maldives – Page 45 – Minivan News

Former Laamu Gan Council President remanded in fraud investigation

Laamu Gan Magistrates Court has given police permission to remand former island council President Ahmed Solah after his arrest in relation to fraud charges yesterday (January 27), reports media.

Along with two council staff members, Solah was arrested on suspicion of abusing his authority in the leasing of land. The suspects houses are said to have been searched as part of the investigation.

Reports say that Solah resigned from his position on January 19, citing personal reasons.

Source: Raajje.mv, Vnews, CNM

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Safari operators in online picture controversy deny shark fishing

The operators of a Safari boat whose staff and visitors were pictured with endangered shark species have assured that they pay special attention to environmental conservation, denying that the images showed shark fishing.

Furamaana Travels – which operates the Bolero Safari boat – told Minivan News that several endangered and protected species including sharks and sting rays were caught before being released back into the ocean after removing the lines and hooks.

“How would they know what they caught before they fish it out of the water? As soon as it was discovered that endangered species were caught, the safari crew removed the hooks and line. They were released into the sea, unharmed”, said a Furamaana staff member.

Photos of a night-fishing trip on the boat have prompted outrage, as they appeared to show tourists and staff members holding several species of live shark – which are protected under Article 4 (a) of the Environment Protection Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Director General Ibrahim Naeem told Minivan News that it is currently contacting the relevant parties, including Furamaana Travels, to clarify information about the matter.

“We will only be able to take any steps after all facts surrounding the matter has been clarified. We will take action depending on the severity of the offence”, Naeem stated.

Ali Rilwan, Executive Director of local environmental NGO Bluepeace stated that the NGO does not feel the incident to be an issue “from a conservation point of view” as the caught animals were released back into the ocean.

“Safaris in Maldives operate in a very ethically correct manner, once caught they cannot just cut the line and release it, they have to remove the line and hook before doing so. Taking a photo before the release is not an issue, I do not see this in a negative light”, said Rilwan.

Local NGOs last month condemned images showing a turtle being cut in half for its eggs and meat, prompting the fisheries ministry to commence work on introducing stricter fines – up to MVR10 million (US$650,000) for illegal capture of turtles and tortoises.

Meanwhile, a ceremony was held today at EPA Agency to award the fishermen of Madduvari in Meemu Atoll for rescuing a stranded whale-shark from a shallow lagoon near Maduvvari Island.

Related to this story

Fisheries Ministry to set up stricter fines for turtle hunting

Environmental NGOs call for action as images of turtle slaughter surface

Marine biologist discovers turtle, shark slaughter in Maldives’ UNESCO biosphere reserve

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Ministry of Islamic Affairs opens bidding process for Hajj agencies

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has opened the bidding process to select the Hajj agencies which will be taking Maldivian pilgrims to Mecca this year.

A ministry announcement read that the proposals should be submitted according to the updated Hajj regulations which were published yesterday (January 27).

Speaking to Minivan News, Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Aishath Muneeza has said that the updated regulations for Maldivian Hajj pilgrims would help prevent Hajj-related fraud cases in the future.

Under the new regulations, the Hajj license will not be released to the company if “anyone convicted or suspected fraudulent Hajj transactions are present in the board of directors or management,” requiring the companies to hand in the criminal records of all board members while submitting the proposals.

“The new law would also require the agencies to submit a timeline to the ministry giving itself deadlines such as the dates by when tickets are brought, money is taken from customers,” said Dr Muneeza.

State-owned the Hajj Corporation is to handle 50 percent of the quota given by the Saudi Arabian government, the remaining slots are equally distributed to three private companies after a bidding process.

Last year, the government covered the expenses of 121 defrauded customers of the Al-Fathuh Hajj Umra Group with an amount in excess of US$500,000.

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MDP and JP to begin official talks tonight

Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim has invited all opposition parties to begin talks on defending the Constitution.

After officially leaving the Progressive Coalition earlier this week, the party has invited the largest minority party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), to talks at the JP’s headquarters tonight, explained party spokesman Ali Solih.

