost challenge in the coming years”.

“A less destructive political climate” will be needed to maintain recent positive developments, the World Bank cautions.

“Despite having posted better-than-expected fiscal results in the first half of the year, the country will be hard-pressed to sustain this in the medium term.”

Minivan News understands that the government will be announcing its plans later this week for mitigating the impact of the graduation.

State Minister for Finance Ahmed Assad has previously told Minivan News that while the government has included the graduation in its financial predictions, the Finance Ministry had banked on the Majlis passing the tax bill by June 2010.

“Some people say [the graduation] will increase borrowing capacity and give us more independence,” Assad said. “But like becoming an adult, it means taking on both freedom and responsibilities.”

An internal report by the World Bank, obtained by Minivan News in May, revealed that the doubling of spending on state salaries in 2007-09 crippled the country’s economy, and left the Maldives “facing the most challenging macroeconomic situation of any democratic transitions that has occurred since 1956.”

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Gayoom mulling presidential prospects amidst Maldives return: Umar Naseer

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former Maldivian President and previous leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) is reportedly considering a return to active politics ahead of travelling to the Maldives campaign during the local council elections, the party’s former Deputy Leader Umar Naseer has claimed.

A number of DRP MPs, including Naseer who was dismissed from the party earlier this month, said that although Gayoom has not yet committed to standing once again as party leader and a presidential candidate in 2013, discussion on the matter remained “open”.

Naseer, who served as a deputy leader of the DRP until being dismissed on December 2 by a party disciplinary committee, claimed that he travelled to Malaysia this week with a number of party representatives to discuss both Gayoom’s and his own political future within the DRP.

DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said the party has not sought to talk with Gayoom or contact him regarding the rival faction in the party, and added that he was not concerned over the potential involvement of the “honorary leader.”

However, Naseer told Minivan News that Gayoom had committed to begin travelling around the Maldives during the local council elections to try and win voter confidence, as well as personally backing him in the dismissal dispute.

“Mr Gayoom believes that the dismissal was illegal and he wants the party to abide by its own constitution and still believes that I hold the office,” he claimed.

Naseer added that he was confident that the Maldives’ general election commissioner would in time rule that his dismissal by the party was improper and will not stand.

“There will be nothing to renegotiate, the position is illegal and I believe this will be supported by the election commission,” he added.

Alongside trying to secure his own future in the party, Naseer said that the former president was needed to prevent defeat in local council elections taking place in February next year.

“As it stands, we have requested he should come back and take charge [of the DRP],” he said. “Without him, we might not win.”

Naseer’s sentiments appear to have changed since an interview with Al Jazeera in November 2007 alongside (now) President Mohamed Nasheed and then-Information Minister Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, where he stated that Gayoom had “failed” and urged him to step down.

“The best thing for the Maldives at the moment is for Mr Gayoom to step down,” Naseer said. “He has failed in all areas. As far as Education is concerned, he has failed. Security he has failed. Corruption, he has failed. All these areas, he has failed. He must step down,” Naseer said, as President of his own Islamic Democratic Party (IDP).

Responding to calls today by Naseer and MPs such as Ahmed Mahloof in calling for the return of the former president to lead the party, Shareef said there was no concern about the impact the meetings could have on their position.

Shareef said that DRP MPs could meet with anyone they wished, but they must abide by the rules and constitution of the party in relation to appointments and dismissals.

“Every member of the party has a right to go wherever and meet whoever they want,” he added.

Naseer’s trip to Malaysia on Friday with a number of MPs still active in the party to meet with Gayoom come amidst a war of words has escalated between the ousted Deputy and current Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

Just last week, a meeting at the DRP headquarters resulted in violent clashes between members alleged to be loyal to Naseer and Thasmeen represented growing animosity within the party about the decision to remove the former deputy leader from his position earlier this month.

Ibrahim Shareef said that the current party leadership had not been in contact with Gayoom about the meetings with Naseer as they believe there is” nothing to be discussed” with the man he said remained the party’s “honorary leader” and did not believe a split within the party was imminent. Shareef insisted that it was ultimately not in either “the party or nation’s interest” to try and cause a split within the DRP.

Considering any potential meetings between Naseer, DRP and Gayoom over appointments and the outcome of this month’s disciplinary committee on Naseer’s political future, Shareef claimed that Naseer had been removed in accordance with the party’s rules and constitution.

“Umar Naseer was dismissed in accordance through all the relevant processes required by the party,” He said. “[Naseer] also declined from making an appeal to the committee about the appeal.”

