Tag: maldives

Cabinet decision will increase police use of non-lethal weapons, including tasers

Cabinet yesterday decided to permit police to use non-lethal weapons to curb the gang violence in Maldives.

The President’s Office said the decision was made after discussing a paper submitted to the cabinet by the National Security Advisor ”raising concern over the continuous increase of gang violence, street mugging and other serious criminal activities that risk people’s lives and social stability.”

”Discussing the paper, members of the Cabinet noted that existing police fir power to stop gang violence was not appropriate for current situation compared to some of the more lethal weapons used by gangs,” said the President’s Office. ”They also noted that, in a democratic country, granting police the power and capability to discharge their legal duties to maintain internal stability and security, and protect the economy, was necessary for national security.”

An official from the President’s Office said that non-lethal weapons including electroshock taser guns and mace spray were permitted under the new regulation, while the use and effectiveness of weapons already in use such as pepper spray were discussed. The official said he was unsure whether the decision included the use of rubber munitions.

Tasers are widely used as a ranged non-lethal option by many law enforcement agencies around the world such as the US, but have been criticised for their misuse by some officers and potential to cause cardiac problems in some recipients of the shock.  Mace is the brandname for a strong form of pepper spray, which causes a burning sensation on mucus membranes but is short-range.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police had not yet been informed as to what types of non-lethal weapons were now allowed.

”After we know what types of non-lethal weapons are allowed we can say how effective it might be on our operations to curb gang violence,” Shiyam said.

Currently tear gas, pepper spray and batons are used by police in the Maldives, however police have been previously criticised for inaction when confronted with gangs wielding knives and swords. In a recent attempted robbery of Baros Island Resort police discovered a harpoon gun in a boat allegedly used transport  the suspects to the island, however more conventional firearms are extremely rare in the country.

Recently a gang attacked another gang in the artificial beach area using sharp objects, shovels and iron bars, in the presence of many passing women and children who was enjoying the venue on the weekend. Local media reported that one woman fainted after witnessing the attack, while the gang also threatened a person in the area and robbed him of his motorbike at knife-point.

In another recent incident, a 21 year-old man identified as Ahusan Basheer was murdered in a gang attack despite reportedly informing police that he felt he was at risk of being attacked.

When journalists queried Deputy Head of Serious and Organised Crime Department Inspector Abdulla Nawaz in a recent press conference about Basheer’s security request, he said he had not received information regarding the matter.

In another incident two persons were stabbed near Maaziya football ground and one of the victims bled to death after a major artery was severed.

Blame has been passed between police and the Criminal Court for the lack of prosecutions  – police claim the court is being lenient with offenders, while the court claims police are providing insufficient evidence to convict.

”The court does not refer to the nature of the crime but rather refers to the evidence brought to the court against the accused,” said the criminal court in a recent statement, noting that everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of law and that ”everyone accused of criminal offense is not a criminal.”

The first to be reported dead in a gang attack was on December 3, 2007, where a person named Ali Ishar, 21, died after he was beaten and stabbed in the Henveiru Ward of Male’.

On April 12, 2008, 15-year-old Shifau Ismail died from heart failure, after being severely beaten with metal bars and sticks in a gang-related attack which was believed to be a revenge attack.

Ahmed Shaneed, 15, died on the eve of the second round of presidential elections while another man attacked in April of the same year died in hospital that October.

On December 8, 2008, Samir Abdul Mueen, 23, died after he was stabbed multiple times by two or three men on motorcycles on Male’s Janavaree Magu.

Abdulla Faruhad, 18, of Seenu atoll Hulhudhoo Lilymaage was stabbed on Majeedhee Magu in March 2009 and died shortly afterwards.

Many such deaths and gang related crimes were recorded after 2007, suggesting an increase the number of crimes committed annually. Perception or fear of crime – in many countries often considered more socially damaging that the crime itself – has risen markedly.

Authorities have responded with periodic crackdowns that typically result in a large number of arrests but few prosecutions.

Last year police and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) arrested almost 60 people, including children, in a joint special operation launched on July 15 to curb gang violence after series of revenge attacks occurred between gangs in Male’ likewise the police special operation underway following the death of Ahusan Basheer.

