Tag: maldives

Comment: Komodo Island remains in New7Wonders of Nature campaign, as do the islands of Maldives

On Saturday, readers of Minivan News were greeted with the headline: “Indonesia joins Maldives in withdrawing from New7Wonders competition”.

Now, a good headline is an essential component of good journalism, but headlines don’t always reflect the complexity of a story. An alternative title for the article could have been, “Komodo Island remains in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign, as do the Islands of the Maldives”. Here’s why.

On August 11, the new Official Supporting Committee (OSC) for Komodo Island in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign was announced in Jakarta, Indonesia.

P2Komodo is led by Ms Emmy Hafild, the leading independent Indonesian environmentalist, recognised by Time magazine and the UN for her successful environmental campaigning in the past against the Suharto dictatorship. P2Komodo is an alliance of positive and forward looking members of Indonesian civil society, who are keen to ensure that Komodo Island has a fair chance of participating in the New7Wonders of Nature.

Four days later, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) of Indonesia organised a somewhat surreal press conference in Jakarta to announce the MCT’s “withdrawal of Komodo Island” from the New7Wonders of Nature.

But the MCT had no authority in this matter as it ceased to be the legitimate New7Wonders representative in Indonesia in February, so the announcement was absurd. Naturally, New7Wonders of Nature has no issue with the Indonesian MCT’s right not to be involved in the Komodo Island campaign, in the same way that we have no issue with the MMPRC agency resigning as the OSC for the islands of the Maldives in May.

By the way, the 41 Official Supporting Committees from 37 countries representing the 28 Finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature were invited, all expenses paid (including flights and accommodation) by the Indonesian MCT, to attend the press conference. Only one accepted the generous offer, Mr Simon Hawkins, the British head of the MMPRC agency. Does this mean that Maldives tourism policy is now being influenced by the money of another country? We do not know. However, the MMPRC agency shares with the Indonesian MCT the dubious distinction of both being former OSCs in the New7Wonders of Nature.

Despite a series of malicious attacks on New7Wonders by the MCT, the public and media opinion consensus in Indonesia is that the MCT should not interfere in the democratic right of the Indonesian people to vote for Komodo Island in the New7Wonders of Nature. Voting for Komodo Island itself has increased dramatically since the events of the past few days, showing quite clearly how the people of Indonesia are viewing this matter. As Emmy Hafild has said, “Indonesia is a democratic country, so the government must not prevent the Indonesian people from voting for Komodo and making it one of the New7Wonders successfully”.

We believe the same democratic rights should be extended to the people of the Maldives. Three months have passed since we accepted the resignation of the MMPRC agency, and since then we have received reports of many Maldivian people and organisations that are willing to form a new OSC, but who feel threatened and unable to exercise their civil right of freedom of expression and organisation. That’s why we recently wrote to the government of the Republic of the Maldives, requesting the assurance that it will not interfere with or threaten the formation of such a new OSC for the Islands of the Maldives, and respecting the democratic principles that now guide the nation of the Maldives. We are pleased to say that the government of the Republic of the Maldives has agreed to our request, and we received this assurance in writing on August 20.

Because we believe the time has come for everyone to move on constructively we will not comment again on the many misleading statements that have been made about New7Wonders by the MMPRC agency. Instead, we urge the positive and forward thinking members of Maldivian society to exercise their democratic right to actively support the Islands of the Maldives in the New7Wonders of Nature, like the enlightened majority members of Indonesian civil society are now doing for Komodo Island.

So, here’s the story in a headline: “Komodo Island remains in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign, as do the islands of the Maldives”.

Eamonn Fitzgerald is Head of Communication at New7Wonders

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Supreme Court dismisses appeal by former President Nasir’s family

The Supreme Court has informed Ahmed Nasir, son of former President Ibrahim Nasir, that there are no grounds to appeal a High Court decision in 1986, based on which the previous government confiscated the family’s estates and property in Male’.

Sun Online reported that the Supreme Court dispatched a 3-page letter to Ahmed Nasir noting that Maldivian law did not allow heirs to pursue legal action if the individual had not initiated it in his lifetime.

“Ibrahim Nasir died 22 years, 9 months, and 21 days after the High Court of the Maldives made a judgment in case number HC/84 30, on the 22nd day of the 11th month of the year 2008, and until his dying day, Ibrahim Nasir had not communicated any desire to take legal action to defend himself against the High Court judgment,” reads the Supreme Court letter.

Nasir left the Maldives in 1978 after ceding the presidency and lived in self-imposed exile in Singapore until his death in November 2008, shortly after former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was ousted in the country’s first multi-party election. Nasir’s body was flown to the Maldives for a state funeral and buried with full honours.

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Heavy Load re-submits proposal for developing Enboodhoo

A proposal to develop  Enboodhoo lagoon in Kaafu Atoll has been re-submitted by Heavy Load Maldives, a corporation linked to Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Chairperson Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, Haveeru reports.

