The Voice of Maldives (VOM) celebrates its 47th anniversary today.
As part of the celebrations, VOM are holding an open day from 2pm to 6 pm, inviting to the general public to witness the operation of the radio station. A special function will also be held tonight.
VOM was opened on 29 December 1962.
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(0)The ministry of fisheries and agriculture will introduce a new fishing licence aimed at reducing the amount of illegal fishing activity.
The new licenses are necessary to comply with European export legislation, said Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr Ibrahim Didi.
Under this regulation, only vessels holding a license issued by that country’s fishing governing body may export fish to the EU.
“The new license is only required for those needing to export fish to Europe. Fishing for the local market does not require you to have this,” he said.
Illegal fishing methods, such as drag net fishing, was a major problem for the Maldives said State Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr Hussain Rasheed.
“When the new regulation is passed, all exporters must have a paper trail of where their fish came from and who caught them,” he said.
“Without a license illegal fishing groups can’t sell, and once you take the market away they will stop,” predicted Rasheed.
Didi also said that it was important to stay ahead of the game by maintaining standards set by the EU.
“The EU will stop the export of fish into their borders if they feel countries are not complying with their regulations, as was the case with Malaysia and Indonesia,” he said.
Didi also addressed the issue of vessels operating with a expired safety certificates.
“The maximum fine a vessel can incur at the moment is Rf2000,” he said. “So there is a window for vessels to renew their certificates and operate under the regulations set by the ministry.”
Regulations set by the EU would only help local fishermen, he added, by preventing resources from being over-harvested.
The new regulation will take effect from 1 January 2010. In addition to the new license, all vessels will be required to have up to date health and safety certificates available from all atolls.
(0)Dislikes(0)Prominent businessman Ahmed Ibrahim Didi, known as ‘Campus’ Didi, was stabbed and robbed of almost US$300,000 in cash by unknown assailants last night.
Police said the incident occurred late last night around 12.30 pm on Fareedhee Magu, in front of the Novelty Bookshop.
A Bangladeshi man accompanying Didi suffered a gash to his arm, while Didi was badly injured and was flown to India for medical treatment. Eye witnesses told the newspaper Haveeru that the pavement outside the shop resembled “a red river of blood.”
Sergeant Shiyam from Maldives Police Service confirmed the amount of money stolen was “a lot”, while Haveeru reported the attackers escaped with almost US$200,000 and RF$1 million in cash.
Speaking to Haveeru on behalf of the family, Mohamed Ibrahim Didi, younger brother of Campus Didi, said that his brother’s condition was very serious and that all details regarding the stabbing and robbery would be made available through the police.
Shiyam refused to speculate whether the attack was random or Didi was specifically targeted, as the incident was under investigation.
The attack had similarities to the recent spate of gang muggings of store owners, he said.
A man was robbed of over $US30,000 by a gang who attacked him at Gadiburu roundabout in late November, while the previous month four men were arrested after attacking two men with iron rods and stealing Rf762,700 (US$60,000).
“Some businesses carry around a very big amount of money [after they close],” he said. “We’re trying to give the message that business and local residents should be careful about carrying such large amounts money.”
(0)Dislikes(0)A man in Noonu Atoll has been arrested in possession of a large amount of drugs.
Police reported that Mohamed Hassan, 19, from Noonu Maalhendhoo Farivaage, was arrested with 72 packets of suspected narcotics. Police also found Rf2110 and two bank trasfer slips.
Hassan was apprehended on December 27 in a special operation conducted by Noonu Atoll police, conducted to identify suspected narcotics distributors and users.
Police said Hassan also tested positive for narcotics after a drug test at Noonu Manadhoo police station.
(0)Dislikes(0)Two houses in Addu had their roofs blown off when the wind picked up last night.
The incident occured at around 5.15am. The two houses were from Seenu Maradhoo and Seenu Meedhoo.
According to TVM no one was injured in the incident.
Police and MNDF are working together to repair the damage. The island councilers said they are trying to get funds to help repair the damaged houses.
(0)Dislikes(0)VB Sports continued strengthening its squad for next season by acquiring Victory captain Mohamed Umair.
Umair, who plays in defence has been playing his trade at Victory for the last four years.
According to Haveru, Umair said “You might think this change is because of a salary issue, but it is not. If that was the case I would not have been with the club (Victory) this year. I just felt like a change”
The new contract with VB is for one year.
Umair has been the third player to leave Victory recently for VB, the other two being goalkeeper Imran Mohamed and striker Assad Ali.
(0)Dislikes(0)More than fifty inmates from Maafushi jail serving sentences for the possession of less than three grams of drugs have been transferred to house arrest under a rehabilitation programme, the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation (DPRS) has said.
Moosa Azim, deputy superintendent of the jail, told Minivan News both the transferred inmates and their families have signed a declaration agreeing to regular urine tests and monitoring to ensure they remain under house arrest.
“They have been transferred under a rehabilitation programme as our regulations allow it for inmates sentenced for possession of less than three grams,” he said.
Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary, said the transfer of inmates was originally targeted for 10 December, World Human Rights Day.
“But it was delayed due to legal issues and because it requires inter-sectoral cooperation, as many institutions such as the DPRS and parole board are involved,” he said.
Zuhair said the president was concerned that inmates eligible for release have not been “given relief” one year into the new government.
Shortly after coming to power, the new government released 119 inmates to house arrest under the parole system.