Many of those who were arrested in the special operations claimed that the police and MNDF officers mistreated and abused them during their arrest and detention.

Many armed robberies and assaults were also reported last year.

In December 2009, prominent businessman Ahmed Ibrahim Didi, known as ‘Campus’ Didi, was stabbed and robbed of almost US$300,000 in cash by unknown assailants.

On December 30 the same year, the manager Mohamed Rashaad Adam and an employee of the Sunfront store on Majeedhee Magu were attacked on their way home.

On January 7, the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) launched a rehabilitation program for recently released inmates who were serving time for minor drug offences. There were 62 former inmates enrolled in this program, with more than 150 still awaiting clearance.

On January 10, a man was attacked and stabbed with a sharp object in the early hours of that morning. According to police, he man was attacked by a gang of six men. A boy under the age of 18 was arrested in connection to the case.

On January 17, police arrested 19 people in connection with the stabbing of Ahmed Ibrahim ‘Campus’ Didi.

On January 20, head of the police drug enforcement unit Mohamed Jinah claimed “it won’t be long” before police arrest the remaining four of the top six drug dealers identified by President Mohamed Nasheed.

“Two of the top six drug dealers have been arrested. We will arrest the remaining four as soon as possible,” he promised.

On January 23, a group of men allegedly gang raped a woman on Fuvahmulah after dragging her to a beach and restraining her husband.

On January 28, six men were injured in a fight between two groups in Gnaviyanni Faumulaku, and one of the injured men died while receiving treatment.

On February 7, a 15 year old boy and his 35 year old father were attacked and stabbed by gang members in  Hulhumale’.

On February 8, a businessman was attacked and robbed of Rf435,000 (US$33850) and US$7100 on Janavary Magu near Sonee Hardware.

On March 1, President Mohamed Nasheed criticised the judiciary during a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally and said that the government would not back down and will continue to arrest drug dealers.

On March 2, a man driving a pick-up truck was stabbed near Vaadhee Fresh in Maameyo Magu.

On March 3, the country manager of Habib Bank was stabbed and robbed in his home by a gang of four masked men. During the incident he suffered injuries to his nose, forehead and right arm but was not seriously hurt.

On March 8, police arrested three men in connection with the armed robbery of Habib Bank’s country manager.

On March 15, four men forcibly entered DhiTV studios and attacked five senior officials at the station afternoon, shortly after the station aired a report on its 2 o’clock news claiming that Ibrahim Nafiz, ‘Chika’, had been released to house arrest. Three hours after the alleged gang attack on DhiTV, a Haveeru employee was stabbed in the back.

Abdul Razzag Adam, 39, who works at the printing department, was knifed outside the Haveeru office building while he was on his cycle.

On March 25, a well-known flower shop on Sosun Magu, Cactus, was robbed by a group of intruders who threatened staff with knives and box cutters.

A witness to the incident, who spoke with the staff, told Minivan News that three men entered the flower shop and threatened the staff with knives and cutters, and stole Rf35,000 (US$2700)

On March 26, a group of 15 men abducted, drugged and gang raped a 20 year old girl while reportedly filming the incident with a mobile phone.

On March 30 the Maldives Police Service (MPS) claimed some politicians were using gangs to cause unrest, intimidate people and attack opponents.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that “police have learned some politicians have used gang members to create unrest.”

On April 19, police 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 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 was damaged.

On 3 May, two men on a motorbike stabbed a 16 year old child in front of two police officers on Ameenee Magu near Imadudeen School, before fleeing.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the two police officers were investigating a motor vehicle accident when the incident occurred. The boy injured his lungs and arm during the stab.

On 26 May, a taxi driver threatened a 19 year-old girl with a knife inside his car. The girl was forced to give money to the driver while she was traveling to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

On 29 May two men stabbed a 14 year-old boy in eight places, injuring his lungs and liver.

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DRP MP proposes amendment to lower age of juveniles from 18 to 16

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP and Youth Wing’s head Ahmed Mahlouf has presented an amendment to the parliament to designate persons under the age of 16 years as juveniles.