The National Planning Council reportedly discussed the proposal by Heavy Load in early July. But officials said the proposal has not been fully approved, and all parties are invited to submit proposals.

Heavy Load received US$21 million (Rf269.8 million) from Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) in late September, allegedly to reclaim 130 hectares from Thilafushi lagoon, reports Haveeru.

However, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) asked Heavy Load to halt work and open the project opportunity to other development groups.

Enboodhoo lagoon is located 10 kilometers from Malé.

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Resort proposal ‘not fully approved’, claims national planning council

National Planning Council has discussed a US$20 million proposal by Mohamed ‘Sim’ Ibrahim to develop two resorts in Malé Atoll, Haveeru reports.

Council reports said the proposal, which was submitted on June 19, was not fully approved.

Ibrahim is the Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industries (MATI), and the husband of Tourism Minister Dr Maryam Zulfa.

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Libyan rebels push into Tripoli, arrest Gaddafi’s son

Libyan rebels have reportedly arrested the son of President Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, after last night pushing into the capital Tripoli.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday told AFP that al-Islam, who is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, was in custody.

Rebels with the Transitional National Council (TNC), now recognised by many nations including the Maldives as Libya’s legitimate governing entity, last night reached Tripoli’s central Green Square following reports that Gaddafi’s Presidential Guard had surrendered.

“Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant,” said US President Barack Obama in a statement, following the rebel’s push into Tripoli. “The Gaddafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator.

“The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Muammar Gaddafi and his regime need to recognise that their rule has come to an end. Gaddafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all,” Obama said.

Gaddafi, who earlier had vowed to fight “to the last drop of blood”, issued a statement on state television calling on the population to descend on the city and defend it from the rebels.

“They are coming to destroy Tripoli. They are coming to steal our oil. Now Tripoli is in ruins. Come out of your houses and fight these betrayers. Hurry up, hurry up, families and tribes, go to Tripoli,” Gaddafi said.

Libya’s information ministry continued to insist that the regime had “thousands and thousands of fighters”.

“Nato has intensified its attacks on and around Tripoli, giving immediate and direct support for the rebels’ forces to advance into a peaceful capital of this great nation and the death toll is beyond imagination,” a Gaddafi’s spokesperson Moussa Ibrahim said, warning of impending “massacres”.

“I thought I knew the West. But in this conflict I saw a different West. The West of blood and disaster and killing and occupation.”

An uprising of rebel groups in the centre of Tripoli was joined by fighters arriving by sea, armed with weapons seized following the capture of a large military base on Sunday afternoon. Nato planes provided air cover for the advancing rebels.

Meanwhile in Tripoli, there were reports that four districts of the city remained under Gaddafi’s control. Media reporting on the push claimed that the dictator of 42 years had sent tanks into residential areas and fired on protesters, and there were rumours of roadside executions.

Early this morning, a rebel spokesman told Al-Jazeera that Gaddafi’s forces still controlled 15-20 percent of the city, and showed no sign of surrender.

Gaddafi’s fall is likely to increase pressure on the Syrian Iran-backed regime, which continues to target civilian demonstrators despite increasing discontent across the international community.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed that military action against Syria would “bring repercussions”, adding that demands for his to step down “should not be made about a president who was chosen by the Syrian people and who was not put in office by the West, a president who was not made in the United States.”

The Maldives is meanwhile leading a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, in conjunction with Germany, Kuwait and Mexico, to address the deteriorating human rights situation. Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, is holding a press conference on the topic this afternoon.

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Body found on shore of Hudhuranfushi may belong to missing Japanese woman

A decomposing female body has been found on the shore of the Adhaaran Hudhuranfushi resort, a week after a 29 year-old Japanese tourist and her 37 year-old husband were reported missing from the property.

A staff member at Hudhuranfushi confirmed that the body found was female, but was unable to confirm whether it belonged to the missing Japanese woman.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News that the body had yet to be formally identified and appeared to have been in the water for several days.

‘’The body is too decomposed for us to identify it, but it is clear that it was in the water for a couple of days,’’ Shiyam said. “We are currently running DNA tests, and will get whatever information we can from the results.”

Shiyam said that apart from the missing couple, there had been no other reports of missing persons in the area.

In a statement, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said that the resort’s management notified the authorities after noticing the that the couple had been absent for two consecutive meals. The couple were staying in a water villa, the MNDF stated.

“The management team went searching for the couple in their room, but the ‘Do Not Disturb’ board was displayed so they did not open the door. But after there was still no sign of the couple later, the management opened their room they found that they were not inside,’’ the MNDF said.

Police and MNDF were called around 8:40 pm on August 17.

MNDF officers have snorkeled around the island and searched the area using Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT) and Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) seaplanes searching for the missing bodies since the report was filed.

Shiyam told Minivan News that “accidents may happen, but we don’t feel that there is anything to be concerned about with resort safety. We don’t feel the disappearance of the Japanese couple reflects on the resort’s safety procedures.”

