Tag: male

Afghanistan’s monument sunk “for political reasons”: Addu councilor

Afghanistan’s monument, given to the Maldives in memorium of the 17th SAARC Summit held in Addu City this November, was broken from its mount and sunk in the sea on Thursday, December 22.

The vandalism was done a day before protests in defense of Islam and in support of moderate Islam were carried out in Male’ and other islands.

The statue has been retrieved, however it “has been broken and it cannot be repaired,” said Addu City Councilor Hussein Hilmee.

The statue was an image of Afghistan’s Jam minaret, which features Qur’anic phrases and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Hilmee was “100% positive” that the act had been done for political reasons tied to the December 23 rallies. “MDP wouldn’t do it,” he claimed.

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Island President opens to packed audiences

The pre-release premiere of the Island President opened last night in Dharubaarge to packed audiences.

Tickets that had originally been sold for Rf 80 (US$5) were selling for Rf 150 (US$10) on the black market yesterday afternoon. Such was the demand that organisers squeezed an extra 50 chairs into the auditorium at the last minute for on-the-door sales.

The film details the lead up to President Mohamed Nasheed’s election and the introduction of multi-party democracy. This is by no means an objective film: former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is treated harshly by the filmmakers and portrayed as thoroughly creepy, as in one scene where he stares unblinking at the camera while soldiers goose step past and a tinny patriotic song plays in the background.

Neither is it propaganda – rare archival footage of brutal military crackdowns and photos of the battered body of Evan Naseem lead up to one of the film’s strongest moments: time-lapse footage of the tin shed in which Nasheed was incarcerated in solitary confinement for 18 months.

“You walk in your mind,” he explains. “Even if you can only take 4-5 steps, you walk it over and over again.”

Nasheed’s seriousness on the subjects of democracy and climate change is given contrast as the filmmakers home in on endearing personal touches – the President’s assistant struggling to do up his tie, Nasheed’s request that the Muleaage staff fetch his mother’s spicy fish recipe, his bitter asides expressing frustration with diplomatic bureaucracy, his phone call home to tell his mother he had secured a deal in Copenhagen, and photos from the days he sported an afro.

The film portrays him as a very human and accessible leader, qualities which are sure to make the film a success among the liberal university student demographic when it is released to cinemas in the US in February.

Foreign audiences with more interest in global climate politics than in the Maldives will find much to take from the film. Nasheed serves as a fascinating behind-the-scenes ticket to the Copenhagen Summit and the diplomatic wrangling of 192 world leaders. In one scene he bullies the President of Grenada into rewriting a document on the climate change ambitions of small island states, in another he disappears behind a palm tree to speak to the Australian Prime Minister over the phone – the filmmakers follow.

Descriptions of The Island President as ‘the West Wing of climate change’ are apt – in one scene, a Chinese diplomat is filmed asking a protocol officer to identify the Maldivian President. “Your government should know this,” she snaps.

The impact of the film locally will be hard to predict. Whatever the politics of the viewer, there is a great deal for Maldivians to be proud about in The Island President. In one scene, Nasheed and Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam argue bitterly about whether to compromise on 1.5 degrees in order to at least secure an adaptation deal.

“People listen to you. We don’t want to look like we’ve been bought,” Aslam insists. Nasheed’s explosive reaction quickly dispels any doubt that his is a calculated attempt to milk foreign aid – he is clearly convinced the threat is existential, but is forced to come to terms with compromising his global ambitions for the sake of his country.

The first screening last night was predictably brimming with Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters, but the second session was a mixed – and younger – crowd. With 40 percent of the population aged between 15-24 and many disenfranchised by the ‘he said, she said’ nature of Maldivian politics, the film could well have political ramifications in 2013 if it proves popular with this set.

Eleanor Johnstone:

“The Island President” sets a mood of gravity and hope. Using footage and interviews original and historic, television broadcasts, and moments intimate as well as highly public, the film offers a cinematic collage of President Nasheed’s pursuit of democracy and in putting, and keeping, the Maldives on the map.

A combined sense of crisis and action dominates the film, particularly on the environmental issue. But threads of hope are strung throughout, most notably in the Maldivian government’s negotiating style. Regularly confronted with the baby-step methods of many foreign powers, Nasheed’s strident style may unnerve his own delegation but it presents him as a man of action, keen to keep his word.

