Tag: SAARC

Police thwart removal of alleged Christian imagery on SAARC posters at airport

Several members of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), including some MPs, were arrested last night after forcing a dhoni to take them to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) where they intended to take down SAARC banners allegedly featuring Christian and other religious imagery.

“The police received information that people had tried to get to the airport using force,” said Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam. “The dhoni owner said he refused to take them but that they attacked him and made him go to the airport,” he said.

The individuals were detained at Dhoonidhoo last night. Some have been released while others are being held in custody.

PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof was released at 1:30am this morning. He said the act was organised by several friends and was not attached to PPM.

“It was not a violent or political act,” Mahloof claimed. “We each paid Rf10 for the airport ferry, maybe the dhoni owner got nervous when the police came because about ten people on the ferry were yelling at him to keep going because they had to get to the airport, so he told the police he had been attacked.

“All we said was that they had violated our right to move freely,” said Mahloof, adding that the interaction between those arrested and the police was peaceful. “The police trust the opposition, as does the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), because they do not support the President. They told us that we would have to be arrested, and we agreed to cooperate.”

Shiyam said that “with SAARC, the security is very high right now, so we are using a very quick and strong response to this issue.”

Police also took action against Mohamed ‘Wadde’ Waheed, lawyer for former president and current PPM leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was found walking around Dhoonidhoo island without approval after last night’s arrests.

“Being a lawyer he must have known about the procedures to get onto Dhoonidhoo,” said Shiyam.

Wadde, who was discovered to have arrived on the island via speedboat, was sent back to Male’ for interrogation. He was not arrested, but did not respond to Minivan’s inquiries.

The banners at INIA are part of a series created by local company Mooinc Pvt Ltd for the SAARC summit under the theme ‘Building Bridges’. They are also in display in Fuvamulah and Addu City, where the summit is currently being held.

Mooinc Creative Director Ali Saeed said the designs were based on five themes approved by the cabinet to depict the culture and religion of the eight SAARC nations, which cumulatively practice 10 religions.

Under Religious Unity Regulations published by the government in September, it is illegal to propagate any other religion other than Islam, to carry or display in public books on religions other than Islam, and the translation into Dhivehi language such books and writings on other religions. Proselytising by foreigners remains punishable by deportation.

The regulations interpret the Religious Unity Act passed by parliament in 1994, which carries a 2-5 year prison sentence for its violation.

Mahloof confirmed that the group’s goal was to remove the banners at the airport.

“Our constitution makes it very clear that no other religions are to be displayed in our society because we are a 100 percent Muslim society,” he said, claiming that the government’s approval of the banners for the purposes of an international event surpassed necessary diplomatic etiquette.

“I don’t think the other heads of state were expecting to see their religions shown when they came here. They know that we are Muslim. I have had the opportunity to travel abroad and meet with delegates, and I never expected those countries to have mosques if they weren’t officially Muslim just to show support,” said Mahloof.

Mahloof emphasised that members of all religions are welcome in the Maldives. “It’s not that we are opposed to other religions. Their members are very welcome, we would never support the kinds of attacks that take place elsewhere. But I believe other countries respect our decision to be Muslim, and there’s no need to show so much support for other faiths. I’m sure everyone will be respected in turn,” he said.

Mahloof added that tourists have steadily come through the Maldives without complaining about a lack of Buddhist or Christian displays. He said the banners are not a threat, but rather represent a loosening religious structure.

“My concern is this: since Nasheed came to power we have seen slowly the breaking of the pillars of Islam, making holes to open doors for other faiths. Being a Maldivian, and a young person, I wouldn’t want to see other religions here. If other religions were allowed into the Maldives, I’m sure we would see more terrorist attacks and the kind of violence that is happening elsewhere. Already families don’t talk to each other just from the political changes. If Nasheed tries to bring in other religions, things will go from bad to worse.”

Speaking for PPM, Mahloof said there was suspicion that the current government is making private deals to bring in other religions. “But I believe other countries respect our decision,” he reiterated.

