Tag: waheed

President appoints Aishath Bisam as Home Minister, Dr Amal Ali as Gender Minister

Former Attorney General Aishath Bisam has been appointed Home Minister by President Mohamed Waheed, while Dr Amal Ali has been appointed Gender Minister.

Waheed’s earlier appointment of Bisam as Attorney General and Azima Shukoor as Gender Minister were recently narrowly rejected by parliament, which is required to give a majority vote of confidence in each minister appointed to the executive.

After her dismissal as Gender Minister Shukoor was appointed Attorney General, returning to a post she had occupied at the start of Waheed’s administration.

Former Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel was dismissed from the cabinet by President Waheed after he joined the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) as running mate to half-brother of former President Gayoom, Abdulla Yameen.

Bisam, Amal and Shukoor will now require majority votes in parliament to remain in their new positions.

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GIP-DRP-Adhaalath coalition to hold rally, music show

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s coalition for the September 7 presidential elections has announced  it will be holding multiple events targeting youth this Saturday night, to launch the first of its pledges and policies.

According to a press conference held today, part of the coalition’s youth policy will be revealed during tonight’s event.

Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaadh (GIP) has formed a coalition with Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) to contest the elections, campaigning under the slogan “Forward with the nation”.

Speaking at a press conference held on Saturday, DRP Youth Branch President Mohamed Jaushan Shareef stated that the coalition’s policy launch will begin with a meeting in the STELCO building on Saturday night.

He stated that President Waheed and his running mate, DRP Leader Thasmeen Ali, will head a rally down Ameenee Magu after the conclusion of the meeting.

“This rally is not exclusively for youth. We invite everyone, the young and the old, to join this rally. We are coming out with youth in order to go forward with the nation. We believe that this can be achieved by the support of the general public, in addition to the youth,” Shareef said.

GIP member, State Minister of Tourism Ahmed Shameem, added that other activities planned for tonight by the coalition include a music show at the Alimas Carnival, and a barbeque organised by youth members of the coalition.

According to Shameem, various musicians, including local ‘boduberu’ groups will perform at tonight’s coalition event.

He further stated that Waheed and Thasmeen will be participating in all of tonight’s campaign events.

Meanwhile, religious conservative Adhaalath Party representative Hussain Wafeer said the party’s involvement is only with the policy launch, distancing itself from the other events.

The Adhaalath Party has previously spoken against mixed-gender gatherings, music and dancing.

“The youth policy launch will be carried out at STELCO. All these other events, like music show and barbecue, are another matter completely,” Wafeer said.

When asked about the party’s official stand on the music show events being carried out under the name of a coalition they are a part of, Wafeer said that he will confirm with party leaders as to their stand on the matter.

Minivan News was later unable to contact him.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla, Deputy President Dr Mauroof Hussain and Islamic Minister Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed were not responding to calls at the time of press.

In April 2012, the Adhaalath Party called on the Education Ministry to cancel the inter-school singing competition, claiming that music and singing is ‘haram’ [prohibited in Islam].

In September 2012, the Islamic Minister, the party’s senior member Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed, sent a circular to all government institutions banning the holding of any mixed gender dance events.

Shaheem said at the time that the directive was targeted for both the government and individual citizens.

The Ministry said then that the acceptable form of music, which falls within the boundaries of Islamic customs and disciplinary norms is limited to the folk dance ‘Thaara’.

‘Thaara’, dhivehi for ‘tambourine’ is a folk dance where performers sit in parallel rows, singing and dancing. This is performed specifically by men. The traditional songs sung during ‘Thaara’ are mostly in Arabic and the activity itself is said to have entered Maldivian culture through Arab influence.

GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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ACC defends report on airport privatisation deal as Sheikh Imran insinuates bribery from GMR

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has issued a press statement defending its investigative report of the airport privatisation deal signed by the previous government, harshly condemning “false and misleading” remarks by politicians of government-aligned parties.