Currently persons under the age of 18 are legally considered as juveniles.

”The purpose to change the age is due to the significant increase in involvement of minors in crimes sinister in nature, and they cannot be sentenced to the full extent as they are considered as minors,” said Mahlouf. ”Although they are considered as minors, they are sometimes very dangerous.”

Mahlouf said he has noted that children of the age 16-18 are more likely to be engaged in criminal activities because many finished their ordinary level education at the age of 16, and most of them did not prefer further studies which was leading them to the wrong path.

”They do not prefer or get the opportunity for further studies but they cannot even be employed because they are considered as minors,” he said. ”In a religious perspective also it is more appropriate to set the age of 16 as adults.”

Of the roughly 10,000 students who sit their O’level exams each year in the Maldives 8000 fail, although the pass rate is slowly improving.

Mahlouf also presented an bill to regulate the resort security which requires each resort and hotel to have a security system approved by police.

”This was submitted considering the recent attempts to rob resorts in the Maldives which could eventually effect the entire economy of the country,” Mahlouf said. ”The bill also requires police to supervise the security of the resorts annually.”

Recently, a 20 year-old man was found dead floating on the lagoon of Baros Island Resort and Spa, allegedly one of the seven persons that went to rob the island.

Mahlouf also said a DRP Youth Wing’s rally will be held Friday night near the Tsunami Monument where senior members of the party will address people about gang violence.

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Parliament spends Rf 127,000 a month feeding MPs and staff

Local newspaper Haveeru has reported that parliament spends Rf127,000 per month (US$10,000) feeding MPs and staff.

Of this, parliament spends Rf 54, 000 per month (US$4200) on lunches for MPs and staff responsible for organising the 12 sittings a month.

In January members of parliament voted themselves a total monthly salary increase from US$4863 to US$7083 under the MP Privileges Bill, an increase that would have seen them earning on par with MPs in Sweden.

President Nasheed refused to ratify the bill and returned it to parliament.

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Maldives among only three countries to ever graduate from least-developed status: UN report

The Maldives is among only three countries to ever advance from the UN’s ‘least developed country’ (LDC) designation, according to a UN report reviewing the development of the world’s 51 poorest countries.

Only the Maldives (2010), Cape Verde (2007) and Botswana (1994) have ever graduated, leading UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to state that enduring marginalisation of the world’s 48 poorest countries promised “a future we cannot afford.”

“While the number of countries meeting the criteria of ‘least developed’ increased through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the graduation rate from that grouping has been glacial,” the report’s authors said.

They extrapolated that despite limited economic and social progress, “the gap between the LDCs and the rest of the world, including the low middle income countries, is widening.”

“The structural disadvantage of these economies, weak human assets (education, health, nutrition etc), limited physical and institutional infrastructure, dependence on fragile agricultural sectors and a limited range of exports are at the heart of the continued marginalisation of these countries within the world economy,” the report stated.

While development was one ingredient, “LDCs should assume greater ownership of their own development trajectory,” the authors suggested.

“It is our contention that some of the tools to achieve this is through negotiating better prices for their valuable raw materials and in turn processing these materials to generate capital gains. Increased mobilisation of domestic resources is also a key tool in their development.”

The report also suggested that fighting corruption and seeking for the return of stolen assets can improve the business climate and spur future growth.”

While the Finance Ministry has previously insisted it has budgeted for the graduation, the Maldives’ progression to the middle income category limits the country’s access to concessional credit, removes certain trade concession, and some donor aid – as well as risks creating a perception in the donor community that it is ‘less deserving’ than countries still on the LDC list.

With a crippling budget deficit created by a bloated civil service spend, and political difficulties attached to its resolution, the Maldives earlier this month contested at the UN in New York that graduating countries still require special financial and technical assistance.

The UN may consider the issue ahead of a conference on LDCs to be held in Istanbul from May 9-13, which will seek to promote a 10-year programme for food security, decent work, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and clean energy growth in the LDCs.

Read the report here (English)

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Islamic Foundation holding lecture on “status of women”

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) is organising a public lecture on April 1, 2011 (Friday) “to explain the noble status of women in Islam.”

