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Waheed’s lack of solid policies led to increase in state expenditure: MP Jabir

Amid rising concerns about state expenditure, debt and the economic stability of the country, some political actors who are part of the unity government coalition have started expressing concern about the government’s actions publicly.

The government-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) earlier this month expressed concern over Waheed’s handling of the coalition’s dispute with the GMR contract to develop the airport, while one of the party’s MPs called for his resignation should he be unable to settle the matter.

More recently, Jumhoree Party Deputy Leader and MP Abdulla Jabir on Sunday criticised President Waheed’s commitment to bring down state expenditure.

“Spending money he does not have”

MP Jabir said Sunday that President Waheed was acting with no consideration for the extremely high levels of state expenditure.

Jabir claimed that while the norm elsewhere in similar circumstances was that the president would work to cut down on spending, Waheed was continuing to appoint people to new political posts and campaign with “money he does not have”.

“He picks people off the streets and gives them posts,” Jabir said. “Why hold on to such a pointless formula?”

Jabir asked Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad if Waheed had discussed his pledges with him prior to making them public, speaking at the Public Accounts Committee meeting on Sunday. Jihad responded that he had no documents detailing Waheed’s presidential pledges and only become aware of them as they were reported in local media.

Jihad also stated that Waheed mostly consulted the leaders of the coalition parties when appointing people to head the state companies, although he said he had been consulted about a few appointments.

The Finance Minister on Monday revealed that the country’s budget deficit for 2012 was set to reach MVR 6 billion, (US$390 million), MVR 3 billion (US$195 million) over estimates.

In addition to Jabir, DRP MP Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed also expressed his disapprovement of government actions.

“The government does not seem to be serious in its efforts to bring down expenditure,” Maseeh said. “Some ministers just make bold statements without even considering the budget. These statements lead to fancy headlines. This needs to be stopped.”

Interference in parliamentary duties

Meanwhile President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza, himself a member of Jumhoree Party, denied the allegations. He is reported in local media as saying Jabir was disappointed regarding ongoing issues with the government concerning the lease of his personal restaurant business, West Park. Riza claimed this is the reason why Jabir was critical of the government.

“We are seeing members of the government coalition criticising the government because some personal interests cannot be gained. This itself shows that the government will not be involved in any unconstitutional actions,” Riza has been quoted as saying.

“Jabir has expressed disappointment over the West Park issue many times, but this government will not make any decisions which are not aligned with the values of equality and justice,” he said.

In response to the government’s statement, Jabir spoke to Minivan News today.

“Of course I am disappointed over the West Park issue. It is part of my personal business. But I am questioning the state and its ministers in my capacity as a member of parliament, in the best interests of the country. My personal disappointment does not cloud my seeing Waheed constantly making trips to islands and making pledges. Even the Finance Minister has said he has seen these on media,” he said.

“I am saddened that such an incompetent man is using the resources of the President’s Office to make such unfounded claims,” Jabir said. “I am not sure that man was in his right senses when he said that.”

Jabir stated that according to the regulations of the parliament, no one could raise questions or take action against statements made by a member through the work of the legislative as long as it conformed to constitutional and islamic principles.

“The three powers of the state are separated. The president’s spokesperson seems unaware of even this. By making such a statement, he is interfering with another branch of the state, and is breaching democratic norms,” he further said.

Jabir said that it was his duty as a member of parliament to make the government and the president accountable. He pledged to continue with the work and condemned what he said was the government’s attempts to inhibit it.

However, Jumhooree Party’s Chief Spokesperson Moosa Rameez told Minivan News today that the party did not share Jabir’s opinion of the government.

“This party is part of Waheed’s government. We have not noticed any instance where Waheed has spent money he does not have for campaigning,” Rameez said.

“We are very concerned about Jabir having made such a statement. He did not discuss this in the party’s council. Our concern is that this might create problems within the unity government.”

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Parliament Watch aims to increase citizen involvement in the legislative process: MDN

Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) has beta-launched its ‘Majlis Watch’ website, although the site remained password protected at time of press.