On June 17, the ACC released a 61-page investigative report concluding that there was no corruption in the awarding of a concession agreement to a consortium of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) to develop and manage the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The report was met with strong criticism and bribery allegations from parties in the government coalition.

Insisting that the government’s stand would not change as a result of the ACC findings, President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that “if there is a reasonable cause of doubt, this report can be contested by some parties.’’

“Many people say here that the ACC Board is not an unbiased organisation. They say it is politically motivated,” he was quoted as saying.

Religious conservative Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran meanwhile described the report as “a slap in the people’s face” while President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Inthihaad Party (GIP) Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza accused ACC members of corruption.

In an appearance on pro-government private broadcaster DhiTV last night (June 23), Imran insinuated that ACC members accepted bribes from GMR offered through former Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay.

The ACC report was “a highly unprofessional, semi-technical and procedural review” that did not amount to either a proper investigation or an audit, Imran said, calling for “a full-fledged investigation.”

In November 2012, the current administration abruptly terminated the US$500 million contract with the GMR-led consortium, declared the concession agreement ‘void ab initio’ (invalid from the outset), and gave GMR seven days’ notice to leave the country.

The decision followed weeks of protest by a self-titled “National Movement” spearheaded by Sheikh Imran and senior government officials – born out of the unofficial December 23 coalition of eight political parties and an alliance of NGOs that rallied at a mass gathering to “defend Islam” in late 2011 – calling on the government to “reclaim” and nationalise the airport.

Last Friday, GMR filed a claim for US$1.4 billion in compensation from the Maldives at ongoing arbitration proceedings in Singapore over “wrongful termination” of the contract.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General Azima Shukoor, who headed the cabinet committee that advised termination of the contract, contended on DhiTV last week that the ACC report was “incomplete” as the commission had overlooked several key factors.

“Did they omit the factors deliberately or unknowingly or simply just overlooked them? But a lot of factors have been overlooked and omitted from the report. The state will suffer great losses because of it. Especially when the country is tied up in a judicial case,” she was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

ACC response

ACCIn its press release on Thursday (June 19), the ACC stated that its investigation was “not based on what politicians say at podiums and in the media.”

“Instead, the case was investigated based on relevant information collected for the investigation, documents and statements taken after questioning those involved in the case,” the ACC said, denying the allegations of undue influence on its members or staff.

The ACC statement added that the commission in concluding investigations adhered to article 25 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2008, and did not reach its conclusions “after considering the wishes of a particular politician.”

The commission noted that it had not responded to any political rhetoric targeting the ACC in the past, adding that all corruption investigations followed criminal justice procedures, the ACC Act and regulations under the law.

The statement explained that article 25(a)(2) of the Act required the commission to submit cases for prosecution if sufficient evidence to secure a conviction was gathered.

In the absence of evidence to prove corrupt dealings, article 25(a)(1) of the Act stipulates that the commission must declare that the case does not involve corruption.

The report made public last week contained information collected for the investigation, observations and the reasoning for reaching the conclusion “without any omissions or additions,” the ACC added.

“This is the first time that an investigative report of a case investigated by the commission has been made public like this,” the statement continued. “It was released that way to provide details of the case to the public as transparently as possible.”

The ACC further noted that in December 2012 the commission submitted a case to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) requesting criminal prosecution over the previous government’s decision to deduct a court-blocked Airport Development Charge (ADC) from concession fees owed to the state.

The ACC asked the PGO to seek reimbursement of MVR 353.8 million (US$22.9 million) from former MACL Chair Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem and former Finance Minister Mohamed Shihab over the alleged misuse of authority the commission contended had led to significant financial losses for the state.

Bribery allegations

Responding to remarks in local media last week by an unnamed ACC member alleging that Imran attempted to influence the outcome of the investigation, the Adhaalath Party President admitted on DhiTV last night that he met commission members while the “National Movement” protests were ongoing.

