Tag: maldives

Released Thai Reefer reveals reef ruin as owners seek to reduce fine

The Thai fishing vessel Emerald Reefer has been removed from its beached location along the Muli Kolhu Faru reef near the Shangri-La Villingili Island Resort, where it ran aground in late November 2011.

After supporting the vessel for nearly two months, the reef area “looks destroyed” and is unlikely to recover in the near future, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.

The Emerald Reefer came to the Maldives in November to purchase locally-caught fish in Addu Atoll, which has only a few narrow channels permitting entry. The reefer is one of only a few large vessels to run aground in the Maldives.

As per Maldivian law, the boat’s owner was allotted 25 days to remove the boat before incurring a fine of RF700,000 (US$45,000) per day that the boat remained grounded.

Transport Minister Adil Saleem previously told Minivan News that the owner had unsuccessfully attempted to remove the vessel, and had left the matter in the hands of an agent in the Maldives.

The Transport Ministry began issuing the fine on December 14, 2011. At that time the Ministry was considering options for removal aimed at protecting the reef, which it believed had been damaged on impact and was incurring further damage as tides rocked the ship along the reef.

Saleem today informed Minivan that the vessel, which is damaged but salvageable and currently floating at a fixed location in Addu, is still under the its owner’s remit. Saleem expected the owner would settle his debts with the Maldivian government before selling or removing his ship from Maldivian waters.

The issue is now being addressed by B&C Transport Services, which assumed responsibility for the vessel after the previous agent told Minivan News he had “given up”.

Company owner Kuwa Mohavay said the ship would return to Thailand with a full load of fish once a propeller had been repaired and its debt to the Maldivian government was settled.

“There are cases with the EPA and the Transport Ministry. We don’t know how much money is owed, but we believe the insurance company will cover most of the costs. We are also holding close negotiations with the government to reduce the fine,” Mohavay said.

He added that the government was keen to help the Thai vessel, “because [the Thai company] are the only people transporting our fish.”

Mohavay said B&C Transport had had positive interactions with the Transport Ministry and the Transport Authority, but felt the EPA had reacted unfairly to the matter.

The EPA assessed the site of the incident with the Coast Guard on Friday, January 6. Director Mohamed Naeem said the damage was substantial.

“The corals have been crushed, with large coral heads dislocated. The reef framework has also been crushed,” he said, noting that the destruction covered an area of approximately 70 meters. He added that parts of the equipment used to salvage the boat remained stuck in the reef.

“I do not believe the damage can be recovered in any short period of time,” he concluded.

Mohavay argued that the only piece of equipment used to salvage the boat was a cable, which had been removed from the reef, and that the boat had “not left any pollution”.

Naeem said the EPA’s assessment with the Coast Guard would be used to determine whether further action could be taken to improve the situation.

Coral reefs are home to a variety of marine life, and are essential for maintaining a healthy degree of biodiversity in Maldivian waters. However, scientists argue that they are being damaged by global warming.

Islanders in the Maldives have pointed out that the once-colorful reefs of their islands are now pale and weak, home only to the lowliest of fish. Residents of Guraidhoo in Male’ Atoll point out that their reef was destroyed when land was reclaimed to build resort Kandooma next door.

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Islam was never in danger in the Maldives: Eurasia Review

Islam was never in danger in Maldives, but what should alarm the people was the way the opposition political parties used this occasion not only to politicise the whole issue but also to whip up frenzy to accuse the Government of trying to wipe out the “Islamic faith of the people” by subterfuge, writes S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

But what we saw in Maldives on the 23rd was that the Government need not look beyond Maldivian shores for “extremist preaching” and that they have sufficient otherwise sensible people to whip up religious frenzy to further their own political objectives. As I had said before time and again that the politicians are trying to use religion as a political tool and that it would have disastrous consequences. My paper 4459 of 1st May 2011 and the earlier one 3894 dated 27 June 2010 may be referred to.

There were media reports to indicate that the rally was financed by Pakistan and it could as well be by Saudis too as many of the NGOs do get their money from abroad.

It is regrettable that one person who should have stopped this unfortunate development, instead took a leading role in getting the rally organised and getting his statement read out in the rally as the “star event.”

This was the former president Gayoom – he said in the statement that was read out -”Maldivians are not forced to be Muslims but they chose to believe in Islam and allowing a religion other than Islam in Maldives will create division among the society. Maldivians should have the right to defend the religion of Islam. I call upon the government to stop its efforts to weaken the Islamic faith.” No one least of all the government was trying to introduce any other religion!

Is it not an irony that a person who claims to have brought in democracy in Maldives should go to such low levels to whip up frenzy only in the hope of getting elected once again as President in 2013?

In this he was joined by Dr Hassan Saeed, the former Attorney General who had felt the taste of extremism in Maldives when his book on Apostasy was banned in Maldives.