Everyone knows someone who disdains politics as a sport of chatter and show. Nasheed is one of them. At Copenhagen he regularly vents of the slow-moving discussions and hesitant delegations to his own group of ministers. The Island President might leave Maldivians in fear for their homeland. But with a leader who speaks his mind without reservation, the country has more than many world powers can boast.

Extra showings of The Island President will be held at Athena Cinema on Friday
and Saturday, following unprecedented demand.

Friday 25 November at Athena Cinema: 14:30; 17:30; 20:30; 23:30.

Saturday 26 November at Athena Cinema: 17:30; 20:00.

Tickets can be bought from Athena Cinema between 16:30 – 23:00. Planned screenings for Dharubaarge on Thursday will be moved to Athena Cinema to meet demand. Ticket hotline: 9797356.

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Sri Lankan prostitution ring busted in Male’

A prostitution ring that has trafficked Sri Lankan girls to Maldivian resorts via Male’ for the past six years has been busted by Sri Lankan police, and is now being investigated by local authorities.

The operation began detected after a Pannipitiya brothel was raided by the Special Investigations Unit of Sri Lanka’s Mirihana Police, which operates in a Colombo suburb. The police are investigating the operation’s association with Maldives’ resorts.

Maldives Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said local police were awaiting these details before taking action locally.

“We have just heard about the operation today, once we receive more information we will launch our own investigation,” Shiyam said.

Shiyam indicated that it was a “delicate matter”.

“We have found some operations before, and sometimes there are many people who are involved,” he said, adding that the police conduct “on and off operations” targeting prostitution rings.

The accused will face deportation or appropriate legal procedures, Shiyam said. Maldivian police forces expect full cooperation from their Sri Lankan counterparts in addressing the issue.

Speaking to Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Times, Inspector H. N. B. Jayasinha said a police decoy established contact with the Pannipitiya brothel’s inner operations, explaining that clients were accepted by appointment.

The brothel was later raided and five girls were arrested along with the matron ‘Pannipitiya aunty.’ The six women arrested were of Galle, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Mahiyangana, and have been remanded until October 31.

Officials noted, however, that the brothel was part of a wider network.

Jayasinha told The Sunday Times that investigations revealed that two or three girls were sent to the Maldives on tourist visas each month, where they worked as prostitutes on islands near Male’.

Speaking to local media Haveeru, Jayasinha said the girls were lured with promises of employment, and instead were held hostage and forced into prostitution.

Haveeru today published pictures of the girls being arrested by local police at a Male’ home, however none of the ringleaders have yet been arrested.

A police investigation conducted earlier this year revealed that human trafficking had overtaken fishing as the Maldives’ second greatest contributor of foreign currency, pulling in an estimated US$123 million annually. A majority was of this industry involves the trafficking of Bangladeshi workers following false or duplicitous promises of employment, however the trafficking of sex workers has also been previously reported.

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Maldivian national commits suicide in Trivandrum, phone in hand

A 22 year-old Maldivian studying in Trivandrum, India hanged himself in his room on Wednesday, October 19.

Another Maldivian residing in Trivandrum reported that the young man had been “seen having fun” earlier that day, Haveeru reports.

The individual told Haveeru that the suicide was triggered by a relationship issue, noting that the young man been found dead with a phone in his hand.

The young man was studying for a diploma in Airport Management, and was planning to visit Male’ in November. His body has been transferred to a mortuary for examination.

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School boards call Dhivehi exam resit unneccessary

Male’ secondary school boards have sent a resolution to the Education Ministry to reject its plan to hold a resit of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Dhivehi examination.

The resolution was endorsed by seven school boards, representing Dharumavantha School, Hiriya School, Majeediyya School, Arabiyya School, Ameeniyya School, Muhyiddeen School and Ghaazee School.

The resit was scheduled after the test was deemed too similar to a sample exam earlier circulated among schools, reports Haveeru.

School boards have claimed that the students should not be forced to re-take the exam since the actual test paper was not leaked. According to Haveeru, their resolution also claimed a lack of precedent for holding an exam resit after test papers were leaked, and asked the ministry to release the exam results.

The original SSC Dhivehi exam was held on October 9.

The ministry has scheduled a resit of the exam on November 19, after the ongoing O-Level examination.

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Sri Lankan special forces bring bark to SAARC

Sri Lanka will provide security from its Special Task Force (STF) units for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to be held in Addu City this November.

STF is an elite special forces unit of the Sri Lankan police which was formed in 1983, and focuses on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. It was the lead unit engaged with the Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan civil war.

The Foreign Ministry and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) confirmed today that STF will be sending police dogs to support unidentified security matters.