The SAARC summit has tempered what Mahloof said is rising frustration among Maldivian people. “PPM made an agreement yesterday not to do anything during SAARC,” he said. “I’m sure after the summit there will be protests and huge crowds in the streets.”

Mahloof, who has been arrested twice, said “we will take the steps we should with the authorities, appearing before the Human Rights Commission and the Police Integrity Commission” to discuss their arrest.

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“The Island President” to be shown in Maldives

Documentary film “The Island President” will make its debut in the Maldives during the week of November 21. Specifics have not yet been released.

“The Island President” was screened at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September, where it received the Cadillac People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary by audience vote. The film was one of 25 submissions in the documentary category.

The documentary was also screened at the exclusive Telluride Film Festival in Colorado earlier this month, where Hollywood Reporter named “The Island President” one of the festival’s “Top 12 films to know”.

The grant-funded film project began in 2009, when Oscar- and Emmy- winning American documentary company Actual Films contacted the Maldives’ newly-elected government. In an interview on Mavericks, Director Jon Shenk said the film was an evolutionary process. “It’s difficult to explain a film that involves a lot of  access and high ratio shooting,” he said, describing his initial proposal to the President. In other interviews, Shenk noted that Nasheed’s candid politics and acceptance of the cameras were key to the film’s success.

“The manner in which he’s done this is quite amazing,” Nasheed said in the same interview. “I myself am realising the things I have done and said, I hope it’s not going to get me in a bad boat! But I think it’s nicely done and I’m sure there’s nothing that anyone should get unnecessarily worked up about.”

Starting with Nasheed’s initial vow to make the Maldives carbon-neutral, the film documents the president’s efforts to make climate change an important issue for politicians around the globe.

“The ability to sustain human life here is very fragile,” Nasheed says in the documentary. “The most important fight is the fight for our survival…. There is impending disaster.”

The film culminates in Copenhagen, where world leaders met in December 2009 for the United National Climate Change Conference. Although the summit was later reviewed as a failure, it did mark the first time that leading world powers agreed that the issue needed to be addressed.

“The Island President” was co-produced by AfterImage Public Media and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), in association with Actual Films and Impact Partners, with major funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ford Foundation, John D. and The Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund.

The Maldives is the film’s fifth stop on an international tour that has included TIFF, Telluride, Doc NYC and IDFA Amsterdam film festivals. After the Maldives screening it will be shown at the International Film Festival of India in Goa.

State Minister for Tourism Mohamed Thoyyib previously told Minivan News that in spite of its title the documentary was not about President Mohamed Nasheed. Rather, it is about the issues facing the Maldivian people. The film raised awareness of global warming, portrayed and promoted “the unique ” Maldivian culture and language, and illustrated government transparency, he said.

“No scene was created or scripted, some reviewers even noted that the film’s most unique aspect was that it shot real events on a level that had never before been achieved in the Maldives, or within other governments,” Thoyyib said.

Thoyyib also noted that the Maldivian government had benefited a great deal from the film, but had not spent money on its production.

“There is a lot to be achieved directly and indirectly when something positive happens,” he said, adding that tourism revenue was likely to increase. “But this doesn’t solve the issue. The President will keep on raising his voice on global warming.”

President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair today said he didn’t believe the government was officially involved in the upcoming screening, but was optimistic about the event.

“I believe it will be well-received in the Maldives,” he said. “The film delivers a serious but hopeful message, addressing both the issue of climate change while also showing democratic improvements in the government.”

Zuhair elaborated on the country’s progress by comparing use of foreign aid in previous administrations. He hoped the Maldives would be used as an example for other small countries.

“Any small or new country receiving aid from a foreign party should process it democratically. The money received after the tsunami was not disposed of well by the former government, whose methods are highlighted by the ongoing debate in our judicial system. Comparatively, the government procedures that the movie covers show what a young democracy can do to improve transparency. The Maldives now has different democratic assets, and can handle change.”

When asked if the screening bore relevance to the SAARC summit now taking place in Addu City, Zuhair said climate change would be a major talking point. He added that the summit is another indicator of the Maldives’ democratic growth. “SAARC shows our effort to be not just an active, but a proactive member of an international organisation,” he said.