MDN Executive Director Fathimath Ibrahim Didi told Minivan News today that the project and its website are meant to provide a platform allowing citizens to more conveniently get involved in the legislative process. The website will also provide updates about the events at parliament on a more timely manner than the annual reports currently being released by the NGO.

“Through the website, you can access draft bills which the parliament is working on. This will give citizens a chance to submit comments and concerns. In future, we will highlight bills we are working on each week, so as to increase efficiency,” Didi said.

MDN has also released its Parliament Watch report, an analysis of the work of the parliament for the year from March 2011.

Representation and attendance

The political parties holding seats in the parliament in this period were Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhooree Party (JP), People’s Alliance (PA), Qaumee Party (QP) and Adhaalath Party (AP). DRP had split up into two factions, one of which was later registered as the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). However, although the party held a number of seats, PPM was not officially recognised in the parliament.

According the report, by 31 December 2011, MDP had 34 representatives in the parliament, while DRP and PPM each had 15 members, JP and PA had 2 members, QP and AP had 1 member each, and there were 7 independent members.

In 2011, the 17th People’s Majlis held a total of 91 meetings. While the report states that 67 members showed at least 81 percent attendance, it further points out that only four members of parliament attended all meetings. They were MDP MPs Imthiyaz Fahmy, Mohamed Rasheed, Ibrahim Rasheed and Abdul Ghafoor Moosa.

Independent MP Ismail Abdul Hameed attended 55 out of the 91 meetings. He had a corruption case against him in the courts, and his right to attend the meetings were a contentious issue during that year’s parliamentary meetings.

The least number of meetings were attended by DRP MP Mohamed Ramiz, who attended 47 out of the 91 meetings, and Independent MP Ahmed Shiyam who was present at only 45 meetings.

The report further speaks of the number of times parliamentary meetings were disrupted for various reasons. It states that there are 193 instances where meetings were stopped due to lack of quorum and 26 instances where meetings were adjourned until the members named by the speaker were escorted out of the parliament hall. A total of 13 members had been asked to leave the parliament meeting hall, the most common being PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof.

Parliament remains suspended by Speaker Abdulla Shahid due to his concerns over political turmoil several months ago, however committees are meeting.

Legislative work

A total of 17 bills were passed in 2011, half the amount of bills passed in 2010.

Similar to the previous two years, the maximum number of bills that were passed in 2011 were in the area of Constitutional and Administration. The two other areas that were given priority are Religious and Social bills and Economic and Financial bills.

What needs to change?

MDN calls on members to not discriminate between members of their own party and those of the opposition when working with the constituents they represent.

It further notes that many MPs have expressed concerns that they are expected to spend on constituents from their own salaries. MDN states that this practice would prove detrimental to democratic norms. The NGO calls upon MPs to refrain from giving out hand-outs, and to instead work on strengthening the necessary social security frameworks.

MDN also calls on the parliament to increase accessibility to meetings, bills, motions, etc to the general public. It also notes the importance of members considering national interest ahead of political gains.

The electorate itself is asked to ensure that they cast an informed vote when electing members to represent them in parliament.

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“No risk of Al-Qaeda attack”: Home Minister

The Maldives is at no risk of an Al-Qaeda attack, Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed told local media following claims in the UK press by former President Mohamed Nasheed that the Maldives faced rising Islamic extremism.

“There is no basis to Nasheed’s claims. The Maldivian Security Forces are working round the clock with international agencies. The Police receive up to date intelligence information from those agencies. There is no information thus far of any danger to the Maldives from an Al-Qaeda attack,” Jameel was reported as saying.

“Nasheed is just trying to hog the headlines by referring to Islam as he has no more pitches to make in the political arena. Because if he claims that there are religious extremists in the Maldives, it would make it easier for him to attract the attention of the international community.”

“They are talking about alcohol-free resorts, about getting non-drinking tourists to come in from Iran. I can easily imagine holidaymakers being prosecuted for kissing in public, as in some Muslim countries,” Nasheed told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper.  The former president also noted recent calls from the country’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs to ban mixed-gender dancing, and dancing by adolescent girls.