“Previously, security dogs were allowed at the international airport, I’m not sure if they are still there but Maldivian law allows dogs to be used for security measures,” said MNDF Spokesperson Abdul Raheem.

“The dogs will clear the same areas as the event and other security forces, but I can’t say what they will be looking for,” he added.

Dogs are considered haram in Islam, and are prohibited as domestic pets in the Maldives. An exception was made for drug-sniffing and security dogs at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, however sources familiar with the issue say local staff were unable to provide proper care for the dogs and they fell ill.

Allegations of religious intervention were denied.

President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News that the STF dogs would not be an issue for the SAARC event. “We had dogs earlier for security without any trouble, I don’t see why anybody should object because the government has officially employed dogs before,” he said.

All countries participating in the SAARC convention are providing security forces. According to Zuhair, Bangladesh has donated trucks to the army, India is contributing police forces, and equipment with an estimated value of US$400,000 will be arriving from Pakistan in the next few days.

China will provide CCTV equipment for surveillance.

“It’s a well-integrated and cooperative effort with MNDF and all participating members,” said Zuhair, who pointed out that Addu was a unique site for an event of this magnitude.

“The last SAARC was held in Male’, but this time the event will be spread across several islands. Transportation logistics will be different,” said Zuhair.

Raheem said security preparations are under way for SAARC, and that MNDF “is sure that things will be to our satisfaction.”

Heads of state from the region will be attending SAARC, several of which are currently high-profile figures in the international community.

“We have to look at this as a high-risk event. Some heads of state are high-risk, but we are treating each and every head of state as high-risk to ensure their security,” said Raheem.

Local media reports that STF forces have been having special training programs in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo to prepare for the Addu event.

Correction:

The previous version of this article stated that Pakistan would provide US$4,600-worth of equipment to the SAARC summit security measures.

It should have read, “equipment with an estimated value of US$400,000 will be arriving from Pakistan in the next few days.”

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US funds digital preservation of traditional Maldivian love ballad

The United States Embassy in Sri Lanka has awarded Maldives’ Hulhevi Media US$25,000 towards their project, “Research, Documentation and Preservation of the Buruni Ballad.” Over the next five months, the team will produce the first digital recording, transcription and documentary video of the traditional love epic, “Buruni Kamana Raivaru.”

The 6-hour oral history has never been transcribed. It has generally been considered the Maldives’ version of “Romeo and Juliet.”

The tragic love story of Dhon Hiyala and Alifulhu is set against a background of magic, jealousy and revenge. After rejecting the king’s advances, the heroine Dhon Hiyala and her lower-class lover Alifulhu are forced to commit suicide by jumping onto a giant, poisonous jelly fish.

Experts view the epic as more than a literary treasure; it is also a guide to cultural history. Told in great detail, the epic describes ancient Maldivian customs such as feasting, marriage, fishing, and arts.

The US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation has supported over 640 cultural heritage preservation projects in over 100 countries for the past 11 years, donating approximately US$26 million to these endeavors.

“Heritage is a reminder of the historical experiences and achievements of humanity,” said US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Patricia  Butenis at today’s ceremony. “The more we know about each others’ traditions, the more common ground we share.”

The ambassador noted that this is the first time the fund has supported intangible heritage. “This project in the Maldives is about culture in its most basic form – the spoken word,” said Butenis.

This year, the Fund for Cultural Preservation awarded funding to three projects, two in Sri Lanka to preserve historic sites and one in the Maldives. Director of the American Center in Colombo Christopher Teal called the Buruni Ballad project an original and exciting first for the fund.

“We believe this is important, and we strive to provide funding to support the desire and expertise that is already there,” said Teal.

Hulhevi Media is an independent film group which produces documentaries on a wide range of issues including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and disabilities. The group has worked with NGOs including the Red Cross and the United Nations, and has been selected at several international film festivals. The team of four will travel to islands related to the oral history to record it in digital format, along with interviews.

Sharif Ali, Ibrahim Yassir, Ahmed Shafeeu, and Yumna Maumoon will be working on the project, which they described as “urgent.”

“There are only a handful of people who can tell the story today, and many of them are quite old, so time is critical here,” said Ali. “Working on a cultural preservation project, we will be going back to see what we have lost.”

The team aims to produce an audio CD and a transcription of the epic. “We do hope the book will be used extensively for literary analysis, and can be integrated into the education system,” said Shafeeu.

