Tag: Washington Post

The Islamic State has supporters in paradise: Washington Post

“When the medieval Arab traveler Ibn Battuta gazed upon the Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago of more than a thousand coral atolls and turquoise-blue lagoons, he thought it ‘one of the wonders of the world.’ ” writes Ishaan Tharoor for the Washington Post.

“He didn’t need much persuading to halt his voyage, and assumed the role of ‘qadi‘ — or chief religious judge — for the entire archipelago, deliberating on matters of state while enjoying the delights of the islands’ beaches and, as local lore goes, its women.

Ever since then, travelers and honeymooners have flocked to the Maldives for their own bit of paradise. The country’s myriad scattered luxury resorts now bring in hundreds of thousands of tourists every year — in 2012, the Maldives counted over a million visitors, nearly three times the country’s existing population.

But there’s trouble in paradise, also. This past weekend, some 300 people in the capital city Male — a tiny, crowded concrete island in the sea — marched down its main thoroughfare waving the black flags of the Islamic State. They chanted slogans against democracy and held banners that read “Shariah is the only solution,” among others. They ended their protest with a prayer offering support to mujahideen waging jihad around the world.”

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Nasheed playing up extremism for political gain: President’s spokesperson

Government Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza has told Haveeru that former President Nasheed is trying to portray the Maldives as “a second Afghanistan”.

Abbas accused Nasheed of sensationalising the problems in the Maldives to gain political support abroad.

“Most people in the current administration had received their higher studies from western countries. The Maldivian education system had been based upon Cambridge education. The statements he is making to the western audience stating that Maldivians are religious extremists is based on his greed for power. Nasheed wants to accomplish what he wants no matter how much Maldives is to suffer,” Riza told Haveeru.

Nasheed has spoken to both the Wahington Post and the Indian Express on the subject of radical Islam in recent days. He also told the Washington Post that he feared that the return of a repressive regime may radicalise dissidents.

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Gaza flotilla begins controversial journey despite sabotage allegations and UN concerns

A flotilla of ships hoping to breach an Israeli naval blockade to deliver cargo they claim contains vital aid and support for Palestinian territories has begun its journey from the Mediterranean Sea this week.

The commencement of the flotilla’s journey comes just over a year after several members of a similar fleet of vessels were killed and injured after clashes with Israel’s military last year.

The Al Jazeera news agency reported yesterday that despite Israeli claims that latest the ten vessel “Freedom Flotilla II” was a “dangerous provocation” by organisers that would be intercepted accordingly, ships were now making their journey to the city of Gaza amidst alleged attempts to apparently sabotage individual vessels such as the Swedish ship Juliano in Greek waters.

Israel’s attempts to block the flotilla, which military officials have told media reflects fears that the ships could be used to smuggle weapons into Palestine, has proved to be increasingly controversial topic in international diplomacy.

While Israel was condemned by numerous states over its suppression of a similar fleet in 2010, the UN has called on flotilla organisers to cancel their plans, requesting for a focus instead on using legitimate channels to supply aid to the country. The organisation has additionally called for more direct action from Israel to cut restrictions it has imposed on Gaza.

The Maldives was amongst the nations that were openly critical of the Israeli military response last year to the original “Freedom Flotilla” that reportedly led to nine people being killed aboard the MV Mavi Marmara vessel during an assault in international waters. An estimated 60 activists and 10 Israeli soldiers were also injured in the scuffles that the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned “in the strongest possible terms”.

Israeli fears

Reporting today for the Washington Post, Joel Greenberg wrote that Israeli officials were believed to have stepped up the intensity of their attempts to discredit the organisers of the latest flotilla with claims that the ships’ crews were openly waiting to attack any troops working to intercept their vessels.

“On Tuesday, Israeli newspapers were filled with reports from unnamed military officials, charging that sacks of chemicals, including sulfur, had been loaded onto flotilla vessels with the aim of using the materials against Israeli soldiers,” Greenberg wrote in the paper.

The report claimed that some sections of local media were using headlines such as “Coming to Kill” alongside pictures of some of the vessels in the Flotilla in their coverage.

To counteract these fears, military officials have pledged to prevent the flotilla’s vessels from reaching Gaza and not ruled out the use of unspecified “force” in their aims.

Certain high profile figures believed to be aboard the flotilla have continued to stress that they are planning the trip as a non-violent protest against foreign policy pursued by Israeli forces.  Last week, the UK-based Guardian newspaper published an interview with American writer Alice Walker, who claimed that she would be taking part in the flotilla as a passenger on the vessel, the Audacity of Hope, to deliver letters of goodwill to the people of Gaza. Israeli opposition to the ships, which Walker claimed was effectively the equivalent of attacking a mailman, would be an act that would be recorded “hilariously” in history.

“Why am I going on the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza? I ask myself this, even though the answer is: what else would I do? I am in my 67th year, having lived already a long and fruitful life, one with which I am content,” she wrote. “It seems to me that during this period of eldering it is good to reap the harvest of one’s understanding of what is important, and to share this, especially with the young. How are they to learn, otherwise?”

However, in the realms of international diplomacy, support for the flotilla has proved to be much more of a dilemma.

Diplomatic dilemmas

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last month raised concerns about plans for a second “Freedom Flotilla” to sail to Gaza asking numerous governments based around the Mediterranean Sea to avoid encouraging the provision of aid through the flotilla. Ban claimed that Israel was being urged to end its closure of Gaza, with legitimate crossings to the country needed to ensure civilians in the strip were adequately supplied.

“The Secretary-General reiterated that, while he believed that flotillas were not helpful in resolving the basic economic problems in Gaza, the situation there remains unsustainable,” the UN said in a statement.

The international organisation has itself established a separate panel of inquiry that it has said was designed to look at the conduct of Israel’€™s military in response to the flotilla sailing to Gaza last year. The working period for the group was extended earlier this year after its four members decided more time was needed to reach an outcome.

Isreal’s blockade of Palestinian territories was imposed back in 2007 over security fears at the democratic election of a government consisting of members of the Hamas group, which do not recognize the country’s right to exist. Both Hamas and the Fatah movement it ousted are now said to have agreed to form a unified government ahead of fresh elections, according to the UN.

Last year, the UN secretary general openly criticized the legality of Israel’s blockade of Palestinian borders asking for a cessation to the policy, despite the country making amendments allowing foodstuffs and certain other civilian goods to pass. Ban reportedly lambasted the Israeli policy of closure as “wrong” as well as being unsustainable whilst talking to international media during a visit to Palestinian territory last March.

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