The lecture will be delivered by Al-Usthaz Ahmed Nizam at the Nalahiya Hotel in Malé, and will be broadcast live on Capital Radio (93.6 FM) at 8.45pm.

The Islamic Foundation stated that in the lecture Usthaz Nizam will clarify “the rights and privileges given to women in Islam long before western democracy came into being.”

In the lecture Usthaz Nizam “will also explain the obligations of Muslim women towards their family and the society in general.”

Usthaz Nizam is a prominent lecturer who completed his higher studies at Al-Azhar University, Egypt, the Islamic Foundation said.

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Blackmarket dollar crackdown won’t address demand, warn businesses, financial experts

Police today launched a crackdown on the blackmarket trading of dollars after President Mohamed Nasheed last night declared he would “put a policeman behind every dollar”.

The Maldives has been suffering a crippling dollar shortage for over a year, with most banks in the country sporadically refusing to trade dollars at the official pegged rate of Rf12.85.

Maldivians travelling outside the country and expatriate workers seeking to export their remittances are forced to rely on the unofficial black market, which trades dollars at up to Rf14. Panicked text messages appealing for dollars are circulated whenever emergency medical treatment is required overseas.

Until now authorities have turned a blind eye to the practice, as even many sizeable local businesses have been forced to obtain dollars from unofficial avenues.

Launching the operation, police accused the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) of failing to address the problem of foreign currency dealers violating their licenses.

“It has been noticed that the MMA has yet failed to take action, despite the exchange of US dollars in violation of policies, in order to regulate the exchange of US dollars,” police said in a statement.

“Information received as of now reveals that the receipt and reports that should be sent to MMA have not been sent, according to the policies of the MMA in effect. We have also received information that unlicensed dealers are exchanging US dollars against the policies devised by the MMA,” police said.

The first arrest was made today, after a man was arrested in a shop on the tourist strip of Chandhanee Magu for exchanging dollars at higher than the pegged rate.

“The shop was not licensed to carry out transactions related to foreign currency exchange,” Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told newspaper Haveeru.

The government has levelled blame at MMA Governor Fazeel Najeeb, and called for parliament to dismiss him for failing to respond to the President’s requests for counsel.

A letter from the President requesting Fazeel’s dismissal was read out in parliament today and the matter was sent to the Public Accounts Committee, which will make a recommendation to the floor. Debate on the subject today included proposed limits on carrying foreign currency out of the country.

Earlier this month following initial calls for Fazeel’s dismissal, leader of the opposition-allied People’s Alliance (PA) Abdulla Yameen appeared on Villa TV to defend the MMA governor, insisting that the dollar shortage was not reasonable grounds to dismiss Najeeb.

“The MMA is not responsible for solving the problem of the decreasing amount of dollars coming into Maldives,” he said. “The MMA has to maintain the value of dollars and rufiya… if there is a dollar shortage, what the MMA can do is use their open market operations to borrow from commercial banks and attempt to maintain the value of the dollar.”

If these efforts were unsuccessful, said Yameen, also former Trade Minister and former Chairman of the State Trading Organisation, the only other option would be to “officially devalue the rufiya.”

However, he added, the impact of such a move on the economy had to be carefully considered, or the rufiya would have to be devalued again after six months and the positive effects would be “nominal”.

“From what we can see now, [devaluation] will not be a solution for our structural problems,” he said. “Our biggest structural problem is that our fiscal policy is still recklessly expansionary, it is very much a spending policy without any control. Government expenses are very high and they are not trying to control it.”

Although the Maldives received a high amount of dollars as tourism revenue, “not all these transactions take place in the Maldives.”

“A lot of tour operators for example sell tour packages in Europe and send to the country only what has to be paid to the resort,” he explained.

The other major problem is investor confidence: “If the Maldivian economy is collapsing like this and the dollar shortage is reaching this level, private Maldivian investors will not want to keep their money in the Maldives. They don’t know when, under some law or regulation, the government will give them an IOU and take their money from the bank saying ‘in two years we’ll pay you back in dollars what we’re taking, but now we don’t have cash for foodstuff’ and convert it at the 12.85 rate after a decision by the cabinet – no investor or businessmen will have a guarantee that this won’t happen.”