Imran said he met ACC members after learning of efforts by GMR to bribe politicians through the former Indian High Commissioner Mulay.

Mulay also requested meetings with Imran himself on numerous occasions “through some of our ministers and even by directly calling our office,” he claimed.

Upon hearing of meetings between Mulay and ACC members, Imran said the leaders of the “National Movement” met commission members to “advise against accepting bribes.”

“[ACC members] said, ‘how can we go near that? we have sworn an oath,'” Imran said.

He claimed the ACC members told him that “the roots go deep” in the GMR deal and that former President Nasheed “completed the deal in Singapore.”

ACC members informed Imran that bribes from GMR was deposited to bank accounts in countries near Singapore, he claimed, while the commission members provided assurances that “everything would be made clear” once the investigative report was made public.

Imran said he would reveal further details of the “National Movement’s” meeting with ACC members if the commission responded to the allegations.

“In any case, we were working to liberate the airport on behalf of religion and the nation,” he said, adding that the government eventually decided to terminate the agreement without waiting for the ACC report.

As a result of pressure from the protests, he continued, the government was convinced it was not in the national interest to persist with the contract.

Imran also insinuated that the ACC would receive a portion of the US$1.4 billion compensation figure claimed by GMR.

State Minister for Home Affairs Abdulla Mohamed, who was part of the protests against GMR, meanwhile argued that the ACC releasing its report a few days before an arbitration hearing could not be “a coincidence.”

“Do we really have to comply with a court order from a Singaporean court?” he asked.

He contended that the Maldivian government would not have to compensate GMR despite a decision in favour of the consortium at the ongoing arbitration proceedings.

“Also, we can appeal such a judgment in Maldivian courts, can’t we? That’s not prohibited by Maldivian law. There’s no obstacle to that. So this is not something that the public should be concerned about at all,” he said.

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GMR compensation claim of US$1.4 billion eclipses annual state budget

Indian infrastructure giant GMR has filed a claim for US$1.4 billion in compensation from the Maldives, following the government’s sudden termination of its concession agreement to manage and upgrade Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

According to Indian media, the 75 page claim for “wrongful termination” of the concession agreement includes payments to subcontractors and loss of profits over the lifespan of the 25 year agreement.

Both the government and the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) will be invited to respond, with a final court order in the case expected in March 2014.

In separate Singapore-based arbitration proceedings one of the project’s lenders, Axis Bank, is also seeking payment of US$160 million for a loan guaranteed by the Maldivian Finance Ministry.

Axis Bank recently raised concerns with MACL and the government, after President Mohamed Waheed moved to create a state-owned airport company and transfer to it MACL’s management responsibilities.

The prospect of MACL’s assets being dissipated led Airports Council International (ACI), the global body representing the world’s airports, to advise its members to exercise caution before making any investment in the Maldives relating to INIA, warning of “legal and financial risks”.

The government subsequently dropped the attempt, after its Attorney General Aishath Bisham warned that President Waheed had exceeded his authority in appointing board members to the new entity.

The lead up to eviction

GMR, in consortium with Malaysia Airports, narrowly won the International Finance Corporation (IFC)-managed bid for the airport in 2010, and signed the agreement with MACL under the former government of Mohamed Nasheed

The then-opposition, including the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), People’s Alliance (PA), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Adhaalath Party (AP), opposed the agreement primarily on nationalistic grounds, and alleged corruption in the bidding process.

Other concerns raised by the opposition at the time included the prospect of GMR allowing Israeli military aircraft to stop over in the Maldives and refuel “after bombing Arab countries”.

The DQP then filed a civil court case, managing to block the developer’s charging of an Airport Development Charge (ADC) stipulated in the concession agreement, on the grounds it was a tax and therefore required parliamentary approval.

Backing the concession agreement, the Nasheed government permitted the airport developer to deduct the ADC from its share of the revenue as a stopgap measure, while it sought to appeal.