The JP has also invited the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Adhaalath Party to the talks, despite the religious party being an unofficial member of the governing coalition.

Adhaalath, which holds a single seat in the People’s Majlis, has received an invitation to future talks but has not yet decided on whether it will attend, said the party through its official twitter account.

Following MDP party President Mohamed Nasheed’s calls for immediate all-party talks last week, the party earlier today announced its representatives for the proposed discussions.

The JP has also announced that it will be represented by former transport minister Ameen Ibrahim, Dr Hussain Rasheed, Abdulla Kamaludeen, MP Ali Hussein, MP Hussein Mohamed, and former Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz.

The JP – which has 13 MPs in the 85-seat Majlis – this week voted through its national council to give leader Gasim Ibrahim the authority to make all decisions regarding actions needed to defend the Constitution.

The JP was officially aligned with the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives until May last year, after having given crucial backing to Abdulla Yameen in the 2013 presidential race.

Yameen eventually beat MDP candidate Nasheed in a much-delayed poll after the Supreme Court’s controversial annulment of the first round following complaints lodged by third-placed candidate Gasim.

However, after friction between the coalition partners during the Majlis campaign, Gasim’s decision to stand against the PPM’s candidate for Majlis speaker in May prompted the PPM decided to unilaterally expel the JP from the ruling coalition.

Gasim’s subsequent opposition to key government legislation was accompanied by threats against both his businesses and his person, leading the JP to accuse opposition politicians of intimidation tactics.

Unofficial talks were announced earlier this month between the JP and MDP, which holds 22 seats in the Majlis, while Nasheed has pledged to defend Gasim against government attacks.

Both parties have accused the government of repeated breaches of the Constitution and attempts to influence independent institutions. Prominent incidents cited include the recent, replacement of the auditor general, the removal of two Supreme Court judges.

Nasheed last week urged President Yameen to convene all party talks which include the Progressive Party of Maldives’ leader and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Yameen has this week met with both former President Dr Mohamed Waheed and former President Gayoom, with whom the current political climate was discussed, said the President’s Office.

PPM officials were not responding to calls at the time of press.

President’s Gayoom’s former party, the DRP, has been largely dormant since its most prominent members switched to the MDP after the 2013 presidential elections.

After announcing a rebrand effort in the month following the elections, it failed to win any seats in the subsequent Majlis elections, and just a single council seat in the local elections.

Related to this story

MDP holds street rally in front of Gasim’s residence

JP council officially declares exit from Progressive Coalition

Nasheed urges President Yameen to convene all-party talks

We must once again rise up to defend the Constitition, says Nasheed

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Mundhu Shareef appointed WHO Executive Board Chairman

Minister at the President’s Office Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Hussain Shareef has been appointed Chairman of WHO Executive Board Committee.

He becomes the second Maldivian to hold the post, with former health minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela appointed to the role before leaving her cabinet position last year.

The WHO Executive Board is composed of 34 persons who are technically qualified in the field of health, each designated by a member state that has been elected to serve a three-year term. The Maldives’ term concludes this year.

Mundhu has previously served as President’ Office spokesman and minister of youth and sports.

The WHO Executive Board’s 136th session is taking place in Geneva from today (January 26) until February 3, and will agree upon the agenda for the May 2015 World Health Assembly.

Priority issues to be discussed are communicable and noncommunicable diseases; promoting health through the life course; preparedness, surveillance and response; and health systems as well as matters relating to programme, budget, management and governance, and WHO reform.

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Delhi police warned of potential threat to Obama from Maldivian nationals

Indian intelligence agencies have alerted Delhi police to potential attacks on US President Barack Obama by Maldivian or Sri Lankan nationals, reports the Hindustan Times.

The paper reported that “a close watch” is being kept on unidentified Sri Lankan and Maldivian nationals in India, as well as those whose visas have expired.

President Obama arrived in Delhi this morning to an unprecedented security operation which is reported to include 40,000 security personnel, 15,000 new security cameras, and door-to-door house checks.