“If the country is being radicalised every day, then the staff in the resorts, and their families, are being radicalised also. That must have some impact on the resorts in the medium and long term,” Nasheed warned.

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RAF veterans remember their days on Gan: Part 1

A group of Royal Air Force (RAF) veterans remember their time on the beautiful Maldivian island of Gan in the Addu Atoll as the best days of their lives.

Living thousands of miles from home, the servicemen of Coral Command who lived and worked on the atoll of Addu in RAF Gan and nearby Hithadhoo, where the RAF were fitting radio transmitters in the seventies, made their own fun long before the resorts were created.

In true forces style the squadrons based here, mainly Brits and the Indian Air Force, with a couple of Americans, created a night life scene which was enjoyed by many, including some liberal locals. Sadly, all this ended when the forces pulled out.

The RAF needed to travel back and forth between the islands for work and entertainment. They built a causeway linking six islands to help them to get there easily but before that they had to travel by boat.

Nowadays there is little entertainment, save the bar at the Equator Village resort in Gan on the other side of the island, and the sleepy hamlet of Hithadhoo is a very different place now – but it didn’t used to be, as one former airman reveals.

Richard Houlston, now 63, remembers the recreational activities which were available in the seventies in Hithadhoo after hours. Long before the resorts, Hithadhoo can proudly boast the establishment of the first entertainment in the Maldives.

Weekends were filled with diving and crab fishing, dhoni racing, pranks and skinny dipping in the pristine lagoon. After work hours Coral Command would spend hours drinking at “Siggies bar”, known affectionately as ‘Fairly Blato’, for obvious reasons.

On special occasions, some of the lads would head to the legendary Bushy disco – the first outdoor rave on a jungle-cropped island close to Hithadhoo.

“There were around 25 of us on the site when I arrived, this gradually increased to about 50 over the next few months when Skynet came (Satellite Communications),” remembers Richard.

“We had a big 2000 litre water tank in case of fire but we filled it full of fish from the lagoon, including three 4ft sharks, six puffer fish and a large titan trigger who ruled the pool. This had to be emptied, cleaned out and re-filled every week on a Tuesday afternoon to keep it going.

It was very entertaining to watch the catching of a four foot long shark by the tail,” Richard recalls.

Many hours were enjoyed placing a pole across this tank for people to walk across (which gives a whole new meaning to Shark Infested Custard, for those with a service background).

“No one ever did manage to make it across. If they looked as if they were doing well the pole was rolled first one way then the other! With three 4ft sharks in there, no one stayed in long,” he laughed.

On weekends and evenings many pranks were played by the men on their fellow comrades. These practical jokes helped to keep camaraderie and spirits high and playful by nature Richard was one of the main pranksters.

“John Scott and I used to go and catch 20 sand crabs and a large land crab every evening after tea and sometimes at night when everyone was in the bar Scotty and I would catch frogs and put them in peoples beds. We’d put the land crabs in washing boxes or down the loo,” he said.

“It was quite startling when you are about to seat yourself down to have a number two and a huge pair of pincers suddenly appears – that would make your eyes water.”

Firm and long lasting friendships were made during the time on Addu, which is evident in the hundreds of messages posted on the Then and Now website.

These lasting friendships enabled the RAF Gan memorial visit a couple of years back, where more than 50 former airmen and officers stepped back onto the atoll and met again for the first time in almost 40 years.

Many shared tales of times gone by and made new friends too. At the time men were not allowed to socialise with local women so with little social interaction, apart from with each other, the men filled their days with activities such as snorkelling, and diving.

There were dhoni competitions where men would row for entertainment and many other games too.

“As you are probably well aware the main problem with Gan was the lack of women. For 12 months with no female companionship, it was very difficult for servicemen – almost unbearable,” Richard explained. “Of course, we were not allowed to meet the Maldivian women, probably just as well, as I think I might still have been out there… or washed up on some beach.”

He left the air force to get married and remains happily so, with two children and recently the addition of a new grandchild.