With the dismissal of Naseer now having taken place, Shareef claimed it could not be rescinded.

Dismissal

Naseer was dismissed as a DRP Deputy Leader on December 2, after a disciplinary committee voted four to one in favour of removing the senior politician on a day that also saw the party headquarter’s stormed by a dozen or so of his supporters.

The exit of Naseer, who has been at the centre of an acrimonious war of words with DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, has led one party MP to claim a split may be imminent within the country’s main political opposition.

“There will be a split in the party for sure,” DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf told Minivan News following the disciplinary committee decision. “He is someone with a lot of support in the party, and to date he has done a lot of work for us. He is very loyal to the former President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.”

Mahlouf also claimed that the decision to remove Naseer due to disagreements with party leadership was against DRP policy and conventions that he said required a two-thirds majority at the party’s congress to remove a serving Deputy Leader.

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President Nasheed praises Cancun climate talks, but warns more work ahead

President Mohamed Nasheed has praised the outcome of climate change talks that concluded last week in Cancun, Mexico as helping to restore confidence in international commitments like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Writing to Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Nasheed said that the country “strongly supports” the Cancun Agreements and the impact they could have on helping countries all over the world in pursuing sustainable economies.

A source in the President’s Office told Minivan News that is was encouraging that the Cancun Agreements effectively “anchored” many of the main aspects of the Copenhagen Accord that the Maldives had supported in its own commitments to tackle impacts of climate change.

However, the source conceded that commitments outlined during the Cancun talks alone would not be enough to combat concerns held by the Maldives and other nations over the impacts climate change could have on rising sea levels and the wider ecosystem.

“Cancun alone won’t be enough,” said the source.  “We need to do more in raising green awareness.”

The aspects that are thought to have been anchored in Cancun include securing emissions reductions from every developed and developing nation alongside the raising of US$100 billion in funding each year to aid sustainability initiatives based on low carbon developments for smaller economies from 2020.

For the Maldives, 2020 proves to be a very big year with President Nasheed committing to make the nation Carbon Neutral, an ambition the president last month claimed will be a disaster for the nation if not met.

However, the source said that Cancun did not require any significant changes in the Maldives green policy, claiming the country had made the most ambitious commitments of any nation in the world.

The exact nature of what this carbon neutral commitments will entail for the nation has not yet been outlined, with a “masterplan” currently being compiled with funding from the La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild.  It is hoped that this “carbon Neutral Masterplan” will outline definite measures that can be adopted by other nations to follow in attempts to pursue more sustainable economies.

“Adopting carbon neutrals goals is not just important because climate change is a major global problem, which it is, but because it also makes economic sense,” added the President’s office spokesperson.

Climate change consideration

However, not everyone has been convinced that the potential impacts of climate change on rising sea levels within low lying nations like the Maldives are a vital issue to address for business.

Andrew Harrison, who was recently appointed CEO of GMR Male’ International Airport, said that at least from the viewpoint of insurance companies, the risk of sea levels increasing to a point that disrupted operations at the site were not even considered in its premiums.

“When we became involved in the bid process, we engaged three leading companies who are at the forefront of analysing geophysical activity, climate change and the impact rising sea levels,” he said.  “Insurers are notorious for considering even unimaginable risks, so I can tell you that if no insurance company considers this in any of their policies for the Maldives, we think that the risk is pretty low.”

Speaking to Minivan News last month, environmental organisation Greenpeace said it believed the Maldives acted more as a symbol than a practical demonstration of how national development and fighting climate change can be mutually exclusive.

Wendel Trio, Climate Policy and Global Deal Coordinator for Greenpeace International, believed that the Maldives can nonetheless play an iconic role in promoting the potential benefits of adopting alternate energy programmes.

In looking specifically at the Maldives, the Greenpeace spokesperson accepted that the country is somewhat limited by its size in the role it can have as an advocate for more sustainable business and lifestyles.

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“Hysterical outbursts” reflect dissatisfaction over Israel aid, says Islamic Foundation

Founders of the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) NGO have claimed that although they do not believe in “hysterical outbursts” and theories of an imminent “Jewish invasion” in the country, a week of anti-Israel protests and flag burning across Male’ has reflected “strong dissatisfaction with the government’s open attitude” to the Jewish state.

During the last six days, Maldivians both in Male’ and some islands have engaged in protest marches and burning the Israeli flag, calling for the deportation of a group of Israeli doctors conducting eye surgery at a number of hospitals around the country as part of a humanitarian work for a group called ‘Eye from Zion’.

