Tag: maldives news

Australia and the Maldives strengthening diplomatic relations

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Kathy Klugman, where they discussed the challenges faced by the Maldives and ways in which Australia could assist the government.

Dr Waheed said some of the biggest challenges are employing well trained staff at drug rehabilitation centres, building safer prisons and the lack of job opportunities for Maldivian youth.

Klugman said there are different works being carried out by the Australian government in the Maldives, especially volunteer training programmes in different atolls.

She also mentioned several Australian scholarships for Maldivian students, and said these scholarships present a good opportunity for training in the area of drug rehabilitation.

The meeting took place a day after the first-ever Australian diplomatic event in the Maldives at the Holiday Inn on Sunday, where President Mohamed Nasheed thanked the Australian people and government for their assistance to the Maldives.

He also commended Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for his help in making the Copenhagen Accord a reality and for his honesty and good work as a politician.

Klugman also spoke at the function. She congratulated the government on the transition to democracy and assured further assistance from Australia to the Maldives, especially in the education sector.

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“Shangri-La strike will not end soon” warns TEAM

The strike over the dismissal of 65 staff members at Shangri-La Villingili Resort in Addu Atoll is still going strong with 157 staff members joining the strike and the support of the Tourism Employment Association of the Maldives (TEAM).

The strike began on 14 April when four villa hosts were dismissed by the resort for locking themselves in an empty guest room to play PlayStation.

Sixty-one other staff members signed a petition to reinstate the four dismissed staff, but instead, they were all escorted by police to Feydhoo in Seenu Atoll and dismissed from their jobs.

Since the strike began, they have been  joined by another 110 other staff members as well as members of TEAM. Over 157 people are now protesting at Feydhoo, hoping the management of Shangri-La will reconsider their decision and reinstate the 65 staff.

But Vice President of TEAM Mauroof Zakir doesn’t think it will be over soon, saying “it might last for another week.”

“Management doesn’t want to change their decision,” he said, noting that the strike is still going strong and is “well organised.”

Zakir said the PlayStation was originally brought at a guest’s request, but the guest said something was wrong with the console. He said the four staff went into an empty guest room—noting all the rooms around it were empty “so there would be no disturbances”—and were checking the console.

“They acknowledged they started to play a football game for about 5 or 10 minutes,” Zakir said, but claimed the resort’s management did not deal with the situation “as they should have.”

“After 45 minutes, they had made their decision [to dismiss the villa hosts],” Zakir said.

He said a number of staff then went to the Human Resources department to demand resort management reinstate the four staff members, but management refused.

“We are still trying to negotiate with management,” Zakir said, “but they don’t want to negotiate with our demands.”

He said management then decided to fire everyone who had taken part in petitioning for the reinstatement of the four staff members, and called police to have all 65 staff escorted to nearby Feydhoo.

Shangri-La Villingili Resort
Shangri-La Villingili Resort

Zakir said the 65 dismissals were unlawful as staff were given no warning and no termination letter. He added that since the incident took place, they have been receiving informal messages from resort management that all staff who joined the protest will be fired, too.

“[Management] is still trying to protect their decision,” Zakir said, “they wanted to investigate the case but they don’t want to discuss it [with us].”

Zakir said the resort management was scheduled to have another meeting tomorrow and they were bringing in people from the company’s head office.

He added that the resort needed to not only reinstate all staff but also the trade union.

“Under the Constitution, we have the right to protest and freedom of association,” Zakir said.

He said because the Maldives is a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), they had the right to form unions, and he said he hoped the ILO “might step in” and help resolve the situation.

“They won’t give up and neither will we,” Zakir stated.

Shangri-La’s Director for Communication Leslie Garcia said the resort is “running smoothly and operating as normal,” and added the investigation is currently ongoing.

She said management is “working closely with local government authorities” and was trying to solve the issue, but would not give any comments or details regarding the strike or what measures were being taken to resolve the problem.

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Arrests in Laamu Gan after gang attacks on police

Police have arrested 22 people including four children under the age of 18 in Laamu Gan, after they were attacked during a wave of gang violence.

Police said the attacks occurred on Saturday morning at 4:00am, after the gang, believed to be from Mathimaradhu, “appeared suddenly from a forest.”

Police alleged gang members broke the glass windows of a shop in the industrial area of Mathimaradhu, burnt down a hut in Mulurimagu [district] and broke the windows of two houses. When they tried to stop the gang members, police claim they they were attacked and a police vehicle damaged.

Two policemen were seriously injured in the attack, including one suffered a broken arm after he was hit by a metal tube and another who was struck in the arm by a piece of wood with nails in it.

Police have recovered some of the weapons used in the attack from a house in Mathimaradhu, including swords, knives, metal pipes and blocks.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the injured two police officers have been brought to Male’ and admitted in Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

He said the police were investigating the case but refused to give more information.

Island Chief of Gan office Abdul Rahman said that the attack on Saturday night was a gang war between the two districts Mathimaradhu and Mukuri Magu that had been going on for a long time, “for at least three months.”

”Several times many of them have been injured,” Rahman said, ”but this is the first time they attacked the police and damaged property.”

He said most of the gang members were under the age of eighteen.

”We do not know why they have been fighting,” he said. ”We had not received any reports on these fights.”

He said there was a distance of 30 minutes between the two districts on foot.