There were some characters on the base. Richard fondly recalls the madcap adventures and avoidance tactics of a particular infamous squadron leader called Buckle.

“At the time we had Squadron Leader Buckle based on Gan but in charge of us on Hithadhoo. He heard a rumour that some airmen on Hithadhoo were sunbathing in the nude. This would of course be upsetting to the Maldivians – well the men anyway – who used to pass through the camp from time to time.

“He made many surprise trips trying to catch the culprits but as they had to have permission to land the boat we always knew in advance,” he laughed.

“It sort of backfired on him when he had a little rhyme composed about him: ‘Bare Bum Buckle was his name’ and ‘Bare Bum Spotting was his game’. I can’t remember the rest, perhaps it just as well). I know we had a flag pole over the bar in the Hermitage with a belt buckle hanging from it – a hangman’s noose.”

The Hithadhoo Diary’ was a cartoon feature for each period and the last six months-worth can be read on the Gan Remembered web site.

While he wouldn’t admit it some of Richard and his colleagues’ pranks even made the gossip sheet, which covered part of the time he was there, he laughs.

Richard and his comrades from Coral Command re-visit Gan as much as they can still have a close connection to Gan and Hithadhoo through Facebook, some say their hearts actually never left the curiously heart-shaped atoll.

Visit the RAF Gan Memorial Website.

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Comment: Constructing the truth – CoNI and the coup, part one

This article originally appeared on DhivehiSitee. Republished with permission.

There are no facts, only interpretations.

– Frederich Nietzsche

When the allegation lacks substance or reality, nothing is required in response.

– Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI)

The idea that an objective truth can exist independent of political power is a myth dating back to Plato. On the contrary, truth and political power are intricately woven together—one cannot exist without the other. Instead of an ‘objective truth’, what becomes accepted as ‘reality’ is based on what those in power are willing to include as ‘true’ and what they exclude as ‘false’ in what they say and do about a given issue. While such power/truth relations are normally hidden from surface observations and casual scrutiny, the Report of the Commission of National Inquiry, Maldives is a document that blatantly demonstrates how ‘truth’ is produced in this manner and how the truth so constructed is used to exercise power and control over society.

It is CoNI’s conclusion that there was “No coup, no duress, no mutiny” in the Maldives on 7 February 2012. To arrive at this ‘truth’, the CoNI Report excludes all information it regards as false and includes only what it deems true according to preconceived notions and beliefs.  “When the allegation lacks substance or reality”, it states, “nothing is required in response.” How CoNI decided what ‘lacks substance or reality’ and, therefore, can be dismissed as not worthy of a response, is not explained. It is an arbitrary measurement, composed and set up by the Commission according to a standard that itself decided on, and which it decided not to make public.

Some statements contained in the report, however, do provide an indication as to the criteria used by CoNI to decide which of the 293 witnesses it interviewed were telling the truth, and which of them were judged as simply repeating ‘hearsay’ or enthusiastically relaying fantasies of a confused mind susceptible to suggestion.

Take, for example, the following statement:

Just as a question has no evidential value unless the person answering accepts or adopts the fact contained in the question, allegations have no evidential value just because someone has articulated them repeatedly.

What does this confused and confusing statement mean? If a question is being asked in order to establish the facts of an event, why then does the question itself contain a fact that the answer must first accept for it to be considered valid? Is CoNI saying that a decision was made from the very beginning to exclude as invalid all the answers that did not first accept ‘the fact’—as stated in CoNI’s findings—that ‘there was no coup’?

How much evidence was excluded on this basis? Is this the grounds on which the evidence of Nasheed’s wife, Laila, for instance, was given no consideration by CoNI? In an investigation of the validity of Nasheed’s claim that he resigned under duress, fearful not just of a public bloodbath but also for the safety of himself and his family, would the evidence of his wife not be essential to verifying his explanation?

It is not just Laila’s evidence that seems to have no place in CoNI’s deliberations. Although one of the appendices to the report provides a list of 49 pieces of documentary evidence submitted by various witnesses, there are only seven such documents it refers to as having ‘comprehensively reviewed by the Commission’.