Some 739 people in Male’ and 879 in Addu and Fuvahmulah had registered for treatment at eye camps run by the NGO as of  December 9.

The furore over the visit of the group of Israeli surgeons led to groups such as Jamiyyathusalaf to call for the provision of “military training to all Muslim Maldivians and familiarise citizens with the use of modern weaponry” before “Jews take over the country”.

Distancing itself from these statements, the IFM told Minivan News it believes that by adopting a “pro-Israel” stance, the Maldivian government was losing support and credibility among its people.

While the government said it has been “consistent” in its opposition to Israel’s foreign policy concerning Palestine, the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said the Maldives had tried to maintain positive diplomatic relations with almost every nation and that it welcomed humanitarian aid, such as the services provided by Eye from Zion.

Speaking to Minivan News this week, IFM co-founders Ibrahim Nazim and Ibrahim Fauzee said that although they were not actively involved in protests and flag burnings as an organisation, they did not wish to “prohibit its members” from taking part in the week’s protests that it saw as a “spontaneous reaction” to concerns over Israel’s attitude towards Palestine.

“We’re very concerned about Palestine, but we are neither anti-Israel or pro-Israel,” said Nazim. “We understand there are genuine feelings of concern about Palestine, which is always a central issue for Muslims.”

Nazim said that the IFM did not favour violence as an organisation and that claims by “other organisations in the country” that Jewish people were planning to take over the country were setting back legitimate concerns over the visit of Eye from Zion and Israeli foreign policy.

“What I feel is that some groups are trying to win publicity by making radical statements,” he said. “We do not believe this is good and in the long-term it is not be favourable [towards effectively opposing Israeli activities in the Maldives].”

Nazim said the IFM “understood concerns about offensive nature of burning flags”, but added that “it’s not the first time flags have been burned around the world.”

Fauzee said that he believed the protests reflected the fact that “many people in the Maldives do not accept Israel as a state.”

As an organisation, he said, the IFM backed “the official Iranian position” in regards to Israel and its legitimacy as a state, though he distanced himself from any potential calls for violence against the nation itself.

“[The IFM supports this position] not because the Iranian leader is a great or respected person, but because of the issue of legitimacy regarding the land [Israel] occupies,” claimed Fauzee.

He added that opposition to the Eye from Zion group was very much tied in to Israel’s foreign policy in relation to Palestine and its conduct in Gaza.

Amidst claims that a majority of Maldivians were opposed to the notion of an Israeli state, Nazim said the IFM itself feared that the government were having both open and “secret” negotiations with Israel.

“What are these negotiations? As an NGO we are concerned at this, and such suspicion is shared across the country,” he added. “The more the government gets involved in relations with Israel, the more problems it creates for itself.”

Nazim claimed that President Mohamed Nasheed was now suffering very low approval ratings as a result of allowing Eye from Zion to operate in the country.

“We feel the government should not have any diplomatic relations with Israel,” he said. “There is [political] opposition that wants to exploit this situation; the President is giving them opportunity to do so.”

Nazim added that as an NGO, beyond opposition to allowing collaboration with Israel, it was not opposed as a group to humanitarian aid from interfaith groups as long as they did not try and conduct missionary work in the country.

“Eye from Zion is a radical group that is trying to win the support of islands across the Maldives,” he said. “What we believe is that the protests will die down once the Zionists go back.”

In response to this week’s anti-Israel protests and criticism that the government was engaged in a pro-Israel agenda, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the government “holds friendly relations with Israel, as it does almost every other nation in the world.”

“We are not at loggerheads with any states, thugh we have some differences with Burma over the treatment of [formerly arrested dissident] Aung Sun Suu Kyi,” he said. “There is nothing special in terms of agreements with Israel.”

Though Zuhair claimed that the Maldives government has been “consistent on criticising Israel over Palestine and other foreign policy issues it did not agree on”, this was not a barrier to humanitarian cooperation, he said.

Zuhair added that by having bilateral relations with a large number of nations, the Maldives was able to benefit from cooperation based on technical assistance, education and humanitarian aid.

He claimed that the medical expertise offered by Eye from Zion was a strong example of this.

“We ourselves don’t have the means for this type of surgery, which has so far treated 140 patients in Male’ and 40 people across islands in the outer atolls,” Zuhair added. “In this case, the patients that thankful for the treatment they have received, which outweighs the protests against [the doctors].”