Vice-President Dr Mohamed Waheed was put in charge of a committee to compile a list of inmates eligible for release.
Dr Waheed visited Maafushi jail as well as the temporary jail in Addu to speak to inmates and learn their concerns, Zuhair said.
The committee will oversee the establishment of a mechanism to ensure monitored telephone calls from inmates to their families, he said.
The committee reviewed the cases of inmates based on certain categories, Zuhair explained, such as inmates eligible for transfer to house arrest or rehabilitation centres and those sentenced under “old definitions” of the old constitution, which considered the possession of one gram to be ‘dealing’.
Inmates who spoke to Minivan News today said DPRS officers came with a handwritten list of 60 people on Friday and “gave all of them haircuts”.
One inmate said they were informed that there was not enough space in the rehabilitation centres and the programme would be conducted in Male’.
After contacting the inmates’ families, both were made to sign a declaration for the release.
But, they said, some inmates who were on the list were not taken, including two who were sentenced for possession of more than three grams.
“They told me there was no space on the dhoni (boat) and I can go tomorrow,” said one inmate. “But the next day, when my family called them, they said there was a slight problem.”
He claimed several inmates were left back at Maafushi after signing the agreement.
“My family was very disappointed,” he said. “I felt very sad because we already signed it and I was ready to leave.”
Both Zuhair and Azim said the list prepared by the president’s office was “not final” and information was still being verified.
A bill on clemency and commuting sentences proposed by the government is on the agenda tomorrow for the third and final reading.
Zuhair said the president’s office was doing what it could for inmates before the legislation was passed, while more would be released in the future.
“The absence of laws is no reason not to give everyone their legal rights,” he said.
(0)Dislikes(0)In 1943 war was raging in Europe and the Pacific. The Asian mainland was itself crumbling under the might of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, with 1941-42 seeing the fall of Burma, Malaysia and Singapore.
Even the isolated Maldives was feeling the effects of war. Food shortages led to people eating bark from trees, a national suffering that would later become known as ‘Bodu Thadhu’, directly translated as ‘ big famine’.
The British had beefed up their presence in the country. The admiralty felt Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) unsuitable to for a base after the fall of Singapore, so a naval base was established in Seenu Gan on the southernmost tip of the Maldives. This would be many Maldivians only exposure to the war.
That was not the case for the 40 unfortunate passengers aboard the ‘Yoahanbarass’, a cargo vessel running regular trips from Seenu Hithadhoo.
The Yoahanbarass was captained by Ibrahim Didi and was carrying cargo. Little did the crew know that the Japanese navy planned to invade the Maldives, and use it as a stepping stone into India – the thick Burmese jungle was deemed too harsh to cross and alternative routes were being sought – and so Captain Didi and his crew and were being tracked by a submarine.
On the seventh night after they had left Hithadhoo, Yoahanbarass was rammed by the Japanese submarine – many on board had never seen such a vessel before. The submarine surfaced and one of the passengers died when machine gun fire was sprayed across the deck. Japanese officers demanded that the person in charge to come on board.
This is where a the story takes a twist. A single decision saved one man’s life, and condemned the other to death. The person in charge of Yoahanbarass was Mohamed Ali Didi, brother of none other than Abdulla Afeef, the man who would become president of (the short-lived) United Suvadive Republic.
Panicking, Mohamed Ali Didi urged someone else to own up to being in charge. Mohamed Manikufan stood up and went over to the Japanese, later recalling how he was bundled into a tiny room on the submarine. It was the last he would ever see of the Yoahanbarass.
Meanwhile, back on deck, Captain Didi and the rest of the passenger and crew of Yoahanbarass were brought onto the deck of the submarine. Didi was also taken on board with the Japanese, and the hatch was closed.
Although no official record was made, Didi claimed the submarine dived, drowning everyone left on deck, including Mohamed Ali Didi.
Another vessel later arrived on the scene to find the Yoahanbarass sinking. The captain reported lots of sharks and debris, but no bodies were ever found.
Submerged
After a short trip, Mohamed Manikufan and Didi found themselves in Japanese-occupied Singapore. Imprisoned in the same cells as British and American prisoners-of-war (POWs), they were subjected to torture and interrogation.
The Japanese wanted to know the British strength at Gan, how many personnel, naval vessels and planes they had. Not knowing the answers to these questions, they were subjected to more torture. Nails were ripped and routine beatings were administered.
In addition to this, the two Maldivians bore witness to the cruelties inflicted on the other POWs. They later recalled about how badly burnt American pilots were brought in and chucked into tiny cells, how officers slowly killed English soldiers.
Both Mohamed Manikufan and Captain Didi survived their ordeal in prison until Japan surrendered Singapore on 15 August 1945. The English soldiers liberated all the prisoners.
However, Mohamed Manikufan and Didi did not find their way home until Mohamed Amin was President of Maldives in 1953. People back home did not know the story of the Yoahanbarass, nor did they know that these men were still alive until they returned.
After arriving back in the Maldives, both men returned to living normal lives. Both have since passed away, but their story is kept alive.
(13)Dislikes(0)Driving licenses are to only be issued after a probationary period when new regulation comes into effect in January.
Under the new Land and Transport Act, people applying for a license will at first receive a temporary license. A full license would only be awarded after a probation period.
Mahdhi Imad, chairman of the transports authority said that the new regulation will give a Maldives a similar system to other countries.
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