Of these, what it relied on most was its own Timeline, published on 6 June 2012, over two months before it completed its deliberations. [The English translation of the Timeline published on the CoNI website on its official letterhead was copied verbatim—except for an occasional substitution of a word here and there—from Dhivehi Sitee with neither permission nor acknowledgement, or shame for that matter.]

According to the CoNI Report this Timeline, published prior to interviewing some of the most important witnesses to the events of 7 February, was the truest document of them all. There was nothing anybody could say to challenge its version of events, for it contained CoNI’s ‘truth’.

It must be noted also that despite the many alternative scenarios which have been produced internally and internationally, there has been virtually no challenge of any substance to what was recorded in the Timeline.

Indeed. Not when all evidence that was excluded from the Timeline remained excluded as unworthy of inclusion.

This is an analysis of some of the most blatant exclusions of fact the CoNI Report relied upon to construct a particular ‘truth’ about the events of 7th February 2012. It is part one in a series of in-depth analyses of the CoNI Report which, if accepted in its current form as ‘what really happened’ in the Maldives on that day, renders the 2008 Constitution of the Maldives meaningless and creates the conditions in which the illegal overthrow of a government can be deemed legal.

Azra Naseem holds a doctorate in International Relations.

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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Radicalisation threatens tourism, Nasheed tells UK press

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has told UK media that growing concessions towards Islamic radicalisation in the Maldives could threaten the country’s upmarket tourism industry.

“I think that is the direction we are going. They are talking about alcohol-free resorts, about getting non-drinking tourists to come in from Iran. I can easily imagine holidaymakers being prosecuted for kissing in public, as in some Muslim countries,” Nasheed told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper.  The former president also noted recent calls from the country’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs to ban mixed-gender dancing, and dancing by adolescent girls.

“If the country is being radicalised every day, then the staff in the resorts, and their families, are being radicalised also. That must have some impact on the resorts in the medium and long term,” Nasheed warned.

The current government this week said it would reject any such proposed ban on mixed-gender dancing, telling international media that the Maldives remained a “very tolerant society”.

Speaking to the UK’s Independent newspaper, Nasheed said he “feared that anti-Western feeling had dramatically increased recently within the country – fuelled by political instability – with the potential for attacks.”

“I don’t know why they haven’t blown up anything in the Maldives,” Nasheed told the paper. “Right now [maybe] they are thinking that strategically it isn’t good for them to do anything in the Maldives. Maybe they are using our national accounts. Maybe they are using our banks. Maybe it is a good place for recruitment.”

Nasheed observed that Maldivian nationals had been found to have been connected with al-Qa’ida attacks in Pakistan and India, and said he had had regular meetings with Western intelligence agencies during his time in office.

The international community had, he said, “thought that the game was over as soon as [the former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom] was gone. But there is such a great need to build political parties, to support an independent judiciary, to install more liberal ideas.”

“We need to come up with a narrative other than the radical Islamic narrative because that is the only one there is at the moment. Unless we are able to understand the mistakes that have been made in the Maldives, we are bound to see the same thing happening elsewhere in Arab Spring countries.”

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb were not responding to calls at time of press regarding the comments.

Religious rhetoric has a become a fixture of the Maldives’ political landscape, most significantly when the disparate former opposition last year found common cause on December 23 by holding a mass rally against Nasheed’s perceived liberalism.

During President Mohamed Waheed’s first public rally as leader in late February, he declared: “Be courageous. Today you are all mujaheddin [those who fight jihad] who love the nation. We will overcome all dangers faced by the nation with steadfastness.”

“We will not back down an inch. Today, the change [in power] in the Maldives is what Allah has willed. This did not happen because of one or two people coming out into the streets. Nobody had been waiting for this. Nobody even saw this day. This change came because Allah willed to protect Islam and the decent Maldivian norms,” Waheed stated.

Earlier this week the religious Adhaalath party added to the coalition government’s rhetoric against Indian infrastructure giant GMR, calling for a “national jihad” to take back the airport from the developer.