However shortly afterwards the Nasheed government was deposed during February 7 2012’s controversial transfer of power, and the opposition parties assumed control of the government – and the prospect of paying GMR for the development of the airport.

The government received US$525,355 from the airport for the first quarter of 2012, compared to the US$8.7 million it was expecting, at time it was facing a crippling budget deficit, a foreign currency shortage, plummeting investor confidence, spiraling expenditure, and a drop off in foreign aid.

In the second quarter GMR presented MACL with a bill for US$1.5 million, and in the third quarter, US$2.2 million.

“The net result of this is that the Maldivian government now has to pay GMR for running the airport,” wrote DQP Leader and newly-appointed Special Advisor to President Mohamed Waheed, Dr Hassan Saeed, in a self-described “candid” letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A subsequent report by the government’s own Auditor General (AG) found concession revenue due the government had plummeted fourfold as a result of the court verdict sought by Saeed’s own party while it was in opposition.

According to the report, net concession revenue to the government had fallen to just US$6,058,848 in 2012, compared to US$25,424,877 in 2011.

Rather than appeal the Civil Court verdict obstructing the ADC, “The new government took the view that it would not be proper for it to intervene in the legal process for the benefit of a private concern,” the report noted, and instead, on April 19 2012, the informed the developer it was “retracting the previous agreement [to offset the ADC] on the grounds that the then Chairman of MACL did not have the approval of the MACL board to make the agreement.”

GMR asserted that this decision was a political event as defined within its concession agreement, and warned that this would amount to a breach of the agreement by the government.

“The government did not accept this argument,” noted the AG.

Seeking a way out of the agreement but wary of the heavy penalties in the termination clause, the government accused the World Bank’s IFC of “irresponsibility” and “negligence” in its conduct of the bidding process.

“The government must also consider how much money has to be paid back as compensation if terminating the agreement,” said Attorney General at the time, Azima Shukoor, during a prescient press conference in September 2012.

“It is clear to all of you that the Maldives financial and economic situation is at a critical level, and in this situation [termination] is not an easy thing to do,” Shukoor said.

In August 2012, with the new terminal and refurbishment 25 percent complete according to the government’s outside engineering assessment, the government ordered a halt to construction pending new ‘regulatory approvals’, and demanded a second runway not included in the original agreement.

GMR agreed to construct an emergency runway and proposed exempting Maldivian nationals from paying the ADC as a compromise. The company received no response to the offer.

Dr Hassan Saeed meanwhile issued a pamphlet calling for the cancellation of the agreement, likening it to “taking bitter medicine to cure a disease” or “amputating an organ to stop the spread of cancer.”

In his letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, dated September 19 2012 and obtained by Minivan News, Saeed further claimed that “GMR and India ‘bashing’ is becoming popular politics”, and warned that “as a result, “the Maldives is becoming fertile ground for nationalistic and extremist politicians.”

“I want to warn you now that there is a real danger that the current situation could create the opportunity for these extremist politicians to be elected to prominent positions, including the Presidency and Parliament on an anti-GMR and anti-India platform,” Saeed informed Singh.

Saeed went on to accuse GMR of extensive bribery, including the payment of “millions of dollars to buy MPs to get a parliamentary majority for the then ruling Maldivian Democratic Party”.

He claimed that “politicians and MPs who end up in GMR’s pocket keep silent but no one – with the exception of former President Nasheed and his key associates – have defended the indefensible GMR deal in public.”

Eviction

In late 2012 the government declared the concession agreement ‘void ab initio’ (invalid from the outset), and gave GMR seven days’ notice to leave the country.

The move swiftly followed the Singapore Supreme Court’s lifting of an injunction blocking MACL from taking over the airport pending arbitration proceedings, on the grounds the arbitration court had no jurisdiction to prevent the Maldives as a sovereign state from expropriating the airport.