Filmmakers Shenk and Richard Berg will accompany the film to Male’.

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Comment: SAARC summit should make a bridge to face climate change

“I had five houses but only one is left, all are destroyed by cyclone Ayla. We were not poor, we had everything but now we are street beggar. It happened within a few seconds. Water flows up to the eight feet over the embankment. Now it looks like sea. In every tide saline water flows over the land so we have no way to grow here anything. How shall we get food, shelter and education now? Some people are going to Dhaka and other city but we cannot dare to do this, ultimately we have no choice. We have to leave this place.”

That is a statement of one of Ayla’s victims (at Khulan, a southern part of Bangladesh), made to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

They are waiting to leave Khulan. 200,000 people have already migrated from the area.

People in Bangladesh are already living with the effects of climate change. Bangladesh is trapped between the Himalayas in the north and the encroaching Bay of Bengal to the south, and is the most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters due to the frequency of extreme climate changes, and its high population density.

At the 16th summit of  the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Nobel Laureate and chairperson of the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), Dr Rajendra Kumar Pachaur, said that the Summit would provide an opportunity for SAARC countries to discuss common problems related to climate change that will affect all the countries of SAARC.

However, the slogan of the 17th SAARC summit of the Maldives is`Building Bridge’. The effects of the climate change should be the main focus and SAARC countries should build bridges to face these effects.

All the eight SAARC countries  are facing the effects of climate change: Bangladesh is facing internal migration of its people. Climate change has affected agriculture, so every day large number of people are migrating from village to capital and they are living an unhygienic life, with no sanitation facilities or drinking water. A World Bank study says that in the near future 700 million people in India will migrate to urban areas due to the impact of climate change on agriculture.

The 17th SAARC Summit is being held in the Maldives. Eighty percent of its 1,200 islands are no more than one metre above sea level, and scientists fear the sea may rise up to 0.9cm a year. If the world does not fight against climate change, within 100 years the Maldives could become uninhabitable.

The country’s 360,000 citizens would be forced to evacuate. In Kandholhudhoo in the Maldives, tidal surges already flood homes every fortnight.

Sri Lanka is also vulnerable country to the effects of climate change. Once it used to be said that that climate change in Sri Lanka was more dangerous than civil war – major part of Jaffna and other northern areas of Sri Lanka will be submerged when the sea level rises.

Climate change in Sri Lanka will have dire consequence for water, agriculture, health and coastal regions. Already there are early signs of impact, which will reach serious proportions by 2025.

Melting glaciers could affect 500 million people in South Asia, alongside rising sea level, changing rainfall patterns and scarcity of drinking water. Like Bangladesh, rural Nepalese are already living in poverty due to this effect, and winter wheat crops have been failed due to the warmer climate. Indian wheat is also facing that problem.

Nepal, Bhutan and the Himalayan mountainous region are a few of the most vulnerable areas in the world to climate change. Pakistan has suffered from dangerous floods for a long time.

Thus all the South Asian countries are facing the effects of climate change. Bangladesh is the among most vulnerable of these while the 17th SAARC host country, the Maldives, is no less vulnerable than Bangladesh. Sri Lanka is also in the same condition.

So we hope that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and the President of the Maldives, will take the lead to make a bridge to face the climate change. Other affected countries: Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan should also help to make this bridge. The richest country in the world, the USA, is an observer of SAARC now. Their representative is joining the summit. They have a duty to fight together with the worst climate-affected countries like Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and others.

Swadesh Roy is Executive Editor of the The Daily Janakantha, Bangladesh.

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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SAARC Heads of State arrive in Addu Atoll

Heads of State from SAARC countries have begun arriving in the Maldives.

Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigme Thinley arrived early this morning, followed by President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, and Prime Minister of Nepal Baburam Bhattarai.

The leaders of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are due to arrive this afternoon, ahead of the opening ceremony tomorrow.