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Reports of a baby at Artificial Beach have police laughing

Reports of a bundle that looked like a baby sent police to the Artificial Beach yesterday.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police took the reports very seriously and went to the Artificial Beach, near the Tsunami Memorial to look at the bundle.

They unwrapped it to find it was a frozen fish.

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New Moroccan Ambassador meets President Nasheed

New Moroccan Ambassador to the Maldives, Larbi Moukhariq, presented his credentials to President Mohamed Nasheed at the President’s Office yesterday afternoon.

President Nasheed and Ambassador Moukhariq discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the countries and on expanding areas of cooperation, such as tourism, commerce, education and climate change, including renewable energies.

President Nasheed noted the strong historic relations between the two countries and said they were good development partners.

Ambassador Moukhariq assured the president of his country’s commitment to further strengthen relations with the Maldives.

Ambassador Moukhariq is also ambassador to India, and dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps.

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Cabinet to decide on matters that could result in the public paying fees

Government offices have been asked by the President’s office to propose any services that could result in the public paying fees or charges.

The President’s Office asked that any information regarding the matters proposed should not be made public until the Cabinet has made its final decision on the matter.

All government offices were also instructed all government offices to execute the Cabinet’s decision on the matter once the decision has been made.

The President’s Office has instructed all government offices to propose any matters that could result in public paying any fee or charge, to the Cabinet through the line ministry. The President’s Office made the instruction in a directive issued today.

The directive state that any information regarding the matters proposed the Cabinet should not be made public before the Cabinet issues a final decision on the matter.

The directive issued by the President’s Office also instruct all government departments to execute the decisions of the Cabinet once the President’s Office informs the relevant ministries of the decision.

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India donates helicopter to MNDF

The Indian government has donated a helicopter to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), reports Haveeru.

The helicopter will be officially handed to the MNDF at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Indian Defence Minister AK Anthony visited the Maldives in August, and after his visit the Indian High Commission said the Indian government would provide a helicopter and assistance to establish a 25-bed military hospital in Malé.

The helicopter has been re-painted with a Maldivian flag and a sign reading MNDF.

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Dr Waheed concludes tour of South Havadhu Atoll

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed attended a function in GDh Thinadhoo to mark the anniversary of MM Pre-School, one of the oldest pre-schools of Thinadhoo.

Dr Waheed said pre-school education plays an important role in the development of children’s minds, and the future will be based on children’s education.

He mentioned the importance of maternal health and education, for the proper nurturing of children and added all pre-school teachers should be well qualified.

Dr Waheed said the government is trying to establish a pre-school in every island, as education for young kids needs special attention.

Vice President Waheed was on a tour of South Havadhu Atoll which began on 15 April. He is now back in Malé.

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Government to host Boney M concert after Sri Lankan organiser arrested for fraud

A Sri Lankan man is being held by police for charges of fraud connected with the recently postponed Boney M concert.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the Sri Lankan national has been in police custody since Thursday and will be taken to court later this evening.

The Mega International Music Fiesta, which was scheduled to take place at the Galolhu National Stadium in Malé on 14 April, was being organised by Pro Maldives Inc Ltd (also known as Pro Models) in partnership with Sri Lankan company ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’.

The event was cancelled at the last minute and managing director of Pro Models Mohamed Nizam told media although they had not received any pressure or complaints, the show had to be postponed and there would be a full refund for people who had already bought tickets.

Tickets were sold at Rf 250 and 500 (US$19.5 and US$39).

Minivan News was unable to find a website, business registration or contact details for any company called ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’ in Sri Lanka.

A ‘completely new show’

The original show would have starred disco legends Boney M and featured British reggae legends Aswad and North American rapper Bubba Sparxxx.

The Maldives Entertainment Company Ltd, backed by the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, has now taken over planning and executing the event, which will be held on 26 April in Dharubaaruge.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said the concert was postponed because “the agency in charge of delivering the stars here had some technical difficulties.”

He said Boney M cancelled the show because of these “technical difficulties”. Zuhair said Pro Models then “appealed to the government for help” and the government agreed because they felt it would be “good for the country.”

He added refunds were being given for those who bought the original tickets.

Minister for Human Resources, Youth and Sports, Hassan Lateef, said the original show was “a flop” because the companies in charge of organising the event “couldn’t bring [Boney M] down to the Maldives.”

“There was not enough communication with Boney M management,” Lateef said, “so [Boney M] cancelled.”

He said he had no suspicion that the previous organisers were playing a scam on ticket buyers, and added it was “a lack of trust” on the part of Boney M management that stopped the show from taking place on its original date.

Lateef said because tickets had been sold and the public had the expectation of seeing the show, “the government intervened” and Boney M’s appearance has been confirmed for 26 April.

He added the agreement is being sent to Boney M management for signing today.

“A lot of things were not arranged properly,” he said, noting that advanced payments were not made and the event organisers had trouble in getting the members to the Maldives.

Lateef said the ministry had not received any complaints about the Boney M concert and added, “I have received calls from government officials… a lot of people have made bookings.”

He acknowledged “it’s not good for the government to host a show,” but assured the government has no intention of hosting other events in the future. “Because of how things went, we had to intervene,” he said.

Lateef also noted this is “a totally new show”, distinct from the original ‘International Fiesta’, and new tickets are required.

“I heard the [original] tickets have been refunded,” he said, and advised people to buy tickets for the new show “as soon as possible” as there is limited seating in the new venue.

The new show, which will feature an original member of Boney M, will feature a local band, but he said the local artists have still not been selected.

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