David Goldfarb, spokesperson for the Embassy of Israel in New Dehli, claimed that “too much emphasis” has been placed on protests against the visit of Eye from Zion to the Maldives compared to the work they had conducted.

“There will always be extremists ready to sacrifice their own people’s welfare in order to achieve extreme political goals,” he told Minivan News. “The major success of the project has been proven by well over 1000 men, women and children who have flocked to the doctors to receive ophthalmological care, and this is where the emphasis really lies.”

Goldfarb claimed that Israel had conducted a wide range of humanitarian work around South Asia beyond the current project relating to eye surgeries.

“Israel is actively involved in international development and humanitarian cooperation in India, Sri Lanka and in many other countries in South Asia,” he told Minivan News. “This was especially noticeable, for example, after the Tsunami, when Israel was one of the first countries to offer and provide assistance to South Asia.”

When considering ongoing conflict and the difficulties being experienced in Gaza, Goldfarb claimed that the Hamas leadership had themselves “declared an existential war with Israel”, but this was not related to wider aid projects that the country was involved in.

“This has nothing at all to do with the extremely large scale Israeli humanitarian projects in the Maldives and around the world, including in many countries in Asia and Africa,” he said.

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Female badminton champion battles badminton bureaucracy in ongoing court battle

One of the Maldives’ most successful female badminton players is battling the country’s Badminton Association in court claiming she was dismissed for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

Neela Ahmed Najeeb, formerly the only female badminton player on the national team, holds a string of championship medals and several international competitions to her credit. Najeeb said that her abilities meant she could play against men during training sessions “and even beat a few of the good players, enough to compete with them.”

She claims the Association has sought to obstruct her from playing the sport ever since it sent her home from a competition in Sri Lanka in 2006 for allegedly smoking a cigarette.

In May last year, the 25 year-old was suspended from the Association altogether after clashing with her Indonesian coach, whom she alleged attempted to make her run for four hours in punishment for missing a training session – half an hour short of the average marathon.

“I had just started training again and I was not even physically fit,” she says. “I missed practice one morning and the coach told me to run for two hours, but I couldn’t do it – I’ve been in the national team for eight years and we’ve never had to do anything like that before. I ran for 30-45 minutes but I could not run anymore.”

The coach, she said, “didn’t like it, and said I could not join the training unless I ran for another 1.5 hours. I didn’t make it a problem.”

However, Najeeb said that, “a few days later, I missed another training session because of my work, and the next day [the coach] asked me to run for two hours again. I could only do 30-40 minutes, and he said that because I had only run 30-40 minutes the last time, I now had to run three hours.”

Najeeb says she took the matter to the Badminton Association, explaining she did not feel she was capable of running the three hours and was afraid of injuring herself early in the training. But she claimed they sided with the coach, “reasoning that he had a degree in Physical Education.”

“The last time I went to training I said I would run 30-40 minutes, but he said no, now I had to run for four hours.”

“I couldn’t believe it. I told him that was impossible. He became angry and said I was useless, and some things that really hurt me. He asked me to leave the stadium, and made a complaint about my behaviour, and filed a disciplinary case,” Najeeb says.

The next day, according to Najeeb, the Badminton Association sent her a letter saying she was terminated from the national team.

“They didn’t even talk to me. If they are going to fire a player from the national team, they have to give me a chance to appeal. They didn’t do that. I don’t want to be against them, they should be advising me.”

Najeeb had been selected to travel to Greece on June 10 last year for a youth training session by the International Olympic Committee.

However, athletes attending the training required the backing of their local association – and Najeeb claims the national chairman “said he was not going to give it.”

Instead, Najeeb said she was informed her application was invalid following the disciplinary report filed by a coach four years ago for the alleged smoking of a cigarette while attending the Sri Lankan tournament in 2006. “Which,” she added, “was not true.”

“I think this must be personal – this is not what you do to an athlete. You don’t just terminate them,” Najeeb claimed.

“I think Maldivian players deserve better. If you have a problem with a coach, [sporting associations] are supposed to advise you – but the Badminton Association takes everything personally.”

President of the Badminton Association, Ali Amir, told Minivan News that he was unable to comment on Najeeb’s disciplinary action as the case was pending in court, but did confirm that the Association was defending the case.

A senior badminton player Minivan News spoke to, who requested anonymity, said he felt it was unfair that Najeeb had been obstructed from practising for 4-5 years.