Roads around Addu Atoll have been closed during the arrival of the Heads of State, and boat traffic in the atoll halted by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) coastguard.

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Scale of the SAARC Summit

Addu’s new convention centre, purpose-built for the SAARC Summit, looms out of a deserted patch of swampy marshland in Hithadhoo like some kind of spaceship, thoroughly incongruous with the background.

When Minivan News first visited yesterday, a large crowd of local residents stood by the road leading to the giant building, staring at it dumbfounded as if waiting for extraterrestrials to emerge.

Past the polished lobby, the cavernous chamber inside is warmly lined with wood and resembles a modern concert hall. Opposition media outlets have ungenerously suggested the structure is sinking into the swamp, while assorted government officials were quick to attribute this to political jealousy.

Addu is a fiercely independent atoll, neglected by successive governments following an abortive attempt to secede from the Maldives alongside Huvadhu Atoll and Fuvahmulah as the United Suvadive Republic in 1959. This was brutally crushed in 1962 by then-President Ibrahim Nasir using a gunboat borrowed from Sri Lanka, and the entire island of Havaru Thinadhoo was depopulated and its inhabitants dispersed, killed or imprisoned.

The presence of the British airbase at Gan ensured steady employment, English proficiency and free medical treatment. Even today a disproportionate number of the country’s most successful businessmen are from Addu.

The departure of the RAF in 1976 hit the atoll’s independence hard, and the tourism boom beginning to take hold in other parts of the Maldives was slow to develop in Addu despite the presence of an airport and some of the country’s best dive spots.

President Mohamed Nasheed’s decision to declare Addu Atoll a city prior to the local council elections, the declaration that it would be hosting the SAARC Summit, and the building of the convention centre has played to the atoll’s independent sentiment and given it unprecedented political recognition.

There are 30,000 votes in that sentiment – and an additional 8000 with the opening of the new airport at Fumuvalah, a single-island atoll and the country’s most isolated, surrounded by rough and inhospitable seas.

As a domestic political strategy, SAARC appears to be working. Driving along the link road from Gan to Hithadhoo yesterday, Minivan News observed amid the country flags of SAARC nations an abundance of yellow buildings, the colour of President Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

A local woman, sweeping up weeds with a rake under a large billboard, described her work as a “national duty”. The billboard read: “Thank you President Nasheed, you led us to believe in dreams.”

Development after SAARC

Speaking to Minivan News in between juggling mobile phones, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem observed that conferencing and event tourism had “huge potential” in the Maldives, given the country’s already “five star personality”. It would shift the Maldives from its reliance on beach and sun tourism, he suggested.

There were, he noted, some “tabloid” opinions about the centre, but said there was already interest in the tender for running the centre post-SAARC and the construction of a nearby hotel from hoteliers around the country and region.

“The infrastructure has been developed and people have been trained to run this kind of event,” he said.

SAARC dignitaries have been staying at the upmarket Shangri-La Villingili resort, while journalists around the world from London to Bangladesh have taken over Equator Village, the former RAF Sergeant’s mess, moaning about the sporadic shuttle bus and opportunistic US$10 taxi fares.

The locals have meanwhile launched a campaign of parades and evening entertainment, with music performances and enough fairy lighting along the link road as to give the place a festive feel. Participation was initially muted, acknowleged one official – “everyone still seems surprised. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Among the most successful local operations is the Hubasaana 2011 Arts, Crafts and Food festival, which has set up stalls at major venues and been doing a brisk trade in T-shirts, local handicrafts, and peppery Adduan short-eats and banana-leaf wrapped medicines all made by local producers. Trails of foreign journalists crunching their way through packets of homemade spicy gulha are a common sight.

Stalls have been selling local foods and handicrafts to visitors

SAARC Summit

The key day of the Summit is November 10, the opening ceremony during which SAARC heads of state will give their address. During the two-day Summit all traffic in the atoll will be stalled, divers pulled out of the water, and travel on the link road restricted. Last night checkpoints backed up as police logged the registration of every passing vehicle.