The full verdict however did not exempt the government from compensation for this maneuver. In fact, according to the verdict document, Financial Controller for the Ministry of Finance Mohamed Ahmed “affirmed in an affidavit that the Maldives government would honour any valid and legitimate claim against it. He also stressed that the Maldives government had never defaulted on any of its payments.”

Moreover, lawyer representing MACL, Christopher Anand Daniel, “also accepted that if the arbitration tribunal found that the Appellants were wrong in their asserted case that the Concession Agreement was void ab initio and/or had been frustrated, but the Appellants had by then already gone ahead with the taking over of the airport, they would at least be liable to compensate the respondent for having expropriated the airport” (emphasis retained).

ACC exonerates airport deal

The Auditor General’s report acknowledged allegations of corruption in the deal, but finding the evidence “not conclusive on this point”, deferred to the judgement of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

That arrived on June 17, 2013, in the form of a 61 page investigative report that concluded that the bidding process was conducted fairly by the IFC, and that the GMR-MAHB consortium won the contract by proposing the highest net present value of the concession fee.

The ACC further concluded that the awarding of the contract did not contravene amendments brought to the Public Finance Act requiring parliamentary approval for such agreements.

Furthermore,  “Considering the situation (2008, 2009 and 2010) when the decision was made to privatise the Male’ International Airport,” the ACC’s calculations showed that MACL would make a profit of about US$254 million in 25 years if the airport was operated by the government-owned company.

Conversely, the government would receive about US$534 million in the same period from the GMR consortium if the airport was privatised, the ACC found.

Reactions

Following publication of the ACC’s report, the government has backed away from allegations of corruption and instead declared to evict the developer was made due to its impact on state finances.

“Back before the government took back control of the airport from GMR, the reason we gave was that the deal was bleeding the country’s economy. We were paying GMR to keep them here,” President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad told Minivan News last week.

Azima Shukoor meanwhile labelled ACC’s report “incomplete” and “lacking professionalism”, in an interview with local media.

“There’s no contradiction between the government’s decision and the ACC report. We never levelled any corruption charge in terminating the agreement,” said the former Attorney General, in an interview with local media.

“Did [the ACC] omit the factors deliberately or unknowingly or simply just overlooked them? But a lot of factors have been overlooked and omitted from the report. The state will suffer great losses because of it. Especially when the country is tied up in [arbitration proceedings],” Shukoor was reported as saying.

“The state did a thorough investigation of the contract, including what happened during and after the signing of the agreement. So the government’s legal position doesn’t and shouldn’t change due to the report. We made a very firm decision,” she said.

Speaking at a campaign rally on the island of Thimarafushi in Thaa Atoll, former President Nasheed observed that the figure sought by GMR as compensation amounted to more than the annual state budget of the Maldives.

“Even today in my view it is one of the most important duties of the People’s Majlis to renew the contract, find a way to hold discussions with the company over [renewal], and save the Maldives from the great misfortune our people are about to face,” he said.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s PPM have meanwhile laid the blame for the airport debacle on President Waheed, accusing him of “ignoring advice”.

“We told the next President Mr Waheed that he should hold discussions with the GMR Group and the Indian government to arrive at an acceptable solution, after which the government was free to act on its own,” he said. “Unfortunately, this was not done and suddenly there was this unhappy ending,” Gayoom was reported as saying in the Hindu, following a visit to India and a meeting with Prime Minister Singh.

Following the PPM’s apparent turnaround on the GMR issue, Parliamentary Group Leader of the Waheed-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party, Dr Abdulla Mausoom, said it was in fact senior figures in the PPM who were among the most vocal supporters for terminating the GMR agreement.

“It is ironic that we are hearing these statements from the PPM, whose leader has been witnessed supporting rallies demanding the cancellation of the [GMR] agreement,” he said.