MMA had not been able to solve the disparity between the rufiya and the dollars because devaluing the rufiya would only lead to spiraling inflation, he said.

An internal problem

Local economists and businesses badly affected by the dollar shortage, such as importers, dispute that the problem is either political or can be solved in such a manner.

A representative for a Dubai-based company supplying resorts in the Maldives explained to Minivan News that while he was required to pay suppliers in dollars and euros, “the resorts try their best to pay in rufiya. Their revenue is acquired in dollars, so they can [sell the dollars] on the open market and pocket the difference.”

“It’s a huge issue for the entire country and makes it very difficult for anyone to import. We’re lucky in that we have a parent company to which we can transfer revenue and which pays centrally,” he said, adding that not all companies operating in the sector were as fortunate.

“We keep a local rufiya account which we use for pay customs payments and incidentals, otherwise the only way to exchange is on the grey market. There you’re looking at Rf14 to the dollar,” he said.

He speculated that the crackdown on the unofficial market could be positive, “as the resorts would lose the incentive to trade dollars into rufiya and any forex coming into the country would stay here.

“But the flip side is that you still can’t change money – it’s an incredible situation when you can’t go into a bank with your Rf12,850 and change it into US$1000. Imagine what would happen in the UK if you walked into RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and asked them to change £1000 pounds into dollars and they refused to do it.

“A crackdown on the black market also need laws guaranteeing dollar supplies for banks, with liquidity provided by the government,” he suggested.

“What bothers me is that there’s plenty of dollars coming into the country, but the people in control of the economy seem to be hiding it away.”

A local financial expert working in the private sector, Ahmed Adheeb, told Minivan News that while the crackdown would enforce existing monetary law, “the problem from the point of view of an economist is that the dollar flow is there but the exchange rate is not at the market rate. There have been a lot of dollar fluctuations since it was pegged.”

Adheeb emphasised that building confidence in the rufiya was now “more important than anything else”, and an internal problem innately linked to the country’s high budget deficit.

“We are producing a lot of rufiya to finance the deficit. If the inflow is greater but the exchange rate is not adjusted, that becomes a problem,” he said.

“The government is pumping more rufiya into the economy to finance the deficit than it is earning in dollars. The confidence in the rufiya is not there, and there is no incentive for people to keep their savings in rufiya.”

Adheeb predicted that while the crackdown would limit exchanges on the black market, “there will still be huge demand for dollars.”

“When the black market suffers shortages, we may find ourselves in a situation where we can’t find dollars at all. Even now if I am individual it is difficult to find dollars, because the banks are not supplying. The total solution is for banks to supply to demand.”

The banks, Adheeb said, had significant dollar reserves but found the rate of exchange unacceptable.

A pegged rate had been instrumental in building investor confidence in the tourism sector, Adheeb noted, however it had led to an internal problem that had left the currency vulnerable to global fluctuations in the dollar caused by events such as the Gulf Wars, 2008 recession, rising oil prices, “and now reconstruction in the wake of the Japanese tsunami”.

“If I have savings in dollars, why would I exchange if the rufiya is so volatile?” he asked. “At the same time why is the government raising oil prices? Because of international price increases.”

Foreign investors in the country were already concerned, he noted, because of the difficulty of repatriating profits to the home country.

“Dhiraagu, for instance, is probably having a lot of difficulties repatriating dividends to Cable&Wireless. This can lead to a fall in investor confidence. When that happens, foreign investors will either try to exit or stay away. We will only see foreign investment that earns dollars, such as resorts.”

The problem would soon lead to inflation and difficulties importing essentials such as fuel and medicines, he suggested, and could potentially have a major impact if the State Trading Organisation (the country’s primary importer) found itself unable to acquire foreign currency.

“There is no reason why this should be politicised – it is a national issue, like a tsunami. We need to get together and solve this. I believe the economic outlook for the Maldives is good – the tourism sector is continuing to grow. We can manage this, it should not be a major problem.”