During the presence of the world leaders mobile communications around the centre will be jammed; foreign journalists became flustered after being told they would be unable to take laptops or phones into the convention centre during the opening and closing ceremonies due to tight security.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem told Minivan News the most important objective of the Summit was to improve and promote trade in the region, and remove existing barriers and impediments: “only three percent of trade among SAARC countries is regional.”

“We should adopt SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) as soon as possible,” he said.

Economically, the Maldives is most concerned about developing ferry transport connections with countries in the region, reducing its dependence on air travel, and on the climate change front, “promoting renewable energy investment”.

Naseem also raised the prospect of introducing a human rights mechanism into SAARC, but acknowledged that it was ambitious and that SAARC had “an embedded system.”

There was, however, “a lot of good will on all sides”, he said. SAARC would be a success “even if we can agree on the issues to be solved.”

For Addu, the outcome of SAARC has already been assured.

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Palm pyre, koadi and coloured water: Maalhos celebrates Eid

While government officials flock to Addu for international convention SAARC and Male’ residents enjoy a calm holiday atmosphere, islands across the Maldives are welcoming family and friends home for Eid celebrations.

The island of Maalhos in Arif Atoll has been preparing since last week.

Male’-based residents who arrived last Thursday, November 3 spent the following day and evening preparing curries, rice, poppadums and juices for those cousins, children and guests hitching an overnight fishing dhoni from Male’ on Saturday, November 5.

November 6 began with an unofficial sunrise burning of a palm pyre on a beach facing several nearby islands, a traditional signal that Maalhos is celebrating Eid.

Residents later flocked to an extended morning prayer, filling Maalhos’ four gender-distinct mosques. Afterwards the traditional exchange of invitations to eat at neighbors’ houses began, and doors, kitchens and tables became communal property as grandmothers and aunts shuttled dishes and glasses of fruit juice from hand to hand.

A quiet island of population 800, Maalhos actually houses 200-300 people at any given time – most residents live in Male’ or work at sea. During Eid, however, a steady stream of school children, adolescents and mothers-to-be bring gossip and activity into the island streets and homes.

When asked how Eid days compare to typical Maalhos days, most interviewed replied, “It’s the same. We don’t do much, we are just here.” What is their favorite part of Eid? “Food!,” said many, listing favorites such as mahdu (a Maldivian cake), bondi bai (a round rice sweet) and kashi key, a fruit which falls from trees at bowling ball size and is commonly exported for sale in Male’.

One islander observed that Maalhos has shed some of its traditional Eid practices, but maintained that “it’s a very fun holiday, we have food and play. We like to see the traditional cultural games and hear Maldivian music, like bodu beru.”

Eid holidays last one week beginning November 5, however festivities are condensed into the first four days.

In addition to the first days’ morning torch, Maalhos’ youth flirtatiously ambushed each other with sacks and bottles of red water on their way to the sea. Those wearing white walked at their own risk.

In the late afternoon, married and unmarried men challenged each other to a friendly football match near the harbor; women will carry out their own game later today.

Late in the evening, a procession of men dressed as women and old sages paraded through the streets amidst clouds of flour tossed by onlookers (vedhumaa dhiun). Following young male dancers to the island’s president, the leader requested permission to “play” on the second day of Eid. A bodu beru group performed by the harbor in the evening’s finale.

Today, males of all ages assembled by the beach to build the traditional koadi, an array of coconuts, papayas, flowers and coconut palm leaves inscribed with raivaru (poems) recounting local romances and juicy gossip.

“It’s a tradition, but it’s just for fun,” said Koki, a Maalhos girl home for the school holidays. “They march the koadi through the streets with bodu beru and then put it on a girl’s head and chase her. Everyone tries to destroy the koadi by tearing off the palm leaves and passing around the poems.”

Women and children greeted the male procession by tossing sacks and vats of colored water over house walls. Afterwards, procession members paraded Maalhos’ streets with their own colored waters, chasing girls into their houses.

Although Maalhos will not host activities for the next two days of Eid, an islander said the island’s traditions are similar to those of other Maldivian islands.