The epic has been used in secondary schools, but the team hopes it will be used more broadly in the education system.

The story was published as prose in 1976 by the renowned Dhivehi language scholar Abdullah Sodiq.

“I heard this same ballad (raivaru) being sung by the famous Kafa Kuda Thakkaan in a house in the Galolhu ward of Male’. As I listened my heart went through inexplicable feelings. This was no longer just a ballad, it was a fascinatingly beautiful romantic story told in a special raivaru form of rhyme and rhythm,” Sadiq said in a press statement.

Sadiq will advise the Hulhevi team on the Buruni Ballad project. “I never thought it would get this kind of help, I am very excited about this,” said Sadiq after today’s ceremony.

The Hulhuvi team said they were “elated” to receive the award after submitting their proposal a year ago. “It came out of the blue. And it’s great because it’s different from what we normally do. We are essentially a video production group, but with this project we’ll also be collaborating on linguistics and audio,” they said.

In September, the Maldives signed the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is already a participant in the World Heritage Convention and the Cultural Diversity Convention.

At the time, Minister of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture Ahmed Naseer said no efforts had been made in this department. “It is very easy to see things like poetry, music, language, and dance disappear if they are not practiced. We need to have a law enacted to outline these practices.”

A draft of new legislation promoting the preservation of intangible cultural heritage is currently before parliament, Naseer said previously.

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Teachers’ Day tradition provokes financial dispute

Wednesday, October 4 will be celebrated as Teachers’ Day, however reports state that parents are objecting to some schools’ request for a Rf100 (US$6.50) donation towards the festivities.

Deputy Minister of Education Ibrahim Rasheed said that he had not received any complaints regarding the celebrations. Rasheed said Teachers’ Day celebrations were voluntary, and that it was up to the parents to contribute.

He expressly noted that donations were not required by the ministry.

“It’s up to the parents. If the parents organise an activity it’s up to them to decide how they will do it,” said Rasheed.

According to local media, all schools have asked for donations, but the request became an issue when some schools set a fixed amount. One parent allegedly said her child was asked to bring “good” gifts, and that she felt forced to donate to the celebrations because the school was keeping a record of contributors.

Rasheed said it was tradition for students to bring teachers cards and flowers in appreciation, and supposed that the request for donations had been organised by the school board or parent teacher associations (PTAs). He confirmed that no part of the school budget is set aside for Teachers’ Day.

PTAs play a significant role in school decisions. For many parents, education is important; one source indicated that parents have requested improvements beyond the state budget’s scope, and that they may be asked to supply the necessary financing to realise their demands.

The Principal of Ameeniya School, Athiya Naseer, had not heard of complaints at other schools but said state budgets are insufficient. “We can hold extra curricular activities, but depending on the type of activity we may have to fundraise,” she said. “Everyone shares in the fundraising though, parents and students and teachers.”

Teachers are important figures in the community “who are doing their jobs very well,” said Rasheed. However, some consider salaries proportionately low.

“The salaries are very low compared to the cost of living,” said Naseer. “Many teachers tutor on the side.” Naseer could not say if teachers felt pressed to tutor to make ends meet.

Rasheed did not wish to comment on matter.

“The whole world is undergoing a serious economic downturn at the moment,” said Deputy Director General of the Center for Continuing Education (CCE), Adam Sharaaf Umar. “It will certainly affect the education system and other sectors as well. But teachers are optimistic, and always working hard at their jobs.”

Tomorrow’s festivities will start in the morning with students and parents welcoming teachers to schools. The Teaching Excellence Award 2011 will be announced tomorrow evening at Dharubaaruge, an event which President Mohamed Nasheed is expected to attend.

On October 8, CCE will host a teacher conference “to share and contribute practices and exchange views on how to apply new ideas in the classroom,” said Umar.

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Government plan to waive import duties, reduce costs

President Mohamed Nasheed has said the prices of goods will drop after the government implements a plan to waive import duties on certain products, starting January 2012.

Yesterday, Nasheed paid visits to several Male’ shops to observe the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which went into effect on Sunday, October 2.

Several shop owners said they had noticed several difficulties from the start of the GST, but that Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) was taking necessary actions to resolve these issues.

Others noted that the majority of businesses had been well prepared for the new tax system.

The tax system was applied to the Maldives as a means of increasing state income, which in turn is expected to support the growth and development of national public services such as social security, public welfare, and health coverage.

Nasheed said a more efficient tax administration system would be established once legal formalities are completed.

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