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Poll of President’s party members reveals 85 percent fraudulent: Anti-Corruption Commission

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has interviewed 100 members of President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaadh Party (GIP) and alleged 85 percent of those polled had no knowledge of ever joining the party.

According to a statement from the ACC, these interviewees said they had neither filled out nor signed any GIP membership forms. The ACC said the details of the interviewees had been shared with the Elections Commission (EC), and called on it to cease processing GIP’s membership forms until it had verified they were genuine.

Other issues in the submitted membership forms highlighted by the ACC included inconsistencies between entry dates and dates written on the forms, as well as the case of some applicants having died prior to signing their forms.

“Two of the forms submitted to the Elections Commission for registration as Gaumee Ihthihaadh Party members were signed by persons who had passed away prior to the forms being sent to the EC. One person who according to the form had signed up for the party on March 6, 2013 had in fact passed away on August 8, 2012. Another applicant said to have signed up on February 16, 2013, but passed away on January 16, 2011,” the ACC declared.

The ACC said the investigation followed a complaint received by the commission stating the GIP had fraudulently enrolled members in their party through the misuse of records and information of two state institutions.

GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was  not responding to calls at time of press.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader and running mate of Waheed for the September Presidential elections, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, and DRP MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom, were also not responding to calls.

“You can falsify records of members, not their hearts” : Nasheed

“A robbery you commit will not push citizens into depression and hopelessness. The people remain firm,” former President and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Presidential Candidate Nasheed said in reference to the ACC statement on GIP’s alleged fraudulence.

Speaking at a party rally held Thursday night, Nasheed said that although a party can falsify people’s records and include them in a party register, they could not steal hearts and loyalty.

Observing that GIP, which performed poorly in past elections, had nonetheless somehow managed to raise its membership above the new 10,000 member minimum, Nasheed accused the party of trying to “steal our members” and called for investigation and criminal charges.

Nasheed declared that monitoring the political party registry was the responsibility of the Elections Commission, and said the Prosecutor General was required to take action over the ACC’s allegations.

“The political party registry is one of the key resources needed to build good governance for the people. This cannot be tampered with. By tampering with and falsifying this register, we are obstructing our roads to development,” he stated.

MDP also released a press statement condemning the fraud and “Waheed’s attempts to further undermine democracy, following his actions to topple a democratically elected government through a coup d’etat”.

“This party is deeply concerned that personal records of citizens held in state institutions with confidentiality are being misused to further the temporary political needs of a particular people, and that the whole democratic system is being undermined for these personal political aims,” the statement read.

The party called on the Prosecutor General to investigate and take legal action against the leader of the GIP, President Mohamed Waheed.

“If fraud is confirmed, membership will be made void”: EC

Elections Commission Vice President Ahmed Fayaz stated that the commission is currently reviewing the GIP membership forms, and verifying the findings of the ACC.

“We hope to have completed the verification process by next Monday. If we can confirm that there is indeed fraudulent membership applications, we will make them void. We will then notify the party and advise against repeating such acts,” Fayaz said.

“As the courts have not made a ruling on the Political Party Act, GIP will also remain a party for the time being even if this investigation leads to them having less than the required 10,000 members,” Fayaz said.

The Supreme Court issued an injunction on March 14 which stands effective to date, ordering all authorities to not consider any political party as dissolved until the court rules on a case submitted by then Attorney General Azima Shakoor claiming that parts of the Political Party Act contravene the constitution.

As per the Act, a political party must have a minimum of 10,000 members to be included in the political party register.

The Political Party Act placed 11 parties at risk of dissolution. GIP and the Adhaalath Party have since submitted enough forms to the Elections Commission to reach the 10,000 member target.

On March 13, GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza claimed that “the Political Party Act was fabricated to destroy GIP”.

Riza also contended then that Maldives’ political party system was “significantly in need of smaller political parties” and that all major political parties had “betrayed the nation” because it had the support base needed to do so.