“I don’t know why we don’t do these celebrations any more, I think nowadays many things are changing,” said islander. A few girls nearby suggested that religion was a factor. He said there was more than just religion, but concluded that “on Maalhos, it will be quiet except for maybe a concert or a football game.”

Traditionally, the third day of Eid is marked with a mahdi and bodumas, a large fish constructed from palm leaves and paraded around the island. Day four is designated for black mali, or people who paint themselves in black and throw black balls at residents, wearing only palm leaf skirts.

Many say Eid’s rhythm isn’t a far cry from the average Maalhos day. A quiet island whose population has mostly migrated to Male’, its holiday habits suggest a strong focus on communal stability rather than a need for razzle dazzle. Minivan’s repeated inquiries about the history of Eid festivities consistently yielded a satisfying, simple response: “It’s tradition, it’s just for fun.”

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Comment: Relevance of SAARC in a multi-polar world

As the geo-politics at the international stage is moving towards from a uni-polar to a multi-polar world with the rise of countries such as Brazil, India and China, it is worth studying the relevance of regional multi-lateral organisations such as the South Asian Association of the Regional Co-operation (SAARC) and how they supplant United Nations objectives such as eradication of poverty, counter-terrorism measures and the establishment of international peace and security.

It’s especially important in the Republic of Maldives as it hosts the 17th SAARC Summit in Male from 10th to 11th of this month.

Regional organisations within the scope of the UN

When the victorious world allied leaders were discussing the scope of new world order after the World War II, the newly would-be independent nations in Asia and Africa wanted to have regional scope for solving their disputes. It’s said that apart from the issue of veto among the permanent members, the issue that member-nations had when joining the United Nations was whether their sovereignty would be compromised by joining an international mutli–lateral organisation.

In that context, many regional organisations were formed after 1945. Some of the organisations such as African Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organizations, Australia New Zealand United States Treaty and Arab Union were formed for regional understanding of the political issues. Some of the regional organisations such as NATO were military and some like the African Union or the South Asian Association of the Regional Co-operation are meant to address regional issues amicably.

However, all the regional organisations per se needed to be within the scope of the UN and should comply with the UN mandate of establishing international peace and security.

History of the SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2005.

Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The 11 stated areas of cooperation are agriculture; education, culture, and sports; health, population, and child welfare; the environment and meteorology;rural development (including the SAARC Youth Volunteers Program); tourism;transport; science and technology; communications.

The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 and was inaugurated by late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. It is headed by a Secretary General appointed by the Council of Ministers from Member Countries in alphabetical order for a three-year term. He is assisted by the Professional and the General Services Staff, and also an appropriate number of functional units called Divisions assigned to Directors on deputation from Member States. The Secretariat coordinates and monitors implementation of activities, prepares for and services meetings, and serves as a channel of communication between the Association and its Member States as well as other regional organizations. Iran is an observer nation in SAARC. Afghanistan became a SAARC member in 2007.

The representation of SAARC as major regional block is increasing and is rivaling the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), African Union and European Union. China has sought to become a member of SAARC, besides four other countries – Mauritius, Iran, Australia and Myanmar want to graduate from observer nations to permanent ones.

Second, SAFTA was set up in 2004 to ensure a gradual reduction of trade tariffs between South Asian countries, and came into force in 2006. India, the biggest nation in the region, would make attempts to phase out non-tariff barriers with SAARC countries. India believes that non-tariff barriers are “irritant force in trade relations with member nations. Afghanistan joined SAFTA in February 2008.

With the dawn of the twenty-first century, the South Asian region has undergone radical transformation. Many countries have expressed their willingness to join SAARC. Australia is an observer nation, New Zealand wishes to become one and Vietnam and Malaysia have expressed their willingness to be observer nations
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Over the years, the SAARC members have expressed their unwillingness to sign a free trade agreement. Though India has several trade pacts with the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, similar trade agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh have been stalled due to political and economic concerns on both sides. India has been constructing a barrier across its borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In 1993, SAARC countries signed an agreement to gradually lower tariffs within the region, in Dhaka. Eleven years later, at the 12th SAARC Summit at Islamabad, SAARC countries devised the South Asia Free Trade Agreement which created a framework for the establishment of a free trade area covering 1.6 billion people. This agreement went into force on January 1, 2008. Under this agreement, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20 per cent by 2009.