Look at the irony of the presence of Gasim Ibrahim the multimillionaire and head of Jumhorree party, who is making profits by sale of alcohol and resort “spas” that are alleged in the media to have shady activities? Even the Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohammed Abdul Majeed Bari is said to have stakes in the resort business!

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Maldives at a crossroads: The National

The dramatic decision by the Maldives government to close down health spas in tourist hotels – following recent noisy protests that claimed they were “unIslamic” – provoked fairly predictable headlines in some of the Western media, writes Mark Seddon for The National.

Best was the tongue-in-cheek concern in the London Evening Standard that Tamara Ecclestone, a multi-millionaire British heiress, might have to alter her travel plans, having trilled on at length in glossy magazines about her planned holiday massages in Maldivian tourist resorts.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, there was rather more to the story than the flurry of excitable newspaper headlines might have suggested. For no sooner had the order to close the spas been made than it was then rescinded by the government. The ultimate decision was then passed on to the Supreme Court for final adjudication.

The Maldivian tourism industry heaved a collective sigh of relief, and the Maldives President, Mohammed Nasheed, closed his office door for the evening, quietly confident that he might just have won an almighty PR victory over some of his conservative opponents. Next year, 2013, is election year and barring economic calamity over the next few months, opponents of the president appeared to have played most of their big cards.

A scattered archipelago of more than 1,000 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 200 of which are inhabited and home to 313,920 people, the Maldives now stands at a crossroads. Should the island state, which gained its independence from Britain in 1965, retain its 800-year allegiance to a fairly liberal blend of Sufi and Sunni Islam, or should it resist the encroachment of what some in the country see as Western decadence, and adopt a stricter interpretation of the Islamic faith?

“This,” says a supporter of President Nasheed, “is now a struggle between different visions of the Maldives. Bluntly, do we want a moderate Islamic state or a Taliban state?” On Wednesday, it had been expected that the Supreme Court might be forced to make some kind of official and ground breaking declaration as to exactly what tenets of Islam were appropriate to the Maldives. But at the eleventh hour, the court edged back from its own massive leap of faith. This decision, has for the time being at least, been put on hold.

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Piracy threat prevents passenger line from leaving Maldives

An American luxury passenger line en route to the Seychelles is stranded in the Maldivian waters due to “piracy risk”, while the passengers depart to the Seychelles through airline flights.

Secretary General of Maldives Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA), Mohamed Ali, told Minivan News on Sunday that the passenger line had arrived on December 29 and was scheduled to leave the same day after a brief stop near Male’.

However, he said the cruise captain had decided not to leave with the passengers on board due to “security reasons”, as there have been several attacks by pirates near the Seychelles.

“To avoid the risk, the 67 passengers on board were taken to Seychelles via Qatar Airways and Emirates last week,” Ali said.

As the passenger line is subjected to a daily fee of US$600 as long as it stays in Maldivian waters, he continued, “we are trying to send off the passenger line as soon as possible.”

He noted that the crew is taking the necessary security measures to ensure safety from a possible pirate attack.

“There are some maritime security companies which provide security to large cruises or shipping vessels like these. So the passenger line is arranging security before departure,” he said.

Pirate activity is predicted to be higher during November to February, with the increased number of cruise ships and yachts travelling this time of the year, according to Ali.

Meanwhile, due to increase in the pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean and the frequent encounters with Somali castaways in Maldivian territory, maritime experts have speculated that the piracy threat is growing in Maldives.

However, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has steadily countered that the country’s territorial waters have not come under direct attack from piracy originating in Somalia.

MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem earlier told Minivan News that despite small vessels originating from Somalia washing up in the Maldives’ territorial waters – often with engineering problems – no reported attacks or activities linked to piracy were believed to have occurred in the country.

According to the Foreign Ministry, 37 Somali “castaways” are under police custody and are waiting for repatriation. They had been joined by three other Somalis, discovered last month on board a small dinghy drifting near Gaaf Alifu Atoll.

Potential pirate threats remain a major problem in ensuring the security of the archipelago, which depends on tourism for as much as 90 percent of its economy.

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Petrol bombs launched into MDP Haruge

Two petrol bombs landed inside ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Haruge (headquarters) around midnight last night, January 7. MDP activists allege that the culprits were paid recruits of opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Police were called to the scene where they spoke to activists then inside the headquarters. Police officials today said the incident was minor, involving a few “bottles with petrol”, and that there was no confrontation.

No arrests have been made, and there is no investigation.

MDP activist Mohamed Areef described the incident to Minivan News.

“Some activists were just sitting near the wall of the haaruge, talking and playing chess. Then one bomb landed from over the wall, and I ran. Next another bomb was thrown just inches from my head.”

Areef said one man had sustained burns to his ankle, but that the injury was minor.

Areef noted that opposition PPM had held a gathering on January 5, and he was “quite sure [the attack] was planned by PPM. The party probably paid some people to do it.”

According to Areef, MDP will not retaliate.