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Letter of Spanish support

Dear People of Maldives,

My name is David González and I am a student of teacher training in the Barcelona University in Spain. When I do not have anything to study or homework to do, I write in my blog called “El Internacional” whose subject matter are the current International notices.

Well, when I saw the speeches of the representatives of your country and the Tuvalu’s one in the Copenhagen’s conference I was shocked. The tears of Ian Fry and the words of President Nasheed in the UN Assembly were terrifying. What were we doing? Our Eastern brothers can be the Atlantis of the XXIst century and we do not do anything to avoid such awful end?

I wrote an article in my blog to attempt to show what is happening in your country and in Tuvalu. The mass media only look at Libya and Japan but the Maldives’ issue continues being an important topic that must not be forgotten.

In addition, that is why I am writing in this newspaper, because I think it is important that the Maldivians knew they have fully support of, at least, one person in Spain.

Nothing else, thank you for giving me the chance to write here and please, continue fighting and defending your land, Maldives is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it would be a shame that it disappears under the water of the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, I will continue my crusade to make people aware that some insular nations can be sunk in few years if we do not stop the global warming.

David González

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please submit it to [email protected]

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President forms committee to control gang violence in the Maldives

President Mohamed Nasheed has formed a special committee to curb gang violence and gang related crimes in the Maldives.

The committee consists of National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal, Home Minister Hassan Afeef, Attorney General Abdulla Muiz, State Defence Minister Mohamed Muiz Adnan and Prosecutor General Ahmed Muiz.

The President’s Office said that the committee had their first meetings yesterday afternoon and had decided to establish a special task force to curb serious and organised crime.

The task force will be led by Maldives Police Service and will consist of officials from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS), Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Education, Courts of law, Prosecutor General’s Office, Maldives Customs Service, Ministry of Health and Family, Ministry of Human Resources Youth and Sports, Immigration Department and officials from the Local Government Authority.

The work of the special task force will be to secure the citizens of the country, isolate and arrest those who commit offences that disrupt the peace and harmony, to rehabilitate criminals and to offer opportunities for them to be back in society after they are reformed.

‘’This committee assures the citizens that we will constantly work to reinstate the peace in this country in national level,’’ the committee said in a statement via the president’s office. ‘’We will continuously try to gain attention and cooperation from the implementing agencies, businessman, NGOs, political parties and the public.’’

The committee said that in order to achieve its goal, all the institutions should corporate and work together.

This week the committee will meet the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid, National Security Committee [241 committee] of the parliament, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and other judges at the Supreme Court.

Recently a ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Rasheed presented an amendment to the Clemency Act which requires upholding death sentences if upheld by the Supreme Court and later withdrew it for the Penal Code and Evidence Bill was not yet passed.

In 2008 Rasheed said 104 cases of assault were sent to Prosecutor General, increasing to 454 in 2009 and 423 cases in 2010.

More recently 21 year-old Ahusan Basheer was stabbed to death on Alikileygefaanu Magu.

On June 2008, the major gangs in Male’ gave a press conference at Dharubaaruge and declared ‘’peace’’ and vowed to work together.

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MATATO calls for reviews of resort security

Bolstering security at the lucrative island resorts scattered across the Maldives poses an urgent challenge for government and industry amidst growing national and international crime, the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour operators (MATATO) has claimed.

Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, Secretary General for MATATO, said today that despite a relatively low number of security breaches at the country’s resorts, wider societal issues such as gang crime, piracy and terrorism needed to be hastily addressed by tourism operators and authorities.

The concerns echoed recent comments made to the media by Dr Mariyam Zulfa, Maldivian Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, over fears that rising levels of national crime are beginning to impact the country’s secluded resort business. The tourism industry has this year witnessed a number of isolated criminal incidents at the country’s resorts culminating last week in an attempted robbery at Baros Island Resort and Spa, and the death of one of the attackers.

The Tourism Minister said that while the industry had been working to be proactive in recent weeks to outline new measures alongside police and private companies that are designed to strengthen security against a number of potential “internal and external” threats, the recent robberies and reported presence of piracy in Maldivian waters has made addressing these issues more urgent.