Two weeks ago Minivan News reported on a British couple found dead following a quad bike accident on Kuredu Island Resort. Emma and Jonathan Gray had been married just seven days before the accident, when the quad bike they were riding on as passengers collided with a tree on the island. The driver, subsequently identified as Filip Petre, the son of a Kuredu resort shareholder, was seriously injured in the accident.

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Islamic Foundation launches certificate course in use of incantations to cure black magic

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) has said that it will commence a certificate level course on incantations, teaching the participants “spiritual healing” and how to cure diseases using “incantation”.

“Incantations consist of words said or written in the form of dud or Dhikr for the purpose of protection or cure. It is sometimes accompanied by other actions, such as blowing or wiping over the thing to which it is applied,’’ the Foundation explained on its website.

President of the Islamic Foundation, Ibrahim Fauzee, told Minivan News that the main reason why the organisation had decided to conduct courses on spiritual healing was that many people in the islands had become victims of black magic performed by their enemies.

“Sometimes people have lost their lives [to black magic], and sometimes people perform the black arts to ruin the life or family of others. Many do not know how to cure this,’’ Fauzee said.

“Many people have requested that we teach them this, so we decided to open a course for the public and we are receiving huge support for it.’’

The one month course, beginning September 15, costs Rf 350 (US$23). Fauzee said seats for the class had been limited to 30 students, and it had already sold out.

During the course, students will learn incantations, ayahs, “extracted from the Quran which were taught by the Prophet (PBUH) during the old days, which people have always delivered to the next generation.”

Practitioners of black arts, he explained, spoke with djinns and used them to harm others.

“The Prophet’s (PBUH) Sunnah as well as the Quran reveals many things about the existence of djinns,” Fauzee said.

“Djinns often cause trouble and disturbances to humans, so we know that they are there. The Quran and the Prophet (PBUH) has taught us ways to cure [these disturbances],’’ he said.

Fauzee said the course would teach participants basic cures, and would involve both theoretical and practical work.

The Islamic Foundation explained that the practical component would involve the students accompanying tutors to treat people victimised by djinns, during which they would be taught how to use incantations.

Well-known scholar Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed and other senior members of the Islamic Foundation are scheduled to lecture the students during the course.

Sorcery, known locally as fandita, is widely practiced on many islands in the Maldives. In fact, the last person to be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi in 1953, who was executed by firing squad after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder using black magic.

Didi’s daughter, Dhondidi, was also sentenced in 1993 for performing fandita on behalf of the former President’s brother-in-law Ilyas Ibrahim, in his bid to win the 1993 presidential election.

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SAARC centre 60 percent complete, says Foreign Ministry

The convention centre being constructed in Addu Atoll for the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit is 60 percent complete, reports the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

This is the first time that the SAARC has been held off of Malé, and south of the equator.

Director of Communications for the Foreign Ministry, Irushaadha Abdul Sattar, said official invitations had been sent to participating countries, and teams were working round the clock to ensure the facilities were ready.

Workers were currently on a three shift a day schedule to complete the facility on time, Sattar said, noting that the physical structure was now complete and workers were focusing on internal wiring and landscaping.

“There has never been this amount of development for a SAARC Summit in the Maldives,” she said. “Roads are being built, buildings put up, wiring is being done, and this time it’s all going straight to the people.”

The Sri Lankan government has pledged to build a six kilometer road as part of project, with teams expected to arrive soon. The Foreign Ministry predicts that the facility will be completed by mid-September.

Addu City Mayor, Abdullah Sodiq, meanwhile forecast October 15 as a likely completion date for construction project, which covers 70 hectares. The Summit will be held in November.

Sodiq told Minivan News that the people of Addu were happy to see the infrastructure being built.

“The only concern is that it may not be completed on schedule,” he said, “At the beginning, progress was very slow, but now they are working very hard around the clock to be finished by October 15,” he said.

The Foreign Ministry said 30 groups have been chosen to perform sideline activities, such as entertainment, during the convention. Sodiq noted that youth groups and NGOs will be included, as well as some groups from other countries in the region.

The government has previously announced that the theme for the 17th SAARC Summit will be “Building Bridges” between member states, both in a physical and diplomatic sense.

One anticipated topic for the summit – heavily promoted by the Maldives – is the introduction of ferry services between the Maldives and destinations such as India and Sri Lanka.

President of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s youth wing, Shauna Aminath, previously observed that SAARC member nations included those the lowest-lying in the world – the Maldives – and the highest: Nepal.

“There are differences, but we want to use these as an opportunity to celebrate as a united force to build bridges of friendship, peace and security,” Aminath said.

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Indian Council for Cultural Relations to co-sponsor Islamic Fair

The Islamic Ministry and the Indian High Commission in the Maldives will hold a joint Islamic Fair next month in Malé and two other atolls, Haveeru reports.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations will be co-sponsoring the fair, to be held from September 3 to 18. Addu City has been selected as one site, but no island in the city has been chosen yet, the report states.

The fair, scheduled for Raa atoll earlier this year, was originally postponed due to bad weather.


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