The resort industry, famed and marketed for idealising Western hedonistic excess, has traditionally kept a safe distance from religion and politics. Technically under the Constitution, no law can be enacted against a tenet of Islam, which potentially affects those relevant to the import, sale and service of products such as pork and alcohol. The resort islands are classified as ‘uninhabited’ under Maldivian law.

Following the December 23 rally, Nasheed temporarily met one of the gatherings’ demands – the closure of spas – and applied it to the entire country, not just its inhabited islands.

While the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) began legal action, Nasheed demanded the Supreme Court decisively state once and for all whether the Maldives could import pork and alcohol without violating the nation’s Shariah-based constitution. It declined to do so.

Following the transfer of power on Feburary 7, Nasheed’s opponents – some of them resort owners – continued to challenge him on religious grounds.

Leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP) Gasim Ibrahim, a local resort tycoon, in August reportedly called for a “jihad” to protect Maldivian society from “Nasheed’s antics”.

“The time has come to undertake a Jihad in the name of Allah to protect our religion, culture and nation. Such a sacrifice must be made to restore peace and stability in the nation,” Gasim declared.

Meanwhile, according to 2011 customs records, Gasim’s Villa Hotels chain – including the Royal, Paradise, Sun, and Holiday Island resorts, that year imported 121,234.51 litres of beer, 2048 litres of whiskey, 3684 litres of vodka and 219.96 kilograms of pork sausages, among other commodities considered haram (prohibited) under Islamic law.

“Un-Islamic behaviour is un-Islamic behaviour whether it is in Malé or in a resort,” Nasheed observed to the Telegraph.

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Adhaalath Party called on government not to negotiate with GMR, disrupt “national jihad” of airport nationalisation

The religious Adhaalath Party called on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other coalition parties to not conduct any communication with Indian infrastructure giant GMR which might disrupt the government’s push for airport nationalisation.

This call comes in connection with the visit of GMR’s Chairman, G M Rao, and board members on Thursday.

Local newspaper reported that Rao and the delegation arrived on a private jet on Thursday morning at 9:00am, and had departed by 2:50pm in the afternoon.

CEO of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Andrew Harrison, told Minivan News that the visit was part of a regular bimonthly business review and unrelated to the current rhetoric.

“They was never any intention [for the delegation] to meet anyone from the government. Media got hold of the manifest and drew conclusions,” he said.

A statement released by Adhaalath Party on Thursday stated that it did not accept that the GMR board being in the Maldives was a “coincidence”. The party called on the political and civil members of the coalition, which it described as being on a “national jihad” to nationalise the airport, to be cautious about the visit and to “fear Allah” in the interest of the nation and its people.

President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, on Wednesday rejected an invitation to meet with Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay. Imran is quoted in local media as saying that he did not accept the invitation because of “the current situation” regarding the GMR issue and because the High Commissioner had not explained the reasons behind the invitation.

Imran also said that his rejection was not based on animosity towards India, as the GMR issue was “only a disagreement between the Maldivian government and a private company”. He expressed his hope that the Indian government would not get involved in the matter.

A letter allegedly sent by GMR to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting intervention by the Indian government, was reported to have been leaked in August.

The Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has also spoken with the Maldivian government about settling the disputes regarding the GMR contract.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Azima Shakoor has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether the laws of the Maldives could be applied to the agreement with GMR concerning the development of INIA.

Airport CEO Harrison stated that the company saw no need to responding to nationalisation rhetoric aired in the media: “We’re waiting for the government to tell us what it wants. Otherwise its business as usual,” he said.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay was also not responding to calls.

GMR won a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the airport during the Nasheed administration. The opposition at the time challenged the government’s privatisation and threatened to renationalise the airport should it come to power.

Following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the unity government under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has swung between issuing reassurances within diplomatic circles that Indian investments in the country would be protected, while locally stepping up nationalisation rhetoric.