PPM Spokesperson Ahmed Mahlouf denied that the party had any involvement in the matter.

“We have no interest in taking MDP Haruge, and we definitely do not support violence as a way of addressing issues,” he said.

Mahlouf added that the party had not held discussions regarding MDP “for two, three days”, and had no reason to launch petrol bombs into the ruling party’s headquarters.

“We are shocked to hear the news, and to hear that the blame has been put on us,” he said.

The incident follows several weeks of political controversy over demands made during a religious protest on December 23, in which PPM members and leaders joined six other opposition parties and religious NGOs in a call for stronger Islamic policies at the government level.

In response to these demands, the government ordered that all resort spas be closed and announced it was considering a ban on pork and alcohol. The first resorts to experience these effects were those owned by Jumhooree Party Leader and MP Gasim Ibrahim, the owner of Villa Hotels. Gasim subsequently sued the government over the matter.

Meanwhile, PPM argued that the demands against the sale of alcohol did not refer to the 100-plus resorts currently operating in the Maldives. However, going along with the high-stakes game of chicken the party announced that it would support the government’s suggestion to ban pork and alcohol provided “it has the courage” to do so.

Last week, the government requested a “consultative opinion” from the Supreme Court over the legality of selling pork and alcohol in a nation whose constitution is based on Islamic Sharia. Twenty-four hours later the government announced it was lifting the ban on spa operations in order to protect business interests while the court deliberates the matter.

The Judicial branch of the Maldives has been widely labelled as a remnant of the former regime, which appointed all of the current judges. A majority of the judges have little or no legal training, and have not been educated beyond grade seven. This year, MDP activists requested international support over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

Speaking at a press conference last week, President Mohamed Nasheed credited the spa controversy for having “woke the nation from its slumber and sparked a healthy national debate about the future direction of the country”.

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CMDA to license companies for Sharia-compliant securities

Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) has opened applications to companies wishing to provide Sharia-compliant securities.

According to local media, CMDA will screen companies to ensure that their operations and transactions are made in alignment with Islamic Shariah.

Licenses will be awarded following consultation with the Capital Market Sharia Advisory Committee.

Sharia-compliant security services are most notable for their exclusion of interest. Currently, Amana Takaful is the only insurance company licensed to provide Shariah-compliant services to the Maldivian public.

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ACC files against Home Ministry over office partitions

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a corruption case with the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office on Tuesday against certain members of the Home Ministry’s Tender Evaluation Board.

The case accuses members of engaging in “unlawful practices” while evaluating bids to set up partitions in the ministry’s office, located on the tenth floor of the Velaanage office complex.

The case accuses State Home Minister Mohamed Mahir Easa, Maimoona Ahmed of Henveiru Mahaasa, Hamid Yousuf of Zeelithan/Raa atoll Hulhudhuffaru, Ahmed Shareef Nafees of Dhaftharu 1119, Ahmed Ishaq of Galolhu Cherry, Hussein Rasheed Yousuf of Dhaftharu 2065 and Mohamed Adam of Machangoalhi Maanika, Haveeru reports.

According to the ACC, marks were given for experience not conforming with the criteria stated in the information leaflet for setting up partitions, Haveeru reports.

The case has been filed under Article 12(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act.

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20-year-old man arrested for secretly filming girls in shower

Police have arrested an islander of Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll after he allegedly filmed three young girls living in the island while they were showering inside their house bathroom.

A Police spokesperson told Minivan News that the man arrested was 20 year sold.

”Police received reports that there has been some videos of girls captured and we questioned the suspect,” he said. ”He was arrested after police got enough evidence that the allegations could be true.”

He said police searched other houses in the island following the incident.

”He is currently under arrest in detention,” he said.

Minivan News understands that the girls filmed were three underage girls.

Manadhoo Council President Ibrahim Naseer told Minivan News that the young man had placed camera inside the bathrooms of the girls’ houses.

He said the videos were captured on different days and that all the videos were found stored in his computer.

Naseer told the media that the videos were first seen by the man’s brother.

In October last year a similar incident occurred on Filladhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll where the police arrested three youths on the island after they allegedly recorded and released explicit footage of islanders bathing with spy cameras.

Islanders told the police at the time that the suspects had deliberately targeted adolescent girls at the local school, with one of the videos reportedly showing a 17-year-old girl having a shower.

The bathrooms of many local houses on islands are traditionally unroofed, however following last year’s incident a number of islanders have begun roofing their bathrooms, reports indicate.

The three youths were arrested after nude videos of girls from the island were found on a hard disk.

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ACC investigates Ministry of Human Resources over recruitment agency licenses

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into the Ministry of Human Resources’ decision to license certain recruitment agencies which are blacklisted.

ACC Commissioner Hassan Luthfee said the case involved reissuing recruitment licenses to blacklisted agencies but did not provide further details, Haveeru reports.

Agency licenses were revoked when the agencies illegally recruited expatriate workers.

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