Relevance of SAARC

With the rise of China and other Middle Powers such as Brazil, Australia, India, Turkey and Indonesia, the world of politics is slowly moving from the uni-polar hegemonic United States world to a multi-polar world. In that context, the regional organisations able to understand the sensitivity of their member countries assume political significance.

Take for example the Bhutan’s SAARC summit held last year, the first South Asian multi-lateral forum meeting after the Mumbai 26/11 attacks on India.

In 2011, India will use the summit as leverage to put pressures on its neighbours, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, to dismantle the infrastructure for terrorism, including actions to be taken against non-state actors harbouring extremist sentiments. According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, Nepal will push for an effective regional mechanism to cope with climate change. Bangladesh and Maldives are likely to support Nepal’s effort to set up a regional body, as both the countries will face the most drastic effects of climate change.

SAFTA

The representation of SAARC as major regional block is increasing. Including India, other countries in SAARC are wooed to trade with China which is geographically more proximate. China has sought to become a member of SAARC, besides four other countries – Mauritius, Iran, Australia and Myanmar wants to become from a observer nation to a permanent one.

Second, SAFTA was set up in 2004 to ensure a gradual reduction of trade tariffs between South Asian countries, and came into force in 2006. India the biggest nation in the region would make attempts to phase out non-tariff barriers with SAARC country India believes that non-tariff barriers are “irritant force in trade relations with member nations. Afghanistan joined SAFTA in February 2008.

With the dawn of the twenty-first century, South Asian region has undergone a radical transformation. It has witnessed a strong democratic sweep. Most of the South Asian economies have registered impressive growth trajectories. Some of its countries have also emerged as hubs for global terrorism. The international community has become far more involved in South Asian affairs due to the nuclearisation of the region.

SAARC cannot but keep pace with the changing regional dynamics. It has moved ahead on its economic agenda and expanded its reach not only by adding new members (Afghanistan ) but also by opening itself to the participation of many other countries, including China , Iran and the US, as observers.

In conclusion

With the emergence of a multi-polar world in which India is poised to play a major role in international institutions such as the United Nations, it will be interesting to see how India strengthens regional institutions such as the SAARC. On the other hand, SAARC will also test itself against other regional institutions such as the BIMSTEC, ASEAN, APEC and the SCO and the 17th SAARC summit in Addu Atoll will be the high point of it.

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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Foreign dignitaries arrive as Addu prepares for largest event in atoll’s history

Foreign dignitaries and heads of state from around the region have begun arriving in the Maldives for the 17th Summit of the South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The main Summit will run over November 10-11, however Minivan News understands that most of the talks between leaders will take place in the preceding days, together with the key decisions.

Leaders of all SAARC countries – including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan – have confirmed their attendance, according to the Maldives’ Foreign Ministry, while President Nasheed has already departed to oversee the remaining preparations.

In addition, ministers from Australia, Japan and China will join the Summit as observers. The Maldives’ former envoy for South Asia, Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed is serving as SAARC’s Secretary-General.

Media coverage of the event across the region has sharply increased with the departure of national leaders from their home countries.

One particularly anticipated event is the meeting between Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh, with Pakistan’s Business Recorder reporting that the meeting “on the sidelines” has been finalised for the 11th by the Foreign Office of Pakistan and India’s External Affairs Ministry.

According to the Recorder, the pair are due to discuss resuming dialogue between the two countries, as well as trade concessions. The two leaders also met earlier this year in Mohali on the eve of Pakistan-India cricket World Cup semi-final.

The Hindu reported India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai as stating that topics of discussion between the two leaders would concern “the quick return of the military helicopter that had strayed into Pakistani territory, the in-principle decision by Pakistan to give most favoured nation (MFN) status to India and the visit of a Pakistani Judicial Commission to Mumbai.”

Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, is meanwhile due to depart Dhaka on the 9th, arriving at 3:30pm on the Wednesday, reports the Bangladeshi media.

Sheikh Hasina is due to have a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at Dr Ali’s Restaurant on the Shangri-La Villingili Resort, reports Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper, and will later attend a state banquet on Hulhumeedhoo.

Bangladeshi officials outlined key topics at the Summit as revolving around poverty alleviation, economic cooperation, the SAARC Development Fund, food security, connectivity, energy and climate change, with four regional agreements: Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, Seed Bank, Multilateral Recognition of Conformity Assessment and Implementation of Regional Standards as likely to be signed during the event.

Security at the event will be tight, with all traffic in the atoll restricted to military-run vessels. Joint Inter Agency Taskforce Commander Hassan Ziyad has observed that many of the leaders attending are “considered high risk even in their own countries,” and that respective domestic security threats are being taken into account by SAARC security forces.

All attending countries are providing security measures. Indian surveillance aircraft and navy vessels are patrolling the areas around Addu City and Fuvahmulah, while Sri Lanka has deployed six teams of sniffer dogs.

In India, the Hindu has meanwhile reported that a parallel “People’s SAARC” would be held in Thiruvananthapuram, in which political leaders would share the podium with “historians, writers, human rights activists and representatives of people’s movements”, during a two-day meeting of social action groups beginning on November 8.

“It will also focus on trade and livelihood issues, women’s role in people’s movements, de-militarisation and de-nuclearisation, natural resources and people’s movements and rebuilding the labour movement in the region. Other major concerns and topics to be discussed include exclusion, discrimination, oppression and tolerance, syncretism and secularism,” the Hindu reported.

Organisers of the parallel summit were reported as stating that “SAARC has comprehensively failed to take up issues confronted by the people of this region, which is home to the largest number of the world’s working poor.”

The Maldivian government has touted the SAARC as revitalising the southern atoll, highlighting its potential for development and putting it forward as a flagship for its ambitions to decentralise the country and take the pressure off Male’ – the most densely populated 2.2 square kilometres in the world.

Addu was granted the status of city in the lead up to the local council elections earlier this year, a move which met with heated disagreement from political opposition groups. The new city voted overwhelmingly for the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), with the party winning all council seats in both Male’ and Addu.

The MDP claimed victory after winning the major population centres, while opposition claimed victory in overall numbers of councillors elected, with strong support across many of the country’s less populated islands.

Addu’s new council meanwhile plans to use the Rf 115 million (US$7.4 million) convention centre, a two-storey building of glass, wood and marble with a capacity of 3000 today unveiled as the ‘Equatorial Convention Centre’ with the main convention hall dudded ‘Bodu Kiba’, to transform the atoll from a quiet place to a hub of business and tourism.

“We have some representatives talking to businesses in Singapore and Malaysia about hosting events here,” Sodiq told Minivan News.

“We will be soliciting bids to find the right event manager to look after the convention center as well. I think there are people interested in what Addu has to offer, and I’m sure we can get a market for it.”

This evening almost 1000 students are expected to turn out to march on the streets of Addu to mark the Eid al-Adha holidays, while bashi’, futsal and beach volley tournaments are due to take place, reports Haveeru.

Entertainment, music and cultural activities will take place through the week.

Minivan News reporters will be stationed in Addu reporting on the SAARC Summit November 7-12. 150 foreign reporters from around the region are expected to attend the event.

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Nepal opts for SAARC 2013

Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kaji Shrestha has said that Nepal is considering a proposal to host the 18th annual summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), scheduled for February 2013.

Shrestha has said that it is “Nepal’s turn to host the 18th SAARC summit, so we will probably do it.”

The SAARC Charter stipulates that Nepal will organise the summit by November 2012.

South Asian News Agency reports that Nepal intends to ask the Maldives, which is hosting the upcoming summit in Addu atoll between November 10-12 and will subsequently be made SAARC chair, for a three-month grace period.

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