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz and Prosecutor General’s Office Media Official Hussain Nashid were not responding to calls at time of press.

Progressive Party of Maldives MP Ahmed Nihan was also not available for comments.

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Maldives President visits Palestine, snubs Israel: Times of Israel

The president of Maldives arrived for an “official” visit to “Palestine” on Tuesday without planning a stopover in Israel, underlining the loss of one of Israel’s few friends in the Muslim world, writes Raphael Ahren for the Times of Israel.

President Mohammed Waheed Hassan’s four-day visit includes trips to Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and laid a wreath at the grave of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Tuesday. He is not scheduled to meet any Israeli officials.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson said that Israel has been kept informed of the visit and coordinated with the Maldivians for security needs. “We’re perfectly happy for them to have an active relationship with the Palestinians,” he said.

The Republic of Maldives, a tiny island nation southwest of Sri Lanka, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, yet until two years ago bilateral ties were growing increasingly cordial.

In February 2012, the government in Malé was deposed in what observers called a political coup. Mohamed Nasheed — the country’s first democratically elected president, known for his pro-Israel stance — was ousted and replaced by Islamist hardliners around Waheed Hassan.

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Maldives turning into ‘terrorist haven’: Eurasia Review

A Nasheed government would “need external assistance to keep this strategic island nation out of the hands of Islamic extremism Wahabism and Salafism,” writes Bhaskar Roy for the Eurasia Review.

“It is known that an increasing number of youths are going to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to study in Madrassas, which impart extreme religious education and encourage jihad.

“Finances are also coming in from Saudi, Kuwaiti and other NGOs. This happened in Bangladesh in the 1990s and early 2000, leading to a burst of Islamic terrorism, which continues to haunt the country.

“A new group called the Hifazat-e-Islam, Bangladesh (HIB) recently tried to hold the government hostage, demanding Sharia Law. The Hifazat had backing from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) and the main opposition party. But the government in Bangladesh was strong enough to put down the challenge. This is not over, however.

“What kind of chance do the moderates in Maldives have when the Wahabis and Salafis launch their siege? In Maldives, the women and girls are increasingly taking to burkha/hijab in fear of retribution. With bans on anything remotely seen as un-Islamic, there is no breathing space or food for the mind. The Maldives is a country of around 1,200 islands, reefs and atolls, with barely 400 of them inhabitated. Around 30 per-cent of the country’s foreign exchange comes from tourism. The tourism industry is under attack with alcohol being prohibited in most places, extending gradually to tourist resorts. When dress codes are extended to tourist resorts, this industry will die.

“The strength of religious extremist groups lies in keeping the people poor, uneducated and unenlightened. Men from such backgrounds easily become soldiers of religious jihad as is seen in Pakistan, for example.

“The Maldives, under the current disposition, has all the potential to become a sanctuary for jihadists. If Waheed wins the elections later this year, India will become one of the jihadi targets. People in Maldives have links with the Al Qaeda and Pakistani organisations, like the LeT. Islamic extremism today is no longer handled by individual organisations. They have become an industry with organisations supporting each other. Lone-wolf terrorism that was recently witnessed in UK and France is a new challenge.

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President Waheed meets Gayoom

President Dr Mohamed Waheed met former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on Monday evening, reports local media.

No details of the hour long meeting were disclosed to media but a senior Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) official told newspaper Haveeru that the pair discussed the possibility of President Waheed working with PPM in the upcoming presidential election.

“Just one such meeting cannot lead to an understanding. However we expect a favorable outcome by strengthening relations,” the official was quoted as saying.

PPM MP Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News this week that the party was engaged in talks over the possibility of forming a power sharing agreement with other parties in the government of President Waheed.

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President Waheed departs to Kuwait on official visit

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik departed to Kuwait on Saturday (March 30) as part of an official trip to the country.

According to the President’s Office, Waheed will be accompanied by First Lady Illham Hussain during the visit.

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