Responding to the Tourism Minister’s concerns, Jamal said that the entire industry would need to face up to addressing preparatory measures for resort security as it outlines a fourth tourism master plan that will cover the tourist sector’s work from 2012 onwards. The current masterplan is said to relate to vital initiatives to develop the country’s travel industry from 2007 up until this year.

“We fear there is a big challenge ahead related to security,” said Jamal.

The MATATO secretary general added that it would be vital to protect the Maldives’ main tourist selling points such as natural beaches and the peace and security afforded by a policy of providing a single resort per island.

“If we lose just one of these factors the Maldives will lose out as a destination,” he said. “We are a hospitable people and we welcome visitors with a smile and we expect record visitor numbers in the coming years.”

Jamal claimed that the full potential of an expected increase in visitor numbers could be disrupted on the back of continued reports concerning local crimes and regional issues like piracy.

The MATATO secretary general added that the security issues currently being faced were potentially a short-term challenge for the industry to overcome.

“We see the importance of collaborations with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and police to step up patrols across the country’s islands,” he said.

Jamal additionally stressed that the recent concerns were also related to wider societal issues such as drug abuse across the country inhabited islands that would reacquire a more “holistic” approach to prevent criminals from targeting resort islands, though he added that MATATO would also look to speak with property owners for their own suggestions for dealing with any possible threats.

“We are very fortunate here in the Maldives that the resorts are isolated – although there have been a number of incidents they are well managed by the resorts,” he said. “Yet 99 percent of the country is water, this creates a huge task to manage and police.”

Jamal was confident that the Maldives’ tourism industry had in the intervening decades since its inception proved to be capable to adapting in the interests of security as well as profitability; from moving towards the use of supposedly safer sea plane transportation rather than helicopters, or adopting en mass more efficient fire safety procedures in the 1990’s.

“In the past we thought that it may natural disasters that would be are biggest challenge, yet in terms of adaption, although terror threats may not be immediate, more preventative measures need to be in place,” he claimed.

Jamal claimed that despite potential concerns from the presence in neighbouring waters of Somali pirates – whose suspected presence in the Maldives has yet to lead to any attacks – the number of the threats at present facing the industry had remained limited.

Ministerial concerns

After announcing concerns to the media this week about the possible impact criminal activity could have on tourism in the Maldives, Dr Zulfa told Minivan News today that she was referring particularly to the proportional rise in crime and gang behavior in society rather than the tourism industry alone.

However, the tourism minister herself accepted that recent reports of attempted robbery at Baros and a violent theft at Kihaadhuffaru resort in January this year, as well as the potential in the future for attacks from piracy and terrorists had brought an additional sense of “urgency” to addressing security issues.

She added that extensive discussions on the issues of security and safety would form the basis of meetings scheduled between the tourism industry and security officials next month (April 6 to 7).

“The [crime] issue is of a serious concern to me, though is proportional to what happens in the country at large rather than resorts alone,” she said.

Zulfa claimed that in the interests of trying to be proactive in protecting security, the country had been “working for some time” on developing new measures to protect resorts and bolster existing security systems that are in place in the country.

The tourism minister added that ultimately, the government alone could not handle the entire burden of dealing with security challenges and that various stakeholders – from resort companies to airport operators – had so far been very cooperative in trying to ensure they were not “easy” potential targets for criminal attacks.

“As industry representatives we will all be getting together on the April 6 and 7 to have extensive discussions with police and security authorities to address these urgent issues,” she said. “Papers have been earmarked looking at a number of issues including internal and external threats as well as public safety in areas such as watersports and resort design.

Taking the example of safety, Zulfa took the example of large resorts where people might be more isolated and ensuring that mechanisms were in place to ensure guests and staff were able to be assisted efficiently and quickly.

“We are looking to be proactive and have been wanting to do this [outline amended security and safety policies] for some weeks,” she said.

Not all stakeholders within the tourism industry have shared concerns over security though.

Workers’ perspective

Maroof Zakir, Vice President of the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM), told Minivan News that although it had not been consulted on the amendments to security in the Maldives, it had not received any complaints from its members concerning fears about safety or security.

“We haven’t had any complaints about security fears from our members, I would say this is not a big problem for resort staff at present,” he added.

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