“She was not supposed to smoke [while attending the Sri Lankan tournament in 2006], and she did smoke, and was sent back to Male’. We have to sign an agreement [with the Badminton Association], but there was nothing in it saying that if we smoke we are sent back to Male’.”

“After that she was unable to play on the national team for two years. Eventually she was allowed a new coach, but then she was suspended again in May last year.”

“It’s a big loss for her,” he added, speculating that “there is something going on between [Najeeb] and the Badminton Association. I have no idea what.”

“She can’t even play alone – if anyone from the Association sees her in the stadium, they call the guards to take her out. The Association is doing this, not the players.”

The new coach’s running regime was “very ruthless”, he claimed. “If we do not come to the morning session we have to run 1-2 hours that night and lose time training. It’s useless.”

Najeeb said she “will not quit playing a sport I love”, but confirmed that she has been escorted from the stadium “because I don’t have an association membership card. It is really frustrating.”

Najeeb and the lawyer representing her in the case, Mizna Shareef of Shah, Hussein & Co, allege that her suspension contradicts the termination procedure of the Constitution of the Badminton Association as she was not given a chance to defend herself.

“The Association unfairly and quite harshly terminated Neela without establishing adequate cause and without giving Neela the opportunity to defend herself,” Shareef told Minivan News. She added that outside the Association’s own regulations “there are no applicable laws covering this type of situation.”

The case was lodged in May this year but despite having three hearings, Shareef claimed “the Badminton Association has stalled the case by appearing in court without having prepared their statements.”

“The longer this case gets delayed, the longer Neela suffers without being served justice. At this point, there is no certainty as to when the case would end,” Shareef said.

“Neela,” she added, “has personally experienced gender discrimination where the Association has held a different set of disciplinary standards for its male players. If we are successful in getting a judgement in Neela’s favour, it would definitely encourage more woman players to play the sport at a professional level, without fear of discrimination and unfair treatment.”

Najeeb, for her part, describes the time she has been away from badminton as “one of the most difficult times in my life”, and that if she is allowed to continue playing on the national team, “I have faith I can achieve more for my country.”

“I resigned from my job to make the training sessions, but they just took their decision [to terminate me] without thinking. They are misusing their power. For me badminton is my life, and they’ve taken it away from me – twice.”

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India and Australia offer scholarships to Maldivian students

Australia and India have both announced scholarships to Maldivian students, which President Mohamed Nasheed has said will “fill a huge gap in our human resource needs”.

Australia has doubled the number of scholarships offered to the Maldives, offering a total of 31 scholarships under the ‘Australia Awards’ program, with a total value of AUD$4.1 million. Six students have been awarded an Australian Leadership Award Scholarship (ALAS), while the remaining students have been awarded Australian Development Scholarships (ADS).

“If we didn’t get these we would have to spend amazing amount of funds,” President Nasheed said, while Australian High Commissioner to the Maldives and Sri Lanka, Kathy Klugman, said while Australia had a “very long standing, a very deep and a productive relationship” with the Maldives, stating that as a result of the interactions with the Australian government by President Nasheed this year, “we’ve just now taken [Australia-Maldives] relationship to an entirely new level”.

Following President Nasheed’s meeting with the then Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Canberra earlier this year, the Australian government announced Australia’s aid programme for the Maldives, including an increased number of scholarships.

India has also announced 37 scholarships this year for Maldivian students to institutes of higher education in the country, through the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).

A statement from the Indian High Commission said the scholarships for Graduate/Post Graduate courses were open to all Maldivian students who have completed their A level exams and prerequisite subjects.

The High Commission noted that besides providing students placements in prestigious Indian Institutes, the scholarships also included airfares, tuition fees and a living allowance. More details available on www.iccrindia.net.

India provides approximately 90 scholarships/training slots to Maldivian citizens every year.

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President praises Maldives’ “biggest sporting achievement”

The Maldives national cricket team have been greeted back in Male’ by President Mohamed Nasheed after their triumph last week in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Trophy Challenge 2010, which he labelled as the country’s “biggest sporting achievement” to date.

The president congratulated the team for their efforts after they defeated Saudi Arabia by a single wicket during the tournament finale in Bangkok, after they had overcome a number of regional teams to secure the title.
Nasheed stated that the victory highlighted the potential for further development of cricket in the country.

This year’s Trophy Challenge tournament, which began December 4, 2010, saw eight teams including China, Brunei, Iran and Myanmar compete against the Maldives.