As well as holding meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee, Obama will become the first US President to be chief guest during tomorrow’s Republic Day parade.

It is during the parade that Indian security agencies have been warned Obama may be targetted by anti-american elements from Sri Lanka and Maldives, as well as drawing black flag protest from Hindu nationalist groups.

“Being a high valued target, a high degree of threat is perceived to Obama from radical Islamist outfits like Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed,” a senior Delhi police officer told the Hindustan Times.

Concerns about growing radicalism in the Maldives have grown over the past twelve months, with police confirming recently that over 50 Maldivians had travelled abroad for jihad.

The police do not yet know who the most vulnerable groups to radicalisation are in the Maldives, said Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed, pointing out recent jihadis included both genders, urban and rural areas, and people of all ages.

When asked if radicalised groups posed a domestic terrorist threat, Waheed said the police were tracking individuals associated with foreign militant groups.

“We know who the foreign militants are. We are monitoring their activities. My hope is, I believe we will be able to monitor them to the extent they are unable to [present a threat] in the Maldives.”

Last November, a jihadist group called Bilad Al Sham Media (BASM) – which describes itself as ‘Maldivians in Syria’ – revealed that a fifth Maldivian had died in Syria.

BASM has claimed to be linked with the Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al Qaeda affiliate group in Syria and Iraq.

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‘It’s the Gucci handbag of holidays’ – Maldives tops Chinese travellers’ wish list: South China Morning Post

“On the last day of her holiday in the Maldives, Zang Kun and five fellow travellers from China splurge on imported tofu at the newly opened Beijing Restaurant near the white-sand beach on the island of Hulhumale,” writes Patrick Boehler for the South China Morning Post.

“Zang travelled to the remote Indian Ocean destination in search of a quiet place to rest, far from China’s hectic tourist spots.

‘I couldn’t stand the idea of going to Sanya or Beidaihe , it’s too crowded and expensive,’ she said. ‘The cost of vacationing in China is going up. There is less of a difference to going abroad now. And I don’t need a visa here.’

Zang is one of the 400,000-plus Chinese expected to visit the Maldives this year, according to its Ministry of Tourism. Last year, the number of Chinese tourists exceeded the Maldivian indigenous population for the first time. Some 363,000 Chinese visited the tiny nation, 9.7 per cent more than in 2013 and 24 times more than a decade earlier.

And even more are coming. A report by investment group CLSA released on Tuesday found that while only 2 per cent of mainland holidaymakers had been to the Maldives, the archipelago was top of their wish list. It is the top choice among Chinese travellers for overseas weddings and honeymoons. ‘Destination weddings are becoming a trend [among Chinese], with the Maldives the No 1 hotspot for wedding shoots and honeymoons,’ the report said.”

Attorney General rules that Nazim’s dismissal as LGA chair was valid

The attorney general has said that recently dismissed defence minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim had breached regulations with regards to a no-confidence motion lodged against him by the board of the Local Government Association (LGA).

Mohamed Anil has noted that the agenda of any meetings can only be changed with two days’ notice, and that this was not done when Nazim removed the no-confidence vote from the agenda of a January 15 meeting.

Five of the LGA’s nine board members subsequently refused to end the meeting, writing to Anil for advice before voting on the motion and deciding to remove Nazim from his position. His opponents had accused him of failing to protect the country’s decentralisation system.

Nazim was later reported as saying that the vote was invalid, while the Majlis national security committee last week recommended the dismissal of the interim chair Shujau Hussain.

Following his dismissal in relation to dangerous weapons charges last week, Nazim has been replaced as the president’s representative on the LGA board by home minister Umar Naseer.

Naseer is currently out of the country – receiving his Masters degree from the University of Hull, leaving tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb as acting home minister.

Source: Haveeru

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Opposition suggests inconsistent policies, while Islamic ministry lecture slams tourism promotion show

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Ali Waheed has suggested that the government’s contradictory religious policies are damaging the nation.

“While the Maldives is celebrating its adherence to Islam, the religious structure of the government is as such – from the right, shows being organised,” said Waheed. “From the left, religious lectures are being convened.”