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GMR leadership to visit Maldives as government parties escalate nationalisation rhetoric

Board members and the head of Indian infrastructure giant GMR, G M Rao, are due to visit the Maldives later this week in a bid to resolve tensions with the government over the company’s development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The upcoming visit follows a meeting between Rao and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at a hospital in India where Gayoom’s wife was being treated. Gayoom also recently met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

GMR won a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the airport during the Nasheed administration. The opposition at the time challenged the government’s privatisation and threatened to renationalise the airport should it come to power.

Following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the unity government under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has swung between issuing reassurances within diplomatic circles that Indian investments in the country would be protected, while locally stepping up nationalisation rhetoric.

Some of the dissent has blurred the line between business and politics.

Leader of the government-aligned Jumhooree Party (JP), resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, urged the government in local media to reclaim the airport, even at a cost of US$700 million, as it was worth “a thousand times more”.

Gasim’s comments followed GMR’s decision to suspend the credit facility for his Villa Air airline, due to unpaid bills totaling MVR 17 million (US$1.1 million) for fuel, ground handling and passenger service fees.

Contentious airport development charge

One of the government’s disagreements with GMR concerns the charging of a US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) on outgoing passengers, as stipulated in the concession agreement.

During the last months of the Nasheed administration, the opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) filed a successful case in the Civil Court blocking this fee from being charged on the grounds that was effectively a tax which had not been approved by parliament. DQP leader Dr Hassan Saeed, now President Waheed’s special advisor, and DQP Vice-President Dr Mohamed Jameel – the new Home Minister – justified their disapprobation while in opposition by publishing a pamphlet in Dhivehi (English translation).

The pamphlet described the deal as “paving the way for the enslavement of Maldivians in our beloved land”, and warning that “Indian people are especially devious”.

To abide by the court decision, Nasheed’s government agreed to subtract the ADC from its concession revenue while it sought to appeal.

Following February 7 the opposition inherited that  compromise and in the first quarter of 2012 received only US$525,355 of an anticipated US$8.7 million.

With no resolution, in the second quarter of 2012 the government was presented with a bill for US$1.5 million, due to a shortfall in airport income. The loss of revenue comes at a time when the country is facing a crippling budget deficit, a foreign currency shortage, plummeting investor confidence, spiraling expenditure, and a drop off in foreign aid.

GMR publicly offered to resolve the ADC dispute by exempting Maldivian nationals from paying the fee, but has otherwise kept its negotiations largely behind closed doors.

In a statement at the time, GMR noted that the government received US$33 million in 2011 from airport concession fees, “three times the money the government ever made in a year [from the airport] before privatisation.”

Following construction of the new terminal in 2015 – including “a state-of-the-art 600,000 square foot integrated Passenger Terminal and a 20,000 square foot VIP terminal, and various other airside and landside developments,” expected revenue from the airport to the government was expected to reach US$50 million per year, GMR observed, and almost US$100 million from 2021 as passenger numbers increased.

“In effect, GMR Male’ International Airport Limited’s contribution to the government would be over US$2 billion over the concession period of 25 years, which will make a very significant contribution to the economy of the Maldives.”

The government’s airport company, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), complained that it was now facing bankruptcy as a result of the ADC deduction, and insisted that it could make MVR 60 billion (US$3.9 billion) over 25 years by developing and operating the airport on its own. It did not clarify where the investment would come from.

If the government considered GMR’s public offer, it made no sign. Instead, the Transport Minister backed MACL in ordering GMR to pay back the money deducted.

MACL Managing Director Mohamed Ibrahim had told local media that MACL’s agreement with GMR under the previous government to deduct the ADC payment was “null and void”.  He told reporters that the deal was no longer relevant as it had been agreed by the former MACL chairman, who had been replaced under the new government.  Ibrahim contended that charges could therefore no longer be deducted from GMR’s concession payment.

“We had informed [GMR] that the letter from the former Chairman of MACL was now invalid and hence must not be followed. In addition we had also informed that no deductions can be made from the concession fee,” he told local newspaper Haveeru.

The matter has now been sent to the Singapore court of arbitration, as per the concession agreement.

Escalation

The stand-off escalated in early August following a stop work order on the new terminal development, after the government alleged there were missing planning permissions from the Civil Aviation Authority.