The victory sees both finalists promoted to the ACC Trophy Elite tournament in 2012, where they will face teams such as Afghanistan, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

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DRP celebration ends in factional brawl

A meeting of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) last night came to blows when Umar Naseer, the party’s Deputy Leader prior to his dismissal by the party’s disciplinary committee, and his supporters gatecrashed the venue.

The meeting was being held in celebration of last Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling, which saw seven cabinet ministers departing their posts after their reappointments were disapproved by the opposition-majority parliament.

“We don’t really know what happened,” said Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam, of last night’s incident at Ghiyasuddin International School.

“We know the Vice President of the DRP Umar Naseer tried to enter and there was some disturbance inside. People tried to attack each other but police intervened.”

Shiyam noted that while some people were claiming to have been injured in the fighting, “police haven’t received any official reports.”

“There was damage to chairs and a table,” he said, but added that police would not be following the matter “as no one has requested an investigation.”

Local media reported that a glass table in front of DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali was smashed after supporters of Naseer forced their way into the venue while former Attorney General Azima Shukoor was speaking.

According to newspaper Haveeru, Shukoor called an end to the meeting and described the clash as a “dark and regretful” night in the party’s history.

Deputy Leader of the DRP and Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef alleged today that Umar Naseer was attempting to attack and hurt Thasmeen during the meeting, which he said was attended by 3000 people.

“There were two stages – at first [Naseer’s] supporters came in; there were about 25-30 of them. 40-50 including his security detail,” Shareef said.

“There was uproar and both Thasmeen and the Speaker [Abdulla Shahid] were removed by their security detail.”

Naseer’s dismissal from the party was followed by an acrimonious war of words with Thasmeen and allegations that he and Shahid were bribed by GMR – allegations Shareef described as “totally fake”, and “ a dirty tactic to discredit the Speaker and the Party Leader.”

The dismissal of Naseer led DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf to speculate last week that “there will be a split in the party for sure.”

“[Naseer] is someone with a lot of support in the party, and to date he has done a lot of work for us. He is very loyal to the former President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,” Mahlouf said.

Shareef alleged today that the main goal of Umar Naseer and his supporters was now “to dislodge Thasmeen from the leadership of the party.”

“They are urging people not to vote for the official DRP candidates in the local council elections, over SMS and telephone,” he said.

“They are doing everything they can to rebel, and hope to change the party’s constitution in the 2012 congress so they can elect their man to the leadership post.”

He acknowledged that the factional fighting could have a have “a negative impact on our election prospects [in the local council elections], but not that much.”

“”Thasmeen as a leader is cool-headed and wise, and does not use such populist tactics,” Shareef said.

“We know that some of the new government’s policies are not right, such as the airport concession for GMR. But at the same time we would not support a hijacking of the airport – we have to use legal means and not damage the nation’s economy. We will not use terror tactics.”

Shareef observed that Naseer were saying they had the backing of “the Honorary Leader” – former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

“We don’t know how true that is,” Shareef said. “I don’t think it is in anyone’s interest – including that of the Honorary Leader – for us not to unite and win the election.”

Shareef said he had observed among Naseer’s supporters “many activists belonging to the coalition [People’s Alliance] party”, which is led by the former President’s brother in-law, Abdulla Yameen, and together gives the opposition its parliamentary majority.

Despite the coalition partnership, Yameen filed a civil court case against Thasmeen in February seeking repayment of debts, reported in local media to be around US$100,000.

“I don’t know how involved the coalition leadership is in this,” Shareef said, adding that he did not believe the present factional infighting would jeopardise the coalition or its parliamentary majority.

Rather, he said, “I think the dispute comes from a belief that we are not being aggressive enough, that there is not enough direct activism, and that therefore we are not fighting the government.”

“Our view is that if the government is doing something good for the nation, we will back them. We believe we have a role to help govern.”

Umar Naseer and DRP MPs Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed and Ahmed Nihan were not responding to calls at time of press.

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Banks given permission for small dollar commission

Banks have been given authorisation by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to place a one percent commission on one and five US dollar bills to try and encourage greater exports of the currency.

Haveeru reported that the MMA had conceded to requests from banks for permission to charge commission on the notes as a result of the high cost and “risk” involved in exporting dollars.

“Banks need to export the dollar bills of small value being collected as a result of the low public demand,” the MMA reportedly said.

Any institutions with a licence allowing the exchange of foreign currency will be able to charge the commission, under the MMA ruling.

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