Waheed’s comments – referring to the New Year’s ‘Tourist Arrival Countdown’ music shows and the Islamic ministry’s ‘The Message’ lecture series – came at the conclusion of a party rally in the capital Malé yesterday.

Later in the day, in the first of ‘The Message’ lectures, Sheikh Adam Shameem condemned the tourism promotion concerts, which were organised and promoted by tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb.

Drugs, sex, and rock and roll will destroy the nation, argued Shameem, suggesting that the government’s role was to lead the youth away from shameful deeds, but that such sinful activities were irresistible when handed down to them “on a platter”.

“What will happen when [they organize] sinful activities and invite the youth? Then, youth cannot be stopped,” he told approximately 1,500 attendees at the Alimas Carnival area in Malé.

The original New Year’s concert was set to feature dancehall singer Sean Paul until an online death threat prompted the artist to cancel the day before the show.

While the government later denounced the threat as a “hoax” designed to create an atmosphere of fear, religious groups united in condemnation of the event.

Islamic NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf called on the government cancel the concert, while Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed described the invitation of foreign performers for such shows as “unnacceptable”.

Minister for tourism Adeeb later explained that the Islamic minister’s words were his own personal opinion, and that the concert had been discussed at cabinet level.

The Islamic minister’s own Adhaalath Party subsequently expressed concern at what it described as “horrifying acts that defy Islamic teachings and social convention” taking place in the country.

After Sean Paul’s cancellation, Indian duo Salim and Sulaiman Merchant appeared on December 31, before a second concert was arranged featuring US R&B singer Akon on January 8. Akon himself had previously cancelled a 2010 show in the Maldives after opposition from religious groups.

Sheikh Shameem yesterday described Akon – a practising Muslim – as an “infidel negro”, expressing disappointment than more young persons had attended the music shows rather than attending Ishaa prayers.

Sheikh Shameem first came to public attention following his ‘mega-lecture’ ‘Andalus‘, during the 2013 presidential elections.

Live broadcasts of this lecture were interrupted by authorities for violating state broadcaster’s guideline, while the MDP condemned the lecture accusing Shameem of inciting hatred in order to sway the electorate. More recently, he was invited to speak to police during the celebration of Martyr’s Day last year.

Yesterday’s sermon was titled ‘Our Responsibilities towards the Nation’. The lecture series will also feature Dutch convert Arnoud Van Doorn on February 20.

President Abdulla Yameen – who last night attended to opening of the Maldives’ first fully solar powered resort, Club Med Finolhu Villa – marked the celebration of the country’s conversion to Islam by telling citizens to be wary of outside influences that could weaken the Islamic faith, reported Sun Online.

At the opening of the new resort, Yameen said that it was a combination of tourism and Islam that had taught Maldivians to co-exist with different cultures.

During yesterday’s MDP rally, both Ali Waheed and former President Mohamed Nasheed vowed to change Yameen’s government, with the latter suggesting the country’s troubles’ were partly caused by divisions between Yameen and former President and Progressive Party of Maldives leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

When calling for all-party talks last week, Nasheed made special mention of the former thirty-year ruler.

“I urge President Yameen to hold discussions with President Maumoon, Honourable Gasim, even us and leaders of Adhaalath Party. Also to move away from actions that will push Maldives into chaos,” said Nasheed on Thursday (January 22).

Yesterday’s ‘Maldivians stand to defend the Constitution’ rally saw over more than 1000 people march around the southern half of the capital to protest a series of decisions by the government and the Supreme Court which have been questioned on constitutional grounds.

*The original version of this article incorrectly translated Sheikh Shameem as describing Akon as an “infidel nigger”.

Minivan News would like to apologise for this error and will endeavour to make sure this type of error is not repeated.

Related to this story

Nasheed urges President Yameen to convene all-party talks

Adhaalath Party concerned that concerts are defying Islamic teachings

Jamiyyathul Salaf calls on government to cancel “sinful” Sean Paul concert

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