“When the government decides that a project be stopped, we will make sure this happens,” said President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza at the time. “GMR have not discussed the construction with relevant authorities,” he claimed.

In the past week the government and assortment of former opposition parties now in power have stepped up their campaign to pressure the airport developer, with cabinet ministers holding a press conference during which they accused the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) of “negligence” and “irresponsibility” in conducting the original bidding process.

The IFC dismissed the allegations: “The IFC’s advice complied with Maldivian laws and regulations and followed international best practices at each step of the bidding process to ensure the highest degree of competitiveness, transparency and credibility of the process,” the organisation stated.

Attorney General Azima Shukoor then announced she had asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether it had jurisdiction over the airport agreement.

“It is against the International laws and the United Nations Charter that any action that undermines any sovereign right of a sovereign state, it is clear that courts of a sovereign nation has the jurisdiction to look into any matter that takes place within the boundaries of that state as according to the constitution and laws of that state,” read a statement from the court.

“Even though a contract has an arbitration clause giving right to arbitrate in a foreign court does not limit a local courts jurisdiction to look into the formed contract, and it is clear that such limitations are in violation of UN Charters principles of sovereign equality, principle of sovereignty non intervention within domestic jurisdiction, principle of self determination rights,” the Supreme Court said, in an apparent affirmative.

Investor confidence

Meanwhile, the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) this week revealed President Waheed’s response to its letter requesting details of the implications of exiting the concession agreement with GMR – an apparent fee of US$700 million, although Minivan News understands that even if the government were to produce the money, under the concession agreement it would also be required to prove ‘public interest’ in the Singapore court of arbitration.

According to the DRP, President Waheed advised that it would be “extremely difficult” to make the payment given the country’s economic circumstances, and that cancelling the agreement would furthermore have a negative impact both on perception of the Maldives as a favourable destination for foreign investors, and Maldives-India relations.  Dr Waheed emphasised that the decision was ultimately one for the political parties in the unity government.

The following day, DRP MP Ali Azim called on President Waheed to resign, claiming that it was up to him to reach a decision.

“If Waheed is finding it too hard to come to a decision on the matter of GMR, he ought to resign immediately,” Azim told local media.

“Each of these parties have someone who is looking forward to running in the 2013 elections. Whether it be Gasim, Yameen or Thasmeen, they are all just waiting for 2013 to come around. Now if Waheed’s going to ask these men for advice, then he’s going to get tricked, isn’t he?” predicted the MP.

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Minister of Islamic Affairs calls for “restraint” over anti-Islamic film

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has held a public meeting to condemn the tarnishing of the Prophet Mohamed’s character in anti-Islamic films.

“This meeting was organised to condemn the making of anti-Islamic movies which attempt to tarnish the Prophet Mohamed’s character,” explained Head of the Department of Religious Affairs, Moosa Anwar Hassan.

“We had a number of Islamic scholars speak at the meeting. They each covered one aspect of Prophet Mohamed’s exemplary character,” Hassan said.

Speakers at the meeting included Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali, Deputy Minister Mohamed Qubad AbuBakr, and State Minister Mohamed Didi, among others.

At the meeting, Shameem said although anger at the Prophet being mocked was justifiable, it had to be expressed in a calm manner through productive action. He shared an anecdote about American Muslims refraining from burning bibles even though an American priest had burned the Quran. He said they had instead distributed 1000 free copies of the Quran.

Shaheem said that this was a better cause of action in times of anger, calling it “a strategic and sensible decision.”

A crowd of protesters gathered in front of the UN Building last week, expressing anger after the release of the controversial movie ‘Innocence of Muslims’.

Speaking on the issue, Moosa Anwar Hassan told Minivan News today that the ministry would on no account encourage unrest, rioting or causing damage to property. He said the ministry calls on everyone to show restraint and control anger.

The National Bureau of Classification has announced that it is an offence to own or watch the offending movie on Tuesday, while the Communications Authority of Maldives has previously said it is working on blocking the offending video